War Is A Crime .org

New Statesman Monday, July 25, 2005

Terror and the UK - Blair was told about Muslim rage not just by his critics, but by some of his closest advisers, writes Michael Smith

_____________________

Tony Blair has been at his most contemptuous when dismissing the idea that the bombers might have been angry about Iraq, Abu Ghraib or Guantanamo. "Their cause is not founded on an injustice," he declared. "It is founded on a belief, one whose fanaticism is such that it can't be moderated. It can't be remedied. It has to be stood up to."

The trouble is that in the minds of those four young men their cause almost certainly was founded on injustice. Nor can this be any surprise to the government, for it was warned many times, officially and unofficially, on the record and off. Even at the heart of the security establishment people are well aware of this.

By People's Weekly World

Our page 3 story highlights the longstanding slimy, criminal tactics of Bush-Cheney mastermind Karl Rove. It points out how Rove’s lying, cheating, backstabbing methods, dating back to the Nixon days, helped the ultra-right seize the pinnacles of political power in our country.

But, as in the past, so too today, Rove is a minor figure in a major crime syndicate.

Nearly 2,000 American soldiers are dead and thousands more seriously injured, many scarred for life in body and spirit, from a war based on lies. Many thousands of Iraqi people have been killed and maimed, and their country lies in ruins. Today’s Karl Rove scandal is not just about the CIA operative he “outed.

Village Soup (Maine)
By Staff

BELFAST (July 21): Jane Sanford is hosting a Rep. John Conyers House party at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, July 23 to bring people together to discuss the Downing Street memo from the Chief of British Intelligence regarding the Iraq war and also Karl Rove and CIA operative Valerie Plame.

There will be a conference call with Rep. Conyers and former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, Valerie Plame's husband. There will be a video about the issues raised, followed by a discussion about questions Conyers can pose in a Parliamentary hearing and discussion about what actions US citizens can take.

Palm Beach Daily News

The Palm Beach Democrats will hold a town hall meeting at 2 p.m. on Saturday to discuss the Downing Street Memo.

The meeting is scheduled to be held in the Cypress Lounge of the Palm Beach Towers, 44 Cocoanut Row. The public is invited to attend the meeting; there is no admission charge. Copies of the memo will be distributed.

The Downing Street Memo is one of several leaked British documents that purportedly show the U.S. and British governments knew that evidence of weapons of mass destruction was tenuous before invading Iraq.

For more information , call Elna Laun at 686-2060 or Dr. David Prensky at 832-8511.

BY ROBERT STEINBACK
Knight Ridder Newspapers

(KRT) - I'm less intrigued by Karl Rove's ultimate fate than I am by how White House-allied strategists have responded to the scandal threatening to engulf him. Never before has the dark magic of the Republican spin machine - and the willingness of loyalists to embrace it - been so nakedly obvious.

This rare glimpse came courtesy the alternative Web site Raw Story, which obtained a copy of the "special" July 12 Rovegate edition of Republican National Committee's D.C. Talkers memo - the infamous party Talking Points sheet. View it at www.rawstory.com (link is under "Blogs/Media").

TomPaine.com
Russ Baker
July 21, 2005

Investigative reporter and essayist Russ Baker is a longtime contributor to TomPaine.com. A contributing editor to the Columbia Journalism Review, he is the founder of the Real News Project, a new organization dedicated to revitalizing investigative journalism. He can be reached at russ@russbaker.com.

It would be a great understatement to say that The New York Times is in a difficult position when it comes to reporting on the case of Judith Miller, the paper's reporter who is currently in jail for refusing to identify sources in the Valerie Plame Wilson leak investigation. No one wants to see a journalist in jail—much less one who labors on behalf of the same news organization.

Congressman Charlie Rangel (NY-15)
Please Join Me for an e-Town Hall Meeting On the War in Iraq

Go HERE.

Today, after more than two years of war in Iraq, 1,750 brave American troops have been killed and more than 12,000 wounded. Two shameful facts have become clear: first, the President's justifications for the invasion were untrue; and second, the Bush administration was committed to regime change in Iraq long before Nine-Eleven.

The tragic war in Iraq is the most important issue facing our nation. You are invited to join me at an e-Town Hall meeting on Friday, July 22nd, from noon to 1:00 p.m., to answer your questions about the origins of the war, the unfair burden on our troops, and what can be done to end the greatest military catastrophe since Vietnam. Your questions will inform me of your specific concerns.

