Prime Minister Tony Blair Confirms Authenticity of Downing Street Memo

[Rainscents]

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/590

WOW... Blair amited DSM is real!!!


Prime Minister Tony Blair Confirms Authenticity of Downing Street Memo
Submitted by davidswanson on Thu, 2005-06-30 08:20. Evidence

SAN STEFFAN / WESTMINSTER
DATGANIAD I'R WASG PLAID CYMRU THE PARTY OF WALES PRESS RELEASE
Wednesday 29 June 2005 - for immediate release

The Prime Minister has confirmed the authenticity of a Downing Street memo in which Sir Richard Dearlove, the former head of MI6, tells Mr Blair that the Bush administration was "fixing" the intelligence and facts about Saddam Hussein's regime to back up a decision that had been taken to invade Iraq as early as July 2002.

[paineinthearse]

1. Admins - please make room on the HOME page

If true, this is HUGE!

[Rainscents]

2. I don't know how to do it. Please help me!

[barbaraann]

4. I don't think you can do it.

I think the admins have to.

[Rainscents]

20. Thank you... I sent them email!

[barbaraann]

23. Excellent.

Keep up the good work. :-)

[Rainscents]

24. I signed up 8 more people today DSM on Conyers web site.

I believe he is still encouraging people to sign the DSM.

:bounce:

[barbaraann]

27. Wow!

It's too bad but we can't even relax if Bush is impeached and removed. I didn't understand that before 2000 but now I do.

[Imagevision]

39. Sign Here To get Independant DSM Investigation moving

This one form with one click will send your personal comments directly to both of your U.S. senators and your house representative, plus the following media contacts:

Washington Post ombudsman
New York Times ombudsman
ABC Nightline
NBC Nightly News
http://www.usalone.com/downingstreet_np.htm

Send link to friends...

[berni_mccoy]

3. So much for the freeper's theory (and hope)

42% of America is about to yell IMPEACH quite loudly!

[Hepburn]

7. Sorry....wish you were right, but...

...I think not. Not on the FREEPER forum itself, but on another forum which has been overrun by RW fundies, they are attacking the source where Blair's statement was printed. To them, it is questionable.

I would like to ask these Freeper and Freeper like assholes a question: IF the memos are fake, then WTF where Bush and Blair talking about in their recent press conference?? The contents of FAKE memos??? GMAFB :eyes:

[Trish1168]

9. Is it coincidence that they started bombing around the time of the DSM?

What do the freepers say to that???:spank:

[Rainscents]

25. Did you see Frontline "Privet Warrior"? Halliburton was building

military base 9 months before we invaded Iraq!!! I was even more shocked when I saw this documentary last night. :wow:

[indepat]

5. Yeah, but, but, it is not what it seems

[Double T]

6. Can This Mean We Will Finally Have A Day Of Reckoning With........

our lying, corrupt "leader".

[rniel]

8. Do you think he's going for Revenge

because bush didn't want to sign on with his plan to help Africa.

[BamaBecky]

10. Wonder what the UK will do to Tony Blair?.......Many seem to think

Bush is going to get away with with it here.....due to all the Republican control........
Bama

[Twist_U_Up]

14. of course he will

just like 9-11, Anthrax, 2000 election, 2004 election he has the media and most of the dem party helping him. I believe if this doesn`t take him down nothing will.

[BamaBecky]

17. I'm still holding out hope that 911 will be the straw that breaks

the Impeachment threshold........
Bama

[proiowadem]

11. I, like the MSM, like two sources

Does anyone know of a second source for this confirmation.

[Stand and Fight]

12. Sure...

If you're like the MSM, you need to wake up and smell the coffee. Here's you link, bub:

http://www.downingstreetmemo.com

[proiowadem]

15. You "misunderestimated" me

I know the DSM is real. I know * lied. I know he should be Impeached. I'm asking for a second conformation on the "Prime Minister Tony Blair Confirms Authenticity of Downing Street Memo" Maybe a link to the UK times or some such. Where did afterdowingstreet get their info. I like to be certain when I talk to non-DU people out here in Iowa. And I want to have another source to sight in my arguments.

