Home > Downing Street Memos Explained in Plain English
Wars and conflicts International USA UK
By Carmen Yarrusso
The Bush and Blair administrations have dismissed the leaked British memos (including the so-called Downing Street Memo) that provide details of what top British officials believed about the case for war in the months leading up to the Iraq invasion. Both administrations have characterized the memos as “nothing new” or “old news”.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Why primary-source evidence
1) They document beliefs of people working closely with Bush’s top war planners, with access to privileged US information, who were in a prime position to know the truth about the case for war.
2) They are secret internal documents intended for top British government eyes only, thus there is no reason for the players to be anything but candid with each other in the views expressed in these memos.
3) They are primary-source documentary evidence illuminating what top British officials, including Tony Blair, believed about the case for war in the months leading up to the invasion.
Why big news
It is now possible to accurately compare what top British officials believed about the case for war months before the invasion and what US and UK citizens were being told at the same time by Bush and Blair.
What is new, significant, and very incriminating for Bush and Blair is this: the memos conclusively document (many months before the invasion) that top British officials’ beliefs about the case for war were FUNDAMENTALLY DIFFERENT than the case being stressed and sold by Bush, Blair and mainstream media at the time.
Comparing the memos with what Bush and Blair were telling the public at the time provides strong primary-source evidence that the two men purposely and systematically deceived the American and British people in their case for war.
Why evidence of deceit by Bush and Blair
The memos prove people with intimate inside knowledge of US and British war plans believed:
1) The case for war was thin.
2) Bush and Blair had already decided to go to war and even had a rough timetable.
3) Bush and Blair had de facto started the war illegally with "spikes of activity" (doubled Iraq bombing) to provoke Saddam.
4) The British intelligence head (after just meeting with CIA head, George Tenet) believed war was inevitable and the US was shaping intelligence around policy instead of the other way around. The public was being told the opposite.
5) Getting UN weapons inspectors back into Iraq was a tactic to provoke war, not prevent war. Blair himself said: “it would make a big difference politically and legally if Saddam refused to allow in the inspectors”.
6) Getting UN inspectors back was not to avoid war, as Bush repeatedly assured Americans, but to make war possible and “legal”.
What the US war-planning partners believed about the case for war was clearly not the same case being sold by Bush and Blair. Ordinary citizens were being told Iraq definitely had WMD, only 45 minutes away, and we even knew where they were. While top British war planners were afraid Saddam might welcome UN inspectors and ruin their “legal” case for war, Bush and Blair were making their case for war with tales of mushroom clouds, mobile labs, aluminum tubes, and tiny imaginary vials of deadly poison.
We now know the case for war sold to the public by Bush and Blair was false. There were no WMD. With the memos, we now know the US war-planning partners (with intimate inside knowledge of US plans) had serious doubts about the alleged case for war and tried hard to contrive a legal case. Perhaps what’s most significant about the memos is they corroborate evidence presented before the war (glossed over by mainstream media) showing Bush and Blair were deliberately distorting and exaggerating their case and rushing to war.
With the New York Times and the Washington Post confessing complicity in selling the war on very thin evidence, it is beyond shameful they and other mainstream media are not demanding answers to primary-source evidence showing US and UK citizens were lied to about the case for war. But then, the memos are just more proof of media complicity, negligence, and lack of skepticism before the war, so it’s not surprising they get scant coverage.
As the bloody quagmire worsens in Iraq with no end to the carnage in sight, will our mainstream media find their lost ethics or continue to jeopardize democracy and fail us yet again?
Carmen Yarrusso
yarrusso@charter.net
Forum posts
27 June 2005, 06:13
Yes, well, I’ve added you to the long list of people who are analyzing and over analyzing these minutes and memos.
And let me tell you all once again that it will do no good. There is nothing to be gained by this.
What you and all the others who think otherwise are completely unaware [or at least as delusional] with regards to the hate that the White American citizenry have for Arabs and Muslims. It is pity. And it is pity that the Arabs and Muslims sit on top of all that oil.
If the oil was not there, then no White American leader would care to depose a person like Saddam Hussien. And the Whites would be blissfully carefree about it all.
But such as things are, the White American citizenry will approve and have approved this war.
When you come up with a solution to disolve this hatred that Whites Americans have for Arab and Muslims then you may succeed in cancelling this war and other wars — until then you are completely lost.