Institute for Public Accuracy

On Saturday, July 23, over 300 events organized by the AfterDowningStreet.org coalition and Rep. John Conyers will mark the three-year anniversary of the meeting at No. 10 Downing Street in London that was recorded in the now infamous minutes known as the "Downing Street memo." Members of Congress will be hosting some of the events, including ones in Detroit, Inglewood, Calif., Seattle, Oakland, Calif., and New York City.

BOB FERTIK, http://www.afterdowningstreet.org Fertik is co-founder of the group After Downing Street. He said today: "The invasion of Iraq was a war crime based on lies. A recent Zogby poll found that 42 percent of Americans believe George Bush should be impeached if he lied about Iraq, and the Downing Street minutes prove that Bush lied." [This Saturday from 2-4 p.m. Bob Fertik will moderate an event at the New York Society for Ethical Culture that includes Rep. Maurice Hinchey and former Rep. Liz Holtzman.]

Memo Central to Probe Of Leak Was Written By State Dept. Analyst
By Walter Pincus and Jim VandeHei
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, July 21, 2005; A01

A classified State Department memorandum central to a federal leak investigation contained information about CIA officer Valerie Plame in a paragraph marked "(S)" for secret, a clear indication that any Bush administration official who read it should have been aware the information was classified, according to current and former government officials.

Plame -- who is referred to by her married name, Valerie Wilson, in the memo -- is mentioned in the second paragraph of the three-page document, which was written on June 10, 2003, by an analyst in the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR), according to a source who described the memo to The Washington Post.

By COLIN SHEA
Prague, Czech Republic

This is an open letter to U.S. Rep. Jeb Bradley.

Documentary evidence of presidential high crimes and misdemeanors has been in full public view for six weeks now and you have been shamefully silent. Seven citizens of New Hampshire are dead for no reason, yet you continue to participate in the disgusting charade of the Iraq war. This must end. Serious discussion of impeachment must finally take place in the House of Representatives.

On May 1, a British newspaper published a secret memorandum from August 2002 from the very highest levels of the British government. It shows conclusively that the Bush administration had already decided at that time to attack and occupy Iraq. This was eight months before hostilities commenced, and three months before the release of the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on the Iraq threat — the purported basis for war.

A BUZZFLASH GUEST CONTRIBUTION
by Bernie Weiner, The Crisis Papers

At long last, Plamegate -- the scandal surrounding the outing of covert CIA operative Valerie Plame Wilson by two "senior administration officials" -- has exploded out of the D.C. beltway to become a major national news story.

It would appear that this scandal goes way beyond Karl Rove and who said what to whom when about Ms. Plame. It certainly is true, though, that turning over that slimy Rove-Plame rock was the way into the larger issues upon which Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald and his grand jury apparently are focusing.

Congressman Maurice Hinchey discusses the Downing Street Memo at the State University of NY at New Paltz on July 7, 2005 - He is Joined by Professor Rob Miraldi who Discusses the Media's Role in Informing the Public.

Download or listen here.

Representatives across country hold rallies Saturday to criticize Iraq conflict
The Argus
By Josh Richman

Members of Congress — including Oakland's representative — will mark the third anniversary of a British government meeting detailed in the "Downing Street memo" by taking criticism of the Iraq war to the masses.

Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, will host a town hall meeting from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday at the Grand Lake Theatre, 3200 Grand Lake Ave. in Oakland. Eight other lawmakers from New York to Michigan to New Mexico to California will hold district meetings this weekend as well.

The Progressive Action Alliance (PAA) http://progressiveactionalliance.org , Houston members of Code Pink http://www.codepink4peace.org/ , and other organizations will sponsor the "Downing Street Minutes Teach-In/Movie Night" from 7 to 9:30 pm Saturday, July 23, 2005 at the First Unitarian Universalist Church at 5200 Fannin. This is an event to recognize the 3rd anniversary of the Downing Street Minutes and it coincides with similar events in over 150 cities nationwide. This effort is being coordinated by After Downing Street http://www.afterdowningstreet.org , a coalition of veterans' groups, peace groups, and political activist groups, which has launched a campaign to urge the U.S. Congress to begin a formal investigation into whether President Bush has committed impeachable offenses in connection with the Iraq war.

