Are the Downing Street Memos authentic??

[DemsUnited]

Questioning the authenticity of these memos is the first tactic the right is going to take. After all, it worked with Rathergate. The process begins today with the likes of Pill-poppin Limbaugh and Tweetybird Matthews.

I say, bring it on. The question of authenticity has to be asked and answered before anything substantive can happen. Besides, most of our "fearless" leaders aren't going to do a damn thing until authenticity is hashed out.

Couldn't find much on the issue, however, other than the following:

1) memos have been out for over a month and not one of the top level British officials who were at the meetings these memos covered have come out and cried foul.

2) the reporter who broke the story has said that he retyped the memos and destroyed the originals given to him to protect his source.

What have I missed?

[Brundle_Fly]

1. here's a tidbit

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2005_06/006537.php

[DemsUnited]

9. Thanks, Brundle_Fly

Great link. Especially like the following snippet:

Here's Tony Blair himself on May 1, the day the first memo was published:

In a Sunday morning television interview, Mr. Blair did not deny that the meeting took place in July 2002, but he recalled that "subsequent to that meeting, we went the United Nations route," seeking a resolution in November 2002, calling on the Iraqi government to disarm.

[Brundle_Fly]

11. I don't think the going the United Nations Route

story plays either, they tried for a final UN res, for the right to go to war, then withdrew it...

so the UN didn't sanction the entire war.

[indie_voter]

2. He gave the originals back to the source, destroyed photocopies

http://rawstory.com/news/2005/Backstory_Confirming_the_Downing_Street_0614.html

[DemsUnited]

10. Great link, indie_voter

Once again, RawStory lays it all out in an easy to follow format.

[Coexist]

3. Yes.

[trotsky]

4. By all means question them.

Keeps them out in the open and being talked about, which is exactly what BushCo doesn't want.

[Karenina]

13. Ya know, Trotsky

I was about to post some snarkiness and realized, Das stimmt!

[DoYouEverWonder]

5. This is like night and day when you compare the two

First of all the documents were given directly to an established reporter by someone within Downing Street, ie. the Prime Minister's office. No one, not even Tony Blair who had the opportunity to raise doubts, has denied their authenticity. The DSM was originally copied to a number of people. If it had been forged it would have been discovered right away.

Besides, the information within them is certainly true. The Bush administration did fit the intel to the policy. It was obvious to all of us who opposed this war.

[Brundle_Fly]

6. there are

five lights.

[1monster]

7. Didn't Blair and Bush tacitly admit to their authenticity when he/they

said that the Downing Street Minutes were "before" they went to the UN?

It may have been a mistake on their part, or a Freudian slip, but it does suggest very strongly that they admit to the authenticity of the Minutes...

[Puzzler]

8. Yes...

The fact is that they are authentic. But Rove and co. know that just getting enough people to actually ASK the question, is enough to potentially do a lot of damage to the info in the MSM.

-P

[DoYouEverWonder]

12. Yes, basicly Blair acknowledged

the authenticity of the DSM at that point. If the documents were questionable, that would have been the moment for him to deny their authenticity. He didn't - therefore it was assumed that they are authentic.

[berni_mccoy]

14. Ok, I'm clueless

What's the "four lights" thing all about... I need to know...

[napkinz]

15. No, and you should ignore them

Top 11 reasons to ignore the Downing Street Minutes (a.k.a. The Downing Street Memo).

11. They're poorly translated.

10. Michael Jackson isn't mentioned.

9. Thought that any effort to "fix" Bush's intelligence would have been applauded.

8. Britain and the US were already bombing Iraq in an attempt to provoke a response from Hussein as a justification war.

7. Unhinged Howard Dean just said of the GOP, "it's pretty much a White Christian Party."
(Only 82% of Republicans identify themselves as White and Christian.)

6. Don't want to dignify outlandish questions from radical fringe groups, like 94 members of the US House of Representatives.

5. That was before we pursued the diplomatic course of lying to the UN, bugging the offices of members of the Security Council, and then reneging on our promise to seek a vote where those members would have to "put their cards on the table."

4. It's old news. Didn't you read the books by Suskind and Woodward? The 2004 elections gave the war the imprimatur of the American people.

3. Can't bring yourself to call the President of the United States a liar... unless he's a Democrat who falsely denies an affair.

2. If it was important, someone would tell you so.

1. You've become accustomed to the lifestyle afforded a network or major newspaper reporter.

http://www.toostupidtobepresident.com/top11/ignore_downingst.htm

[DemsUnited]

17. TOO FUNNY!!!

Thanks for posting!!

[napkinz]

18. Memogate Unravels

[napkinz]

16. DSM toons, graphics