27 June 2005, 09:06
The Downing Street Memo is an official British document with the strongest evidence yet that Bush had already decided to invade Iraq, and planned to make up reasons if he could not find some real dangers to US and could not provoke Saddam into war. Bush fired the people who worked for him and told him that Iraq was not a threat to US. Bush wanted Americans and the United Nations to believe that Saddam was ready to attack the US with nuclear bombs and that mushroom bombs would destroy US cities unless Americans immediately attacked and invaded Iraq.
Many Americans opposed and demonstrated against waging war against Iraq. Others were bullying cowards who did not join the armies, but talked big and bragged they would enjoy watching the war on TV while drinking beer and eating popcorn. Others—including members of US Senate—believed lies from Bush that Iraq was ready to bomb USA. Bush also lied and said that Saddam helped with the 9/11 airplane attacks on New York City and Washington DC.
Everyone I know in US supported war against Taliban in Afghanistan because Bush claimed the Taliban had caused 9/11 and was hiding Osama Bin Laden. He said his soldiers would capture and kill Osama Bin Laden, but Osama was not captured and still is not captured.
Bush did tell Americans to respect all Muslims and not harm them, but he also pretend to be Holy Christian and come other pretend Christians used 9/11 trafedies only as an excuse to attacks or cahse down anyone who even looked Muslim. Bush pretends to be a Christian. He is a betrayer of all religions and is a friend of thieves.
Bush and his administration lied to justify the invasion and to gain approval from the USA Senate. President Bush, Vice President Cheney, Secretary of State Colin Powell, and Security Advisor Condoleeza Rice all claimed proof positive that Iraq had nuclear or other such weapons and that USA would be attacked and destroyed by Saddam unless it attacked Iraq quickly.
Bush wanted the oil and hired his friends in US oil industry to take control of Iraqi oil fields. Vice President wanted to make money for his own companies and gave them control of other Iraqi wealth.
Bush is friendly to corrupt Arab governments that have business with his family and donaters to his election. Osama Bin Laden is from Saudi Arabia, and almost all of the 9/11 suicide hijackers were Saudis, yet Bush failed to investigate Saudi Arabia. His family is friends with the House of Saud, and also with members from the Bin Laden family.
Blame only Bush and his lies for the war. He lies when he says he is man of religion. He is a liar and a war criminal who deserves prison. More and more Americans hate him and are ashamed he is the American leader.
Some Americans believe that Bush’s next plan is to pick fights with Iran and Syria so he can attack them too and get more control of oil fields. Oil riches are all he cares about, not about people killed or towns destroyed.
Bush supporters say that any Americans that ask questions or criticize Bush are traitors who hate America and supported crimes of Saddam. Not all of them, but some of these people are only pretend Christians who hate both Muslims and I think some people are liars and stupid bullies or innocent and want to believe their leader is a good man, but just do not understand they were maybe fooled into war that has killed many American sons and daughters and times more Muslims in Iraq. Bush now says that Iraqis defending themselves are all evil terrorists that should be killed or tortured. After people are killed he claims they were all terrorist suspects, even the women, and the children, and the women pregant with children.
I do not know what is whole truth, but more evidence is showing that Bush is at blame for starting the war that had nothing to do with punishing the people who helped plan the 9/11 attacks on Americans. The Downing Street Memos are important evidence to help learn more truth. Bush should be impeached and put in jail, but nothing can happen to him because his political party controls American right now and is afraid of angering Bush of losing its own power.
27 June 2005, 21:43
Well done!
"What is new, significant, and very incriminating for Bush and Blair is this: the memos conclusively document (many months before the invasion) that top British officials’ beliefs about the case for war were FUNDAMENTALLY DIFFERENT than the case being stressed and sold by Bush, Blair and mainstream media at the time.
Comparing the memos with what Bush and Blair were telling the public at the time provides strong primary-source evidence that the two men purposely and systematically deceived the American and British people in their case for war." !!!!!
if i had a vote, i’d vote for this to be on the front page of Bellaciao! (;
27 June 2005, 22:10
This is the second time I’ve hit your site when searching for important news items. Keep up the good work.
Where did you get http://bellaciao.org/en/IMG/jpg/cutecouple.jpg That’s disgusting man, can I post it on my blog?
http://okcitykid.bravejournal.com/