From Downing Street to Tavistock Square: How will a Terror Attack in London Change British and World Policy toward Iraq? (Recorded Wednesday, July 20)
Panelists:
Norman Birnbaum, author and Georgetown University Law Professor
David Swanson, co-founder of AfterDowningStreet.org
Bill Fletcher, President, TransAfrica Forum
Moderator: John Cavanagh, Director, IPS

mp3 (Right click and select Save to disk to download in Windows. Warning- 55 meg file)
Listen Now! With Windows Media Player

Hinchey, Eight Members Of Congress To Hold Nationwide Town Hall Meetings On Downing Street Memos & Ongoing Deception In Iraq

Meetings To Coincide With Third Anniversary Of Downing Street Meeting

Washington, DC -- In commemoration of the third anniversary of the now infamous Downing Street Meeting, Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) and eight of his colleagues in the House will host town hall meetings across the country to discuss the manipulation of pre-war intelligence, the unclassified Downing Street memos, and the current state of the U.S. occupation of Iraq. Hinchey will participate in an event entitled, "Torture and Lies: Who Is Accountable? From Abu Ghraib to the Downing Street Minutes" that will be held on Saturday, July 23 from 2:00-4:00pm at the New York Society for Ethical Culture located at 2 W. 64th Street in New York City. The event is free and open to the public, although seating is limited.

Press Advisory
Congressman John Conyers, Jr.
Michigan, 14th District
Ranking Member, U.S. House Judiciary Committee
Dean, Congressional Black Caucus
http://www.house.gov/judiciary_democrats

For Immediate Release:July 18, 2005
Contact: Dena Graziano (202) 226-6888

CONYERS, SEVEN MEMBERS OF CONGRESS TO HOLD TOWN HALL MEETINGS NATIONWIDE ON DOWNING STREET, ROVEGATE,AND THE ONGOING DECEPTION IN IRAQ

MEETINGS TO COINCIDE WITH THIRD ANNIVERSARY OF THE DOWNING STREET MEETING

WASHINGTON, D.C. - In commemoration of the third anniversary of the infamous Downing Street Meeting, Rep. John Conyers, Jr., along with Representatives Hinchey, Lee, McDermott, Waters, Becerra, Frank, and Rangel, will host town hall meetings nationwide to discuss the manipulation of pre-war intelligence, the unclassified Downing Street Minutes, White House improprieties committed by Karl Rove and other Bush Administration officials, and the war in Iraq. For those unable to attend a town hall meeting in their district, Americans nationwide can follow weblogs broadcasted live from each of the Members' town hall meetings, all of which will be available at one centralized location, http//:www.afterdowningstreet.org.

By Molly Ivins

Now it's getting funnier and funnier. The entire Republican Party is shocked (!) anyone would think that Karl Rove (!!) would leak a story to damage a political opponent. Oh, the horror.

Attacking an opponent's wife is standard operating procedure for Rove. Have Republicans actually convinced themselves that he wouldn't do such a thing? People, sometimes party loyalty asks too much.

Actually, we are missing the point here. The point being that there are by now innumerable pieces of evidence that this administration lied about why we went to war in Iraq. After they got done lying about weapons of mass destruction and about connections to Al Qaeda, they switched to the stomach-churning pretense that we had done it all for democracy. Urp.

Karl Rove's alibi would be easier to believe if he hadn't hidden it from FBI investigators in 2003.
By Murray Waas
American Prospect Web Exclusive: 07.19.05

White House deputy chief of staff Karl Rove did not disclose that he had ever discussed CIA officer Valerie Plame with Time magazine reporter Matthew Cooper during Rove’s first interview with the FBI, according to legal sources with firsthand knowledge of the matter.

The omission by Rove created doubt for federal investigators, almost from the inception of their criminal probe into who leaked Plame's name to columnist Robert Novak, as to whether Rove was withholding crucial information from them, and perhaps even misleading or lying to them, the sources said.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

Karen Kwiatkowski
Ph.D, Lt. Col. USAF (ret.)

Dott Clarke Koch: Dr./Lt. Col. Kwiatkowski, you are admired and respected the world over for bringing out facts about clandestine fabrications devised in the Pentagon preceding the preemptive military strike on the Middle Eastern sovereign country of Iraq. When you observed, firsthand, those false bullet points being constructed and then passed on to the media -- bullet points that today are resulting in massive deaths in Iraq, you reacted negatively. Was it your commitment to the U.S. Constitution, trampled on by the Pentagon-Few, that enabled you to remain loyal to America?