[Stand and Fight]

18. I stand corrected.

I'm sorry if I came off as snide. I live in Oklahoma and can well understand why you want to be well versed to deal with the FReeper Fundies and Regressive Republicans.

[I Have A Dream]

30. Hi, proIowaDem! Glad to have you here at DU!

:hi:

[proiowadem]

35. thanks

[Totally Committed]

13. And, from the front page of DU:

Zogby says 42% of Americans feel Bush should be impeached if he lied about the reasons for the Iraq War. 42%! Anyone know what Clinton's #'s were pre-impeachment? They were close to that, I believe.

So, if the DSM is legit, Bush lied. Bush lied, 42% say impeach!

Yeah, baby!

TC

[Rainscents]

21. Wow... 42%!!! Ties are tunning and wave is getting bigger every day!

[progressoid]

42. only 34% in Jan of 1999 and the trial went forth!!

"Just from the way you feel right now, do you think President Clinton's actions are serious enough to warrant his being impeached and removed from the presidency, or not?"


Are serious enough: 34%
Are not: 62%
Don't know/No answer: 4%

http://www.pollingreport.com/scandal1.htm


:woohoo:

[TruthIsAll]

16. OK, now let's go to work... n/t

.

[Stand and Fight]

19. Damn Straight! n/t

[Carla in Ca]

32. from the news article...

The Prime Minister:

First of all, as I'm sure the honourable Member knows that memo and other documents of the time were covered by the Butler Review (1). In addition to that I have to say to him that this was of course before we went to the United Nations and secured a second resolution, the resolution 1441 that had unanimous support and I would also say to the honourable gentleman that contrary to his view when I stood next to the new PM of Iraq, somebody who has had five of his relatives assassinated by Saddam, when I stood by him and realised that he was in power because of the democratic vote of 8 million Iraqis then I was glad that we took the action that we did and made sure that Iraq was no longer governed by a dictatorship but by a democracy.

(1) Butler Review paragraph 287 refers to Downing Street meeting on 23 July 2002 but omits to mention key statement that "the intelligence and the facts were being fixed around the policy"

[earth mom]

22. Whoa!

:wow:

[bvar22]

26. EVERYONE at DU and the bolgosphere can take credit for this!!!!!!

Without US, the administration, the Politicians (of both Partys...handful of exceptions), and the CorpoMedia would have killed this!

WE KEPT IT ALIVE

Even the Freepers HELPED KEEP THIS ALIVE with their obsessive denials.

For those here saying, "Yeah...So what? He'll get out of this."
DO IT FOR THE HISTORY BOOKS!

Someday this story will be written. Lets make sure that the TRUTH gets into the books, even if it is only a footnote.
Always put the asterik (*) after the Bush* name.

[Rainscents]

28. Yes, we all did it together!!!

Here to all DUer's!!!:toast: :toast: :toast: :toast: :toast:

[Pryderi]

29. I don't know as if Blair out and out confirmed the authenticity...he was

evasive:

British lawmaker Adam Price asked Blair in the Commons on Wednesday whether he believed Dearlove was a reliable source.

"Is it safe to assume that Sir Richard's statement . . . was an accurate assessment of the intentions and actions of the Bush administration?" Price asked.

Blair said the contents of that memo had already been covered by a high-level independent inquiry into the British government's case for war in Iraq.

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050630/NEWS06/506300470/1012/NEWS06

[oxbow]

31. I agree, its a misleading headline

Anytime we talk about the DSM, we should not put it forward as the smoking gun. Rather, it only confirms what we've learned from O'Neil, Clarke and other WH insiders. It's the accumulation of evidence that damns them, not any partcular memo.

