Evidence

The White House spin cycle (David Shuster)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8158450/#050620a

I don't know if things are getting better or worse in Iraq. But I do know the Bush administration is now in total panic mode over the erosion of public support for the occupation. How else could one explain the President's bizarre radio address this past Saturday or the even more surreal comments recently from other administration officials?

First, the president's radio address: On Saturday President Bush defended the war in Iraq saying, "We went to war because we were attacked." Huh? In September 2003, the President himself stated, "We've had no evidence that Saddam Hussein was involved with the September 11th attacks." (For the record, the 9/11 Commission is on the side of the Sept. 2003 President Bush — The commission found there was "no collaborative relationship between Iraq and Al-Qaeda.")

RANT WARNING

Yes, the brain dead are among us and as such, we have to re-educate them to a 2+2=4 system. The very brain dead, confused, and clearly misguided followers of such pond scum as Neo-Nazi Barbie, Narco Slob, and other like luminaries keep confusing fact with talking points.

See, they did not get talking points on DSM, so they are dumbfounded by the facts, cooing, gasping, and grasping like crack addicts. So for the ethically challenged among us, or the value of hate/kill/rape crowd, and mostly the lonely peeping conservators who spank the keyboard daily to feel like they have a life... for those moronic twits who need to be told over and over that truth has nothing to do with patriotism... ONE more time:

Old News Indeed: In 1999, Bush Craved Opportunity to Attack Iraq
GARY LEUPP, CounterPunch

June 20, 2005

Some time between January and May 1999 presidential aspirant George W. Bush was talking with Mickey Herskowitz, a former Houston Chronicle sports columnist who'd been signed on to ghostwrite his autobiography. And the future president spoke unto Herskowitz, saying:

"One of the keys to being seen as a great leader is to be seen as a commander-in-chief. My father had all this political capital built up when he drove the Iraqis out of Kuwait and he wasted it. If I have a chance to invade---if I had that much capital, I'm not going to waste it. I'm going to get everything passed that I want to get passed and I'm going to have a successful presidency."

EXCLUSIVE dKOS INTERVIEW WITH Lt. Col. KAREN KWIATKOWSKI

by alysheba

Thu Jun 16th, 2005 at 11:41:33 CST

"The Downing Street Memo confirms what I witnessed and have been writing about... It all fits, and should lead to a deluge of related documents and witnesses." - Lt. Col Karen Kwiatkowski

As you know, Congressman John Conyers (D-MI) is holding a hearing today to investigate, for the first time at the Congressional level, the now-infamous "Downing Street Minutes." Rep. Conyers is expected to begin connecting the dots, to work backward from the undisputed authenticity of the DSM to paint a fuller picture of exactly how the push to "fix" the case for invading Iraq was carried out here in the United States.

Michael Smith 18 Sep 04 Expose illegal Iraq
'Failure is not an option, but it doesn't mean they will avoid it'
Michael Smith - The Telegraph - 18th September 2004
The Prime Minister knew the US President was determined to complete what one senior British official had already described as the unfinished business from his father's war against Saddam Hussein.

There was no way of stopping the Americans invading Iraq and they would expect Britain, their most loyal ally, to join them. If they didn't, the transatlantic relationship would be in tatters. But there were serious problems.

A Secret UK Eyes Only briefing paper was warning that there was no legal justification for war. So Mr Blair was advised that a strategy would have to be put in place which would provide a legal basis for war. It was also vital that the Prime Minister should be able to persuade the public that war was justified and, just as importantly, convince those among his backbench MPs who were becoming increasingly vocal in their opposition to another US-led war.

Thursday 26 May 2005, 7:01 Makka Time, 4:01 GMT

Goldsmith argued the Iraq war was legal without UN backing

Ex-UK minister wants Iraq war probe

Britain's top legal officer has dismissed as fantasy the notion that he was pressured by the government into ruling the Iraq war did not contravene international law.
In an interview published on Thursday, Attorney-General Lord Peter Goldsmith told the Daily Telegraph newspaper that "I stand by my conclusion that military action was lawful".
This is the first time Goldsmith has broken his silence on what was a major issue of controversy in the British general election earlier this month.