Seattle Weekly
By Geov Parrish

It's something of a stretch to proclaim Karl Rove, the Machiavellian political adviser to President Bush, innocent. But in this case, he just might be. And there's been something positively unseemly about the transparent glee with which many Democrats have been calling for Rove to be frog-marched out of the White House.

That glee is a form of tribute, really. It's an acknowledgment of just how successful (and ruthless) Rove has been—as a political strategist, in building Bush's political empire, and in forging a solid Republican majority in Congress.

So why would he be so stupid as to leak Valerie Plame's professional identity?

Fauquier Times Democrat (Virginia)
By Linda W. Swanson, Warrenton

This Saturday, July 23, is an important anniversary. Over 300 events are being planned nationwide to recognize it, one right here in Warrenton.

If you don't know what happened on July 23, 2002, you are not alone.

Most of our media have not reported fully on the secret meeting held that day at Number 10 Downing Street, London, the Prime Minister's residence. The minutes of that meeting about the United States' involvement in Iraq (which were leaked to The Sunday Times of London and printed on May 1, 2005) have become known as the "Downing Street Minutes (or Memo.")

By the Stop the War Coalition

LONDON - July 19 - Downing Street re-enactment of Blair war cabinet as Mad Hatter's Tea Party to mark third anniversary of meeting that took Britain to war.

Documents leaked to the British press earlier this year revealed that Tony Blair's war cabinet met in Downing Street on 23rd July 2002 to discuss US plans for the invasion of Iraq. Sir Richard Dearlove, the head of MI6, who had just returned from talks in Washington, told those present that war was seen as inevitable and that the intelligence was being "fixed" to provide the reason for going to war. The leaks have caused a storm in America where they are fuelling a campaign to have President Bush impeached.

By: Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- Americans have growing doubts about President Bush's honesty and his effectiveness, according to a poll taken at a time people are uneasy with the war in Iraq, uncertain about the economy and nervous about the terrorist threat.

Half of those in the poll taken by the Pew Research Center, 49 percent, said they believe the president is trustworthy, while almost as many, 46 percent said he is not. Bush was at 62 percent on this measure in a September 2003 Pew poll and at 56 percent in a Gallup poll in April. One of Bush's strong suits throughout his presidency has been the perception by a majority of people that he is honest.

Do you want to see video evidence of what they said two years ago, side by side with what they said last week? Do you want to see the Rove Scandal painted clearly with no punches pulled? This is a brilliant DVD. It's been mailed, for free, to everyone who signed up to host an event on July 23rd (courtesy of TakeBacktheMedia, which is providing the DVDs, and AfterDowningStreet volunteer Ben Slade who is paying for the postage). You can get a copy by making a donation to TakeBackTheMedia. You can do that and watch a preview here.

Barbara Lee to Hold Town Hall on Downing Street Memo

Panel Will Discuss White House Case for War on 3rd Anniversary of Downing Street Meeting

Who: Congresswoman Barbara Lee will be joined by panelists, including: Daniel Ellsberg, author and lecturer; Steve Cobble, AfterDowningStreet.org; Bill Mitchell, Gold Star Families for Peace, and representatives of Iraq Veterans Against the War

What: Town Hall meeting to discuss the manipulation of pre-war intelligence, the unclassified minutes of the Downing Street meeting, the White House "outing" of CIA agent Valerie Plame and the war in Iraq.

On July 19, 6 - 6:25 p.m. ET AfterDowningStreet.org Co-Founder and Democrats.com President Bob Fertik will be on Mark Thompson's show on XM Satelite Radio.

On evening of July 19, AfterDowningStreet.org Co-Founder and Democrats.com President Bob Fertik will be on WBAI evening news.

On July 20, from 10 to 11 a.m. ET, David Swanson will be on "What's at Stake" on Pacifica Radio with Verna Avery Brown.

On July 20, from 12:00 - 1:30, Rep. John Conyers (invited), Norman Birnbaum, David Swanson, Bill Fletcher, and John Cavanagh will tape a radio show before a live audience at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, D.C.

The Charles Goyette show this morning aired a dramatic recreation of the meeting at #10 Downing Street on July 23, 2002, and an interview with After Downing Street Dot org Co-Founder David Swanson. Listen here.