[Rainscents]

34. Love your art work... They're very good!

[leesa]

33. Thanks Tony! Let the war crimes trials begin!

[psychopomp]

36. I don't see how Bliar's response confirmed the authenticity

Could somebody explain how the conclusion expressed by afterdowningstreet.org is supported by the following question and response?

/snip
Adam Price MP (Carmarthen East and Dinefwr) asked the Prime Minister:

Does the Prime Minister still regard Sir Richard Dearlove as having been a reliable source of information on Iraq? And if he does, is it safe to assume that Sir Richard's statement in the summer of 2002 that "the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy" was an accurate assessment of the intentions and actions of the Bush administration?

The Prime Minister:

First of all, as I'm sure the honourable Member knows that memo and other documents of the time were covered by the Butler Review (1). In addition to that I have to say to him that this was of course before we went to the United Nations and secured a second resolution, the resolution 1441 that had unanimous support and I would also say to the honourable gentleman that contrary to his view when I stood next to the new PM of Iraq, somebody who has had five of his relatives assassinated by Saddam, when I stood by him and realised that he was in power because of the democratic vote of 8 million Iraqis then I was glad that we took the action that we did and made sure that Iraq was no longer governed by a dictatorship but by a democracy.

(1) Butler Review paragraph 287 refers to Downing Street meeting on 23 July 2002 but omits to mention key statement that "the intelligence and the facts were being fixed around the policy"
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/590

[Skinner]

37. I think this headline may be a bit of a stretch.

And I certainly think it is a bit much to say that "Blair admitted the DSM is real." Perhaps I am hair-splitting here. But I think, perhaps, it would be more correct to say "Tony Blair does not take advantage of opportunity to deny authenticity of Downing Street Memo."

Here's the exchange:

Adam Price: Does the Prime Minister still regard Sir Richard Dearlove as having been a reliable source of information on Iraq? If so, is it safe to assume that Sir Richard's statement in the summer of 2002 that the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy was an accurate assessment of the intentions and actions of the Bush Administration?

The Prime Minister: As I am sure the hon. Gentleman knows, that memo and other documents of the time were covered by the Butler review. In addition, that was before we went to the United Nations and secured the second resolution, 1441, which had unanimous support. Contrary to the hon. Gentleman's view, when I stood next to the new Prime Minister of Iraq, who had five of his relatives assassinated by Saddam, and realised that he was in power because of the democratic votes of 8 million Iraqis, I was glad that we took the action that we did and ensured that Iraq was no longer governed by a dictatorship but by a democracy.

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200506/cmhansrd/cm050629/debtext/50629-02.htm#50629-02_dpthd0

Here's how Adam Price characterizes the interaction:

I challenged the Prime Minister on whether Sir Richard Dearlove was a reliable intelligence source, and if so, could he confirm whether his statement was an accurate assessment of the Bush administration's intentions and actions. In his answer, the Prime Minister refuses to distance himself from the assessment made by the former head of MI6 and simply goes on to say resolution 1441 changed the position. I fail to see how this is relevant to my question.

http://www.plaidcymru.org/press050629dd.html

This seems like a fair characterization of Blair's response. I think it is fair to infer from Tony Blair's response that the DSM is authentic. But I'm a little reluctant to say that the prime minister has confirmed its authenticity.

Having said that... I wasn't aware that the authenticity of the DSM was ever seriously in doubt. There was some discussion of it being transcribed from the originals. But as far as I know, no people in a position to know the truth have made any effort to deny the DSM's authenticity. I think it is safe to infer that it is real.

[Totally Committed]

38. Maybe he HINTED at its authenticity?

Hinted is really more what he did, imo.

But, it got him something he wanted (by a sort of implied blackmail, maybe...)-- Bush has come forward and proposed the doubling of aid to Africa -- something Blair has chosen to spiff up his legacy before he's out of office, one way or another.

TC

[jhain]

40. Pop Pop Pop

Freeper heads becoming Microwave popcorn!

[mikita]

41. kick ... too many thread about Sandy Day O ....

this is important to keep alive!!