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/F99E7703-6556-451C-8391-F5E3C8ADD...
Friday 25 February 2005, 11:26 Makka Time, 8:26 GMT

Clare Short wants the House of Lords to set up a committee

UK lawyer warned Iraq war was illegal

Former British cabinet minister Clare Short is demanding a parliamentary investigation into Attorney General Peter Goldsmith's advice on war with Iraq.

Short said on Thursday night that Lord Goldsmith breached the ministerial code by submitting a summary of his advice to senior ministers.

Two of Prime Minister Tony Blair's key allies were involved in drafting a ministerial answer issued in the peer's name, according to a leak published in the Guardian newspaper.

Bush and Blair made secret pact for Iraq war

• Decision came nine days after 9/11
• Ex-ambassador reveals discussion

David Rose
Sunday April 4, 2004
The Observer

President George Bush first asked Tony Blair to support the removal of Saddam Hussein from power at a private White House dinner nine days after the terror attacks of 11 September, 2001.
According to Sir Christopher Meyer, the former British Ambassador to Washington, who was at the dinner, Blair told Bush he should not get distracted from the war on terror's initial goal - dealing with the Taliban and al-Qaeda in Afghanistan.

Richard Norton-Taylor
Monday June 20, 2005
The Guardian

A key Foreign Office diplomat responsible for liaising with UN inspectors says today that claims the government made about Iraq's weapons programme were "totally implausible".

He tells the Guardian: "I'd read the intelligence on WMD for four and a half years, and there's no way that it could sustain the case that the government was presenting. All of my colleagues knew that, too".

Carne Ross, who was a member of the British mission to the UN in New York during the run-up to the invasion, resigned from the FO last year, after giving evidence to the Butler inquiry.

NB: THIS TRANSCRIPT WAS TYPED FROM A TRANSCRIPTION UNIT RECORDING AND NOT COPIED FROM AN ORIGINAL SCRIPT: BECAUSE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF MIS-HEARING AND THE DIFFICULTY, IN SOME CASES OF IDENTIFYING INDIVIDUAL SPEAKERS, THE BBC CANNOT VOUCH FOR ITS ACCURACY.
........................................................................

PANORAMA

Iraq
Tony & the Truth
RECORDED FROM TRANSMISSION: BBC-1 DATE: 20:03:05
........................................................................

JOHN WARE: Two years ago tonight the Prime Minister was preparing to broadcast to the nation he was taking the country to war.

Published on Monday, June 20, 2005 by CommonDreams.org
by Thom Hartmann

Richard Nixon authorized the Watergate burglary and subsequent cover-up to advance his own political ambitions. Because Nixon's lies were done for the craven purpose of getting and holding political power, his lies - in the minds of the majority of the members of Congress - were elevated to the level of impeachable "high crimes and misdemeanors."
Bill Clinton had sex in the White House with Monica Lewinsky, but Congress concluded he'd lied about it to maintain political power. Another impeachable crime.

The real scandal of the Downing Street Memos, with the greatest potential to leave the Bush presidency in permanent disgrace, is their implication that lies may have been put forward to help Bush, Republicans, and Blair politically. If Bush lied to gain and keep political power, precedent suggests he and his collaborators in the administration may even be vulnerable to impeachment.

The "Decision to Invade Iraq" timeline on the Center for Cooperative
Research's website http://www.cooperativeresearch.org has been updated.
Several entries and categories have been added or updated that relate to
issues raised by the Downing Street Memo controversy. Categories that
relate to DSM:

* Key events related to DSM
* Decision to invade Iraq
* Politicization of intelligence
* Diversion of resources to Iraq
* Legal justification
* Planning for postwar Iraq
* Public statements about the decision to invade

We now have a chronology of events on the forced removal of Jose Bustani

The Washington Monthly

The wingnuts are getting desperate. Captain's Quarters, in a nostalgic attempt to recreate the glories of Rathergate, suggests that the Downing Street Memos aren't real. Why? Because Michael Smith, the reporter who got hold of them, had them retyped to protect his source and then returned the originals. Jonah Goldberg feverishly calls CQ's revelations a "must read."

