[Carlhole]

http://www.tomdispatch.com/index.mhtml?emx=x&pid=2486

In its June 9 issue (on sale this week), the New York Review of Books will be the first American print publication to publish the full British "smoking gun" document, the secret memorandum of the minutes of a meeting of Tony Blair's top advisors in July 2002, eight months before the Iraq War commenced. Leaked to the London Sunday Times, which first published it on May 1, the memo offers irrefutable proof of the way in which the Bush administration made its decision to invade Iraq -- without significant consultation, reasonable intelligence on Iraq, or any desire to explore ways to avoid war -- and well before seeking a Congressional or United Nations mandate of any sort.

By July, as the British officials reported, the decision to invade was already in the bag. The only real questions -- other than those involving war planning -- were how to organize the intelligence in such a way as to promote the war to come and how to finesse Congress (and the UN). While people often speak of the "road to war," in the case of the invasion of Iraq, as this document makes clear, a more accurate phrase might be "the bum's rush to war." The Review is also publishing an accompanying piece on the secret memo and what to make of it by their regular Iraq correspondent, Mark Danner, and its editors have been kind enough to allow Tomdispatch to distribute the piece early on-line.

That the Review is the first publication here to print the document is not only an honorable (and important) act, but a measure of the failure of major American papers to offer attention where it is clearly due. After all, whole government investigations have, in the past, gone in search of "smoking guns." In fact, the Bush administration spent much time searching fruitlessly for its own "smoking gun" of WMD in Iraq -- and this process was considered of front-page importance in our major papers and on the TV news. That a "smoking gun" document about the nature of the war in the making has appeared in this fashion, not in Kyrgyzstan but in England; that no one in the British or American governments has even bothered to dispute its provenance or accuracy; and that, with a few honorable exceptions like columnist Molly Ivins, that gun was allowed to lie on the ground smoking for days, hardly commented upon (except on the political internet, of course), tells us much about our present moment. Should you want to consider the miserable coverage in this country, check out FAIR's commentary on the matter. ...

-------------------------------------------
...and then 911 occurred, thank God, and then we invaded Afghanistan and failed to catch a towelhead in a cave who did the whole unbelievable thing and then we invaded Iraq 'cause ...well, we just invaded, OK? As long as the dumbass American public thinks Saddam helped (after all, he wears a towel on his head too sometimes). Yay!! Mission accomplished.

Where is our press?!!

[Colorado-Valley]

The American press -- or as they like to call themselves, the media -- has been threatened, cowed and frightened into almost total compliance.

This memo is a hundred times bigger than Watergate, and should be the subject of Congressional investigations and criminal trials for all those concerned. It is a federal offense to mislead the U.S. Congress.

Will these people in the White House ever be put on trial -- or will they skate after conducting one of the biggest criminal conspiracies in history?

[julianj]

Incidentally, it also reveals that British Foreign minister Jack Straw is a war criminal for planning and implementing an illegal war; we hanged people at Nuremberg for just this sort of thing.

[OilsNotWell]

I think Americans have no idea how COMPROMISED the 4th Estate really is....

There are many, quite literally, as CIA assets I hear...

Others are subtlely and non-so-subtlely threatened, blackmailed....even if not, the message is quite clearly made that investigative journalism is quite dead. Its propaganda, plain and simple (but quite sophisticated at that!)

The concentration of news power is quite extraordinary...

When will people wake up to the fact that the MSM has not only been derelict in its duty, but complicit? (A: Not likely) Expecting the corporatist media to all of a sudden start to cover this when doing so would be admitting their compicity is like expecting someone to cut their own throat. And if they do start reporting on this, it will only be for selfish interests, such as if there's been a decision by the real PTB to take down an administration that had become a liability. Just like Nixon.

Wake up each morning and say to yourself: "There has been a coup." Then things make a lot more sense.

[tpm]

[quote="OilsNotWell"]I think Americans have no idea how COMPROMISED the 4th Estate really is....

Do they want to know?

[arretium]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('tpm', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('OilsNotWell', 'I') think Americans have no idea how COMPROMISED the 4th Estate really is....

[SidneyTawl]

Last I heard the democrates have delivered a letter to the White House and asked for replies to the questions brought up by this memo.

So far no word from the White House.

I imagine the democrates are waiting for a response before taking it 'to the media".

If this has legs then they will be patient before using it. IMO

[Free]

From the outside it looks like the US-big media are just a joke. Consider the Newsweek scandal - suddenly the report about the Quran-flushing is "possibly wrong"???? Although similar incidents have been confirmed by other sources in the past??? Pleeeeeaaaase, cut the crap! You can be sure there has been a LOT of political pressure....

