COUNTERSPIN CENTRAL MEMO TO DEMS
Get ready for the latest Pro-Bush spin on Memogate. It goes like this:
“The latest British memo hitting the news today actually PROVES that Bush made no “political decision” to go to war with Iraq, and that they all believed that Iraq had WMDs.”
The only problem with this spin, is that it’s dishonest. But don’t expect Tweety or Russert to figure this out on their own. So I am going to provide a handy dandy talkng point to explain how the Downing Street “memo” is actually still valid.
The current British memo being debated is dated July 21, 2002.
It was prepared in advance of a meeting between US and British officials to discuss their Iraq strategy.
Thus, it reflects the British pre-meeting perception of the US position on Iraq.
In that memo, the Brits expressed the view that “no political decision” had been taken by Bush on an invasion of Iraq.
The Downing Street “memo” is actually the minutes recorded by a high level British intelligence official AT THAT MEETING. It is dated July 22, 2002.
Therefore, the impressions in those minutes are later in time, and more accurately reflect Bush administration intentions and policy than the pre-meeting memo.
Before the meeting, as I noted above, the Brits believed that “no political decision” to go to war had been made by Bush.
AT THE MEETING, however, they learned otherwise. And this was recorded in the minutes taken at the meeting:
“C reported on his recent talks in Washington. There was a perceptible shift in attitude. Military action was now seen as inevitable. Bush wanted to remove Saddam, through military action, justified by the conjunction of terrorism and WMD. But the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy. The NSC had no patience with the UN route, and no enthusiasm for publishing material on the Iraqi regime’s record. There was little discussion in Washington of the aftermath after military action.”
Note the “perceptible SHIFT in attitude” comment. This means that pre-July 22, 2002, the Brits believed that Bush had not yet decided on war. But after July 22, 2002, they percived a “shift in attitude” toward war being “inevitable.”
Contrary to the spin you will no doubt see and hear all day from Republican pundits, talk radio, Fox News and the warfloggers, the latest memo does NOT undercut or invalidate the Downing Street “memo.” It actually complements and supplements it.
Please make sure these facts are spread as widely as possible in order to counter the propaganda onsluaght from the Rightwing Noise Machine.
UPDATE: The American Progress Action Fundbreaks down the memos in more detail.
They also have the full text of all the secret British memos, including the two I described above.
In essence, then, there is more smoke coming out of this gun than out of Cheech and Chong’s VW Van.
June 13th, 2005 at 3:30 pm
Just give these bums enough rope…
June 13th, 2005 at 5:09 pm
Truth is not a liberal bias,and they can’t hide behind their spin forever -eventually the truth will emerge. Then maybe we will finally rid ourselves of these men. Not just Bush and his cronies but also Blair and his collaborators. I don’t care if Bush did unsign the ICC treaty. Put the cuffs to the whole bunch and drag their sorry asses to court for war crimes.
June 13th, 2005 at 6:41 pm
If Clinton can be impeached for making Love, surely Dubya can be for making war. The apparent Prudery of this administration alludes to their Perversions. As a simple matter of course impeachment proceedings have to begin,when? However the argument that we are at war makes it difficult to instigate proceedings, that we all know - again that is only a another distraction in the corruption of our Democracy.
June 13th, 2005 at 7:06 pm
[…] think I’ll call them the “EME!”) can understand that, can’t they? Hesiod finds that reaction to the latest British Iraq memo l […]
June 13th, 2005 at 8:02 pm
Look. Nothing will change until 50.0001 % of Americans change their own behavior.
We, each and every one of us, fund the corporate profiteering off human health and environmental irresponsibility by our consumptive lifestyles.
Fact is, most Americans could care less, carefully cultivated through mass media manipulation and inadequate education to buy, spend and waste enriching the already obscenely wealthy.
Until the Fairness Doctrine is reinstated on broadcasting corporations this attitude hasn’t a hope of changing. The rule, repealed by Reagan- stated simply; news must be balanced and we should add a provision to it to rid our press of corporate sponsorship.
June 14th, 2005 at 5:22 am
Election(1&2)- Lie
9-11- Lie
War on terror- Lie
Iraq war- Lie
Mr. Bush- Liar
June 14th, 2005 at 8:16 am
Sorry guys, I am tending towards the repugs on this one. This is not news, it’s another confirmation that Boy George wanted a piece of Sadam long before he was even annointed President. What does one more piece of evidence add? He lied over and over. It’s fact. It’s also fact that the American public doesn’t care that they were lied to and manipualated by these craven pukes.
William says that the truth will come out. William, the truth is already out and it matters not. What should be an impeachable offense in a rational world, is supported by our lemming half as a work of God.
History will expose the pathetic little man and shred him. We won’t.
June 14th, 2005 at 1:52 pm
Hey Hesoid
Where did you get the date for that second memo - the Note to the Ministers?
June 14th, 2005 at 1:58 pm
Add to these memos the recent revelations that the U.S. and Britain DOUBLED their volume of bombing of Iraq in the months prior to our invasion, in hopes this would provoke Hussein into a response which would justify a war.
DOUBLED THEIR VOLUME OF BOMBING?! Who knew we were actively engaged in bombing Iraq at all at that time?
And, doing this in hope of PROVOKING HUSSEIN INTO A REACTION WHICH WOULD JUSTIFY OUR ATTACK?!! Any response by Hussein would have been self-defense! Where was OUR justification for ANY bombing at that time, much less DOUBLING it?!
Adding to the indictment against Bush is the fact that he illegally–because he didn’t inform or obtain permission from Congress–transferred 700 million dollars from funds approved to prosecute the war in Afghanistan to create a fund aimed at financing the attack on Iraq. This transfer of funds was also effected months before Bush revealed they had decided to resolve the “Hussein problem” militarily.
Let’s face it: Bush’s guilt is nakedly apparent, and only those who have willfully blinded themselves to reality can fail to see it.
June 14th, 2005 at 5:00 pm
The Universe Did Not Come Into Existence in the Order You Discovered It
Via Jim Henley of Unqualified Offerings, this piece from the American Street nips a nasty little meme in the bud: The current British memo being debated is dated July 21, 2002. It was prepared in advance of a meeting between…