Now, unlike the Killian memos that were at the center of Rathergate, there are quite a few principals in this case who either wrote or received these memos and therefore have absolute knowledge of whether or not they're genuine. The first memo, for example, was written by Matthew Rycroft and distributed at the time to David Manning, Geoff Hoon, Jack Straw, Peter Goldsmith, Richard Wilson, John Scarlett, Francis Richards, Richard Dearlove, Jonathan Powell, Sally Morgan, and Alastair Campbell. So far, not a single one of these people has claimed they're fake.

Julian Borger reports on the shadow rightwing intelligence network set up in Washington to second-guess the CIA and deliver a justification for toppling Saddam Hussein by force

Thursday July 17, 2003
The Guardian

As the CIA director, George Tenet, arrived at the Senate yesterday to give secret testimony on the Niger uranium affair, it was becoming increasingly clear in Washington that the scandal was only a small, well-documented symptom of a complete breakdown in US intelligence that helped steer America into war.
It represents the Bush administration's second catastrophic intelligence failure. But the CIA and FBI's inability to prevent the September 11 attacks was largely due to internal institutional weaknesses.

Scott Ritter, Aljazeera.net

Sunday 19 June 2005 - Americans, along with the rest of the world, are starting to wake up to the uncomfortable fact that President George Bush not only lied to them about the weapons of mass destruction in Iraq (the ostensible excuse for the March 2003 invasion and occupation of that country by US forces), but also about the very process that led to war.

On 16 October 2002, President Bush told the American people that "I have not ordered the use of force. I hope that the use of force will not become necessary."

We know now that this statement was itself a lie, that the president, by late August 2002, had, in fact, signed off on the 'execute' orders authorising the US military to begin active military operations inside Iraq, and that these orders were being implemented as early as September 2002, when the US Air Force, assisted by the British Royal Air Force, began expanding its bombardment of targets inside and outside the so-called no-fly zone in Iraq.

By Warren P. Strobel
KNIGHT RIDDER

WASHINGTON - Highly classified documents leaked in Britain appear to provide new evidence that President Bush and his national security team decided to invade Iraq much earlier than they have acknowledged and marched to war without dwelling on the potential perils.

The half-dozen memos and option papers, written by top aides to British Prime Minister Tony Blair, buttress previous on-the-record accounts that portray Bush and his advisers as predisposed to oust Saddam Hussein when they took office -- and determined to do it at all costs after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Watch her wiggle:

RAM

WMV

This is the forum to discuss Evidence relating to the Downing Street Minutes and similar documents, testimony etc. Please limit discussion to this topic, and discuss other topics under the other forums - Congress, Activism, Media, or General.

This is the forum to discuss evidence such as testimony and documents re: the Downing Street minutes and related evidence. Please limit discussion to the evidence topic, and discuss other topics under the other forums - Activism, Congress, Media, or General.

Statement Regarding the Importance of the Downing Street Memo
By Karen U. Kwiatkowski, Ph.D.

As a retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel who worked for Bill Luti, Deputy Under Secretary for Defense, Near East South Asia Directorate, Under Secretary for Policy, Office of the Secretary of Defense from May 2002 to March 2003, I am providing the following assessment for the Congress and Congressional investigators interested in determining the importance of the so-called Downing Street Memo dated 23 July 2002.

My background is described at www.militaryweek.com/kwiatkowski.shtml, which also provides links to my public statements regarding the fabrications aggressively and incautiously used by the administration to justify the invasion of Iraq to the Congress, the American people, and the United Nations during the summer, fall and winter of 2002. I am also a member of the National Security Whistleblowers Coalition (www.nswbc.org).