But European media are not better, in that they mostly fail to call the US media on their bullshit. They just say "alledgedly the Newsweek report is not true" - no comment. Although you can read between the lines that they don't believe this, they don't dare to just say it openly, for fear of being branded as "anti-american" which is almost regarded the same "no-no" as "anti-semitic" by some.

Oh, and there is no coverage of the Iraq-memo here also - although I would say that is because nobody is interested. Mainstream opinion in Europe even BEFORE the war was anyway that the whole WMD-story is just a pretext.

[bobcousins]

Does this sort of thing really change anything, I wonder?

It was obvious to me at the time, as well as to those who opposed the war, that the WMD thing was a stitch up. The proponents say so what, it needed doing. I don't think anyone is waiting to see evidence in order to make up their mind.

I think it illustrates the fallacy that if only people knew the truth, they would act correctly. Truth rarely determines opinion; opinion selects what to believe. Men are powerless against the great tide of geopolitical forces, as the apple is to resist gravity.

I think there is a good reason why people are quick to make up their mind, and then look for reasons to support their position.

[arretium]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('bobcousins', 'D')oes this sort of thing really change anything, I wonder?

It was obvious to me at the time, as well as to those who opposed the war, that the WMD thing was a stitch up. The proponents say so what, it needed doing. I don't think anyone is waiting to see evidence in order to make up their mind.

I think it illustrates the fallacy that if only people knew the truth, they would act correctly. Truth rarely determines opinion; opinion selects what to believe. Men are powerless against the great tide of geopolitical forces, as the apple is to resist gravity.

I think there is a good reason why people are quick to make up their mind, and then look for reasons to support their position.

[SidneyTawl]

Arretium,

A knee jerk reaction will just muddy the waters,

Protocol calls for the Demo's to "question the President". This is a memo and there has to be a direct link to make this into something.

yes, I agree it is very important.

If this has legs, a strategy has/will be developed. You can't just go running around asking for congressional investigations and not have your facts straight.

Not only will the demo's have to be involved, it will take Republicans also.

Considering the atmosphere on the hill between the parties lots of backroom talk has to happen before anyone goes runnning around challenging the President and his truthfullness and that of his administration.

GW does have the Bully Pulpit, and that is very important.

Get a response from the questions the Dems sent. Then you have to react to them. Doing it without a response is inviting disaster and loss of credibility.

GW doesn't respond (keeps a delaying tactic up), then it will be another PR tactic that has to be used.

You have to convince the people that voted for him that he doesn't deserve the job (or no confidence in his admin), and he is a lame duck with only one leg and its bad. If its true and they prove it after listening to both sides (including any real/(or made up) mitigating circumstances), then a vote will decide his fate.

The watergate break-in was a small story and it grew as more info was gathered. Then it was huge undertaking and a years worth of work to bring forward an investigation.

This is not "Law and Order" and "the show" is real, and reality takes its own time.

edited for spelling

[SidneyTawl]

Tonight on Keith Olbermans show there was a segment on this memo.

He had a congresswoman on from New York I believe. ( Never saw a graphic)

It was Keith's number three story.

I give this guy credit, he has carried and tried to send the message on several stories.

This was the opening statement I have seen on any National Show. Might have missed it somewhere else.

The Pres has not responded to the the questions and so the question has/will be addressed in the media to get a response.

Lets see if someone asks about it at the next press briefing.

[arretium]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('SidneyTawl', 'A')rretium,

A knee jerk reaction will just muddy the waters,

Protocol calls for the Demo's to "question the President". This is a memo and there has to be a direct link to make this into something.

yes, I agree it is very important.

If this has legs, a strategy has/will be developed. You can't just go running around asking for congressional investigations and not have your facts straight.

Not only will the demo's have to be involved, it will take Republicans also.

Considering the atmosphere on the hill between the parties lots of backroom talk has to happen before anyone goes runnning around challenging the President and his truthfullness and that of his administration.

GW does have the Bully Pulpit, and that is very important.

Get a response from the questions the Dems sent. Then you have to react to them. Doing it without a response is inviting disaster and loss of credibility.

GW doesn't respond (keeps a delaying tactic up), then it will be another PR tactic that has to be used.

You have to convince the people that voted for him that he doesn't deserve the job (or no confidence in his admin), and he is a lame duck with only one leg and its bad. If its true and they prove it after listening to both sides (including any real/(or made up) mitigating circumstances), then a vote will decide his fate.

The watergate break-in was a small story and it grew as more info was gathered. Then it was huge undertaking and a years worth of work to bring forward an investigation.

This is not "Law and Order" and "the show" is real, and reality takes its own time.

edited for spelling

[FatherOfTwo]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('arretium', '
')However I must admit my patience on this issue and the Democrats in general is wearing thin.