Home > Tony Blair Confirms Authenticity of Downing Street Memo-51 Congressmembers (...)

Tony Blair Confirms Authenticity of Downing Street Memo-51 Congressmembers File FOIA Request

by Open-Publishing - Friday 1 July 2005
3 comments

Wars and conflicts International Governments USA UK

SAN STEFFAN / WESTMINSTER
DATGANIAD I’R WASG PLAID CYMRU THE PARTY OF WALES PRESS RELEASE
Wednesday 29 June 2005 - for immediate release

The Prime Minister has confirmed the authenticity of a Downing Street memo in which Sir Richard Dearlove, the former head of MI6, tells Mr Blair that the Bush administration was "fixing" the intelligence and facts about Saddam Hussein’s regime to back up a decision that had been taken to invade Iraq as early as July 2002.

The Downing Street memo which was leaked to the Sunday Times newspaper in May 2005 has become a critical issue in the US. Senators Kennedy and Kerry have joined the escalating debate by writing to the President asking whether or not the memo was authentic and accurate. Downing Street has previously refused to comment on the memo’s authenticity, but challenged for the first time on the floor of the House of Commons the Prime Minister has finally confirmed its authenticity.

Speaking after Prime Minister’s Questions, Adam Price MP said:

"The confirmation that the memo is authentic will cause ripples throughout the United States where 122 Members of the US Congress have written to the President asking if Sir Richard Dearlove’s statement in the memo, that ’the intelligence and the facts are being fixed around the policy’ is correct.

"I challenged the Prime Minister on whether Sir Richard Dearlove was a reliable intelligence source, and if so, could he confirm whether his statement was an accurate assessment of the Bush administration’s intentions and actions. In his answer, the Prime Minister refuses to distance himself from the assessment made by the former head of MI6 and simply goes on to say resolution 1441 changed the position. I fail to see how this is relevant to my question.

"Today is a significant step forward in establishing the truth about the US and UK’s policy to invade Iraq. However difficult it proves to extract information about the war from the government, the Prime Minister must be held to account by Parliament, and the President must be held to account by Congress."

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/590

Representative John Conyers, Jr., (D-MI) House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member, along with 51 other Members today submitted a broad and comprehensive FOIA request to the White House, the Department of Defense, and the Department of State seeking any and all documents and materials concerning the Downing Street Minutes and the lead up to the Iraq war, RAW STORY has learned.

In addition, the Members also formally requested that the House Committees on Judiciary, Armed Services, International Relations, and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence commence hearings on the Downing Street Minutes.

"This is the next stage of the Downing Street investigation and brings the investigation to a new more and more aggressive stage," one Democratic Judiciary aide said.

Forum posts

  • As illegal as the actions of the Prime Minister and President were by lying, what could be the consequences? Will we all stew in our own juices, or will real change come from this?

    I cannot imagine a scenario where the people, as weary as they are with the lies of the Bush Administration will rie up and call for impeachment. I cannot imagine where the Republican controlled government would allow it to come to a vote. Neither can I imagine a scenario where this illegal government will step down.

    The Supreme Court had no authority to appoint Bush to the Presidency and Kerry had no authority to stand back and allow it to happen, in the name of the people. Not only are all of Bush’s actions illegal from the standpoint of international law, his actions on behalf of the people of the US are illegal, because he has no legal standing to be in that position.

    On top of that, there have been many efforts, in the main stream press ongoing since his illegal appointment that have shown not only is this government willing to give the spoils of office to their criminal cronies, but that it is also willing and working to take down the Constitution.

    What more do the people need?

    Gary R. Cook

    • We are apparently reacting to what may be only opinions at this point ... not dealing with facts. Let’s hope facts will emerge. so that informed judgments can be made. Ranting and raving over closed issues may help to vent steam, but the resulting clouds of vapor obscures the issues we now face.

      As I see it, all out war looms betweens the "haves" and "have-nots". Those who perceive themselves to be have-nots are gaining in number faster than those who perceive themselves to be haves. It is time to truly seek to help the poor become competitive haves; or else, seeing themselves to be vastly superior in number, they will follow some charismatic firebrand who screams, "Might makes Right!" and immerse this sorry old world in an anarchic fury that will devastate us all.

      P. Pokenose

  • Well, it’s official the Puppetmasters want that bungling duo bush & blair out, probably not for noble reasons. these imbeciles and their henchpeople are way over their screwup tolerance quota-now they are USELESS to the PTB.