Memos, verified by NBC News

[shraby]

(snip)

But now, war critics have come up with seven more memos, verified by NBC News.

One, also from July 2002, says U.S. military planners had given "little thought" to postwar Iraq.

“The memos are startlingly clear that the British saw that there was inadequate planning, little planning for the aftermath,” says Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., who serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

And there's more. To prepare Blair for a meeting at the president's ranch in April 2002, a year before the war, four other British memos raised more questions.

(more)

<http://msnbc.msn.com/id/8207731/>

[Catch22Dem]

1. I get the feeling a high-level member of British gov't

Is "deep throating" the * admin. I SAY RIGHT ON!

[Triana]

10. GOOD! I expect the Brits are none too pleased about

having been dragged on this disasterous junket (except that despicable poodle bLiar). The rest undoubtedly regret it.

[FreedomAngel82]

17. Seems to be that way

Yea!

[bpilgrim]

20. i would suck tony's ... if it were he ;->

what better way to INFLITRATE the TEXAS WH :evilgrin:

peace

[Pachamama]

24. I get the feeling that many MP's & Members of Blair's Party are going to

be great in their testimony on Capital Hill! :woohoo:

[MichiganVote]

2. Me thinks Mr. Blair wants to stay in his office longer

[Pachamama]

25. Me thinks if Mr. Blair lies any more, he won't be in office much longer...

Memo to Blair - stop being Bush's Poodle...the British People don't want to be led by Bush's Poodle and you better stop defending the shrub...

[LightningFlash]

28. He's always done it. The evidence is undeniable...

He's lied now moreover for about 9+ years, the people are outraged.

http://www.rawstory.com/exclusives/muriel/path_of_war_timeline_613.htm

Impeach Tony Blair, and of course everyone else.

[Pirate Smile]

3. Short article. Here is the last paragraph.

"In fact, current and former diplomats tell NBC News they understood from the beginning the Bush policy to be that Saddam had to be removed — one way or the other. The only question was when and how."

Hopefully, NBC and MSNBC will start covering this now.

Andrea, get your ass to work.

[Spazito]

4. Thanks for this!

It is great that they have covered the memos while also confirming authentication of them.

These memos/minutes are NOT going away!

[Zeke]

7. SIGH...

An article here & there do not
equal the RW, cable, radio echo
machine.

If the echo machine talked about
the memos like they discussed
Clinton's dick, then maybe
something would happen.

Bush is running an illegal
war based on lies, and there's
virtually no coverage, no
investigation, nothing.

I'm on your side, but I'll
believe Bush is done when
I see it.

[Triana]

8. Exactly. I was v.surprised that MSNBC is covering this...

...AND the coverage is positive. W.O.W.

[Zeke]

13. SIGH #2

Yeah, a little coverage is great, but
where's the onslaught coverage of the memos
and war like the Travel Office got?

If Woodward and Bernstein are such great
journalists, then where are the great,
new scoop stories of the day, century?

Fuck! There's an illegal war going on,
and no one is covering it---no one!

[janx]

5. This conclusion is the strongest part:

In fact, current and former diplomats tell NBC News they understood from the beginning the Bush policy to be that Saddam had to be removed — one way or the other. The only question was when and how.

[bling bling]

9. And what's sick is the solution to "when and how" was 9/11.

MIHOP, LIHOP, or not, it's SICK.

[sunnystarr]

36. Personally I thought the conclusion was weak and wimpy ...

Again Andrea "cover Bush'S ass" Mitchell won't call a spade a spade and carefully constructs her sentences to avoid telling people the glaring truth.

Look at the conclusion:

"In fact, current and former diplomats tell NBC News they understood from the beginning the Bush policy to be that Saddam had to be removed — one way or the other. The only question was when and how."

Is it obvious to any reader that Bush's only policy was military action??? Is it obvious that with a military only option he LIED to Congress, the American people, and the world?? Is it obvious that he and Blair were busy planning the sell job ... the LIES ... ???

I'm infuriated. The whole thing reminds me of how easy it is to desensitize the masses. Back in the 60's and 70's the public was outraged and shocked when a child was abducted and raped/tortured. Today it's a ho-hum and just another day in America. Clinton lied about having sex and the nation and Congress was shocked ... Bush lies continually with the proven motive of misleading Congress and the American people and it's ho-hum, just another day in America.

Way to go Andrea, at least I have some small comfort knowing that you wake up to Greenspan's face every morning.