WRITTEN TESTIMONY BY
FORMER US DIPLOMAT AND US ARMY COLONEL
MARY A. (ANN) WRIGHT

ON THE IMPORTANCE OF THE DOWNING STREET MEMOS

FOR THE PUBLIC HEARINGS
CONDUCTED BY US CONGRESSMAN JOHN CONYERS, JR.
JUNE 16, 2005
WASHINGTON, DC

My name is Mary A. (Ann) Wright. I was one of three US diplomats who resigned from the federal government in 2003 in opposition to the war in Iraq. I served my country for over thirty-five years. I was a US diplomat for sixteen years and was the Deputy Chief of Mission in our embassies in Sierra Leone, Micronesia, Afghanistan (briefly) and Mongolia. I was a member of the small team that reopened the US Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan in December, 2001. I had also had assignments in Somalia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Grenada and Nicaragua. I received the State Department's Award for Heroism as Charge d'Affaires during the evacuation of Sierra Leone in 1997. I also was 29 years in the US Army/Army Reserves and participated in civil reconstruction projects after military operations in Grenada, Panama and Somalia. I attained the rank of Colonel during my military service.

Testimony of Ray McGovern
Steering Group, Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity

Introduction: (45-second video clip from 'Breaking the Silence' by John Pilger showing former Secretary of State Colin Powell and former National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice making the following remarks)

'Saddam Hussein has not developed any significant capability with respect to weapons of mass destruction. He is unable to project conventional power against his neighbors.' Colin Powell, Feb. 24, 2001

'We are able to keep his arms from him. His military forces have not been rebuilt.' Condoleezza Rice, July 29, 2001

Testimony of retired Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson, IV

Good morning. It is an honor to appear before this gathering to discuss the so-called 'Downing Street Memo' of July, 2002, and the assertion contained therein that in the Bush administration, 'the intelligence and the facts were being fixed around the policy' to remove Saddam through military action, justified by the conjunction of terrorism and WMD.

I served my country as a diplomat for almost twenty-three years, including tours in Niamey, Niger, and in Baghdad, Iraq as Deputy Chief of Mission and Charge d'Affaires, (acting Ambassador) during the Desert Shield phase of the first Gulf War. I was also appointed Ambassador to Gabon and Sao Tome and Principe by President George Herbert Walker Bush, and concluded my public service career as Special Assistant to President Clinton and Senior Director for African Affairs at the National Security Council. I am the recipient of numerous awards from the Department of State as well as the Distinguished Defense Service Award from the Department of Defense for my service as Political Adviser to the Commander in Chief of American Armed Forces in Europe during the deployment of American troops to Bosnia.

My Testimony for the Downing Street Memo Hearings
By Cindy Sheehan

Congressman Conyers and all, it is an honor to be here to testify about the effect that the revelations of the Downing Street Memo has had on me and my family. It is an honor that I wish never had to happen. I believe that not any of us should be gathered here today for this reason: as the result of an invasion/occupation that never should have occured.

My son, Spc Casey Austin Sheehan, was KIA in Sadr City Baghdad on 04/04/04. He was in Iraq for only 2 weeks before L. Paul Bremer inflamed the Shi'ite Militia into a rebellion which resulted in the deaths of Casey and 6 other brave soldiers who were tragically killed in an ambush. Bill Mitchell, the father of Sgt. Mike Mitchell who was one of the other soldiers killed that awful day is with us here.

This is a picture of Casey when he was 7 months old. It's an enlargement of a picture he carried in his wallet until the day he was killed. He loved this picture of himself. It was returned to us with his personal effects from Iraq. He always sucked on those two fingers. When he was born, he had a flat face from passing through the birth canal and we called him "Edward G" short for Edward G. Robinson. How many of you have seen your child in his/her premature coffin? It is a shocking and very painful sight. The most heartbreaking aspect of seeing Casey lying in his casket for me, was that his face was flat again because he had no muscle tone. He looked like he did when he was a baby laying in his bassinette. The most tragic irony is that if the Downing Street Memo proves to be true, Casey and thousands of people should still be alive.

STATEMENT BY JOHN C. BONIFAZ
CONSTITUTIONAL ATTORNEY AND CO-FOUNDER, AFTERDOWNINGSTREET.ORG

BEFORE THE CONGRESSIONAL FORUM
ON THE DOWNING STREET MINUTES
THURSDAY, JUNE 16, 2005

Congressman Conyers and Members of the Committee: Thank you for hosting this congressional forum today and thank you for your leadership.

My name is John Bonifaz. I am a Boston-based attorney specializing in constitutional litigation and the co-founder of AfterDowningStreet.org. AfterDowningStreet.org is a national coalition of veterans groups, peace groups, public interest organizations and ordinary citizens across this country calling for a formal congressional investigation into whether the President of the United States has committed impeachable offenses in connection with the Iraq war. We launched this campaign on May 26 of this year in response to the revelations which have emerged from the release of the Downing Street Minutes.

The recent release of the Downing Street Minutes provides new and compelling evidence that the President of the United States has been actively engaged in a conspiracy to deceive and mislead the United States Congress and the American people about the basis for going to war against Iraq. If true, such conduct constitutes a High Crime under Article II, Section 4 of the United States Constitution: 'The President, Vice President, and all civil officers of the United States shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.'

FROM: Greg Palast
TO: Rep. John Conyers

Chairman Conyers,

It's official: The Downing Street memos, a snooty New York Times "News Analysis" informs us, "are not the Dead Sea Scrolls." You are warned, Congressman, to ignore the clear evidence of official mendacity and bald-faced fibbing by our two nations' leaders because the cry for investigation came from the dark and dangerous world of "blogs" and "opponents" of Mr. Blair and Mr. Bush.

On May 5, "blog" site Buzzflash.com carried my story, IMPEACHMENT TIME: "FACTS WERE FIXED," bringing the London Times report of the Downing Street memo to US media which seemed to be suffering at the time from an attack of NADD -- "news attention deficit disorder."The memo, which contains the ill-making admission that "the intelligence and facts were being fixed" to match the Iraq-crazed fantasies of our President, is sufficient basis for a hearing toward impeachment of the Chief Executive. But to that we must add the other evidence and secret memos and documents still hidden from the American public.

More on Blair's Big Lie
By David Morrison

'The Prime Minister said that it would make a big difference politically and legally if Saddam refused to allow in the UN inspectors.'

The Prime Minister said this at a high-powered meeting on Iraq on 23 July 2002: he didn't want UN inspectors to enter Iraq again.

Could there be more conclusive proof that the peaceful disarmament of Iraq by inspection, as prescribed in Security Council resolutions, was the last thing on his mind?

* * * *

RawStory.com has published a timeline that should prove very helpful in understanding the significance of events from two or three years back as they become known to the public now.

HERE IT IS.

Below are past statements on the WMD issue from After Downing Street coalition member Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity

Feb. 5, 2003, VIPS Response to Powell Speech at UN

March 12, 2003, "Cooking Intelligence for War"

March 18, 2003, "Forgery, Hyperbole, Half-Truth: A Problem"

Published by Sunday Times of London, June 12, 2005

The paper, produced by the Cabinet Office on July 21, 2002, is incomplete because the last page is missing. The following is a transcript rather than the original document in order to protect the source.

PERSONAL SECRET UK EYES ONLY

IRAQ: CONDITIONS FOR MILITARY ACTION (A Note by Officials)

Summary

Ministers are invited to:

(1) Note the latest position on US military planning and timescales for possible action.

(2) Agree that the objective of any military action should be a stable and law-abiding Iraq, within present borders, co-operating with the international community, no longer posing a threat to its neighbours or international security, and abiding by its international obligations on WMD.