[Just Me]

6. Now that NBC has done this, CNN will have to follow,...

,...lest it be left in the dust.

Could this FINALLY be the breaking point?
For the sake of our children, let's hope so!!!

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

11. Whoa, fuck.

This is hugh111.

Really.

[NewJeffCT]

12. Will Ted Kennedy get an apology now?

He did point out that the war was cooked up in Crawford (I forget the exact quote)... but, then he got panned as being a looney.

[Trajan]

14. The Main Stream Media, which is EXTREMELY Right Wing ...

Will say EVERY Democrat who raises a fuss is 'crazy' ... Dont abide by them ...

[FreedomAngel82]

18. I would hope so

Kennedy deserves one. Wasn't he the first senator to call for a pull out in Iraq?

[Jack Rabbit]

15. It looks like we have all kinds of Downing Street documents now

They all tell the same basic story: That the decision was made to go to war against Iraq before all else; that the governments would explain the reasons to their citizens as soon as they figured out what it was themselves; that the planners (for want of a better word) of the war in the US didn't even know they were supposed to have an idea what to do next after the invasion; that going to the UN was seen initially by the neocons as undesirable and by the British only in terms of public relations.

In other words, the war was unjustified and they knew it was unjustified. It was colonial piracy, pure and simple. I've been saying that since about the time these documents were written.

[Spazito]

16. Kick

:kick:

[Zinfandel]

19. Let's not let (DSM) slip from the main stream media-Evaporate.. .

as everything has before it. Rove. NOT this!

Too important.

We have to continue to keep it a focus in the republican corporate media, as best we can.

We have to continue to force the focus and scrutiny!

Support AAR.

www.airamericaradio.com

[kster]

22. Yes, walk softly

RW news verifies the story, but doesn't have wall to wall coverage on TV ??????

[symbolman]

34. I'll be filming the events this week in Washington DC

and there is NO WAY that Takebackthemedia.com is going to let these bastards let this slip..

we'll have the goods in the camera, even if CSPAN doesn't show..

tho I'm getting the feeling that the MSM is going to show up, BUT.. only to SPIN like dervishes..

we'll have the real story on a DVD I'm creating..

[icehenge]

21. This was on NBC TV?

Not MSNBC but the nightly NBC news?:shrug: Really?

[Douglas Carpenter]

23. Don't Let Up on The Media

:bounce:


Just a reminder of some very, very important links:

To sign Congressman Conyers’ letter

http://www.johnconyers.campaignoffice.com


To put and keep pressure on the Mainstream Media:

http://www.downingstreetmemo.com/takeaction.html#awaken


http://www.afterdowningstreet.org


C-SPAN Ask--them to cover the Hearing on Thursday, 16 June:

[e-mail]


Peace
O8)

Here is my standard letter to the Media:


Dear Sir/Madam:

As you know, on May 1 of this year a document now commonly referred to as “|The Downing Street Memo” was released into the British Press. This document raises serious question about how the administration was handling intelligence related to Iraq and appears to suggest that the Bush Administration had already decided on war when publicly it was claiming that no such decision had been made. Now further documents have been released in the British media which cast even further doubts.

These documents and other documents suggest that the Bush administration was determined to “fix intelligence” around a predetermined policy. Some of these documents make it clear that the administration had no credible plan for dealing with the post-war occupation.

It is most disturbing that there has been a virtual media blackout regarding “The Downing Street Minutes” and other disturbing documents.

Even more disturbing is the absence in the America media of any credible in-depth follow-up discussion or coverage regarding strong, credible and independent evidence that the Bush Administration intentionally mislead the U.S. Congress, the media and the American people.

I do hope you will accept the responsibility to address this issue and provide serious investigative journalism into this matter.

Furthermore, on Thursday June 16, 2005, Rep. John Conyers, Jr., ranking minority member of the House Judiciary Committee, and other House members will hold a hearing to consider testimony concerning the Downing Street minutes and questions of possible fixing of prewar intelligence. I do hope you will be giving full coverage to these events.

Sincerely,

[snot]

26. KICK. Sometimes it takes thousands of good women and men;

sometimes it just takes one in the right time and place.

You never know when you might be the one.

[redacted]

27. Kick

[lala_rawraw]

29. Nice of them to finally step in and help

Verify, morons. I am livid, they could have saved everyone a great deal of work.

[Tesla]

30. Com'on Andrea!!!!!

Call Tweety and tell him to do a whole night on this!!!!

[lala_rawraw]

35. I am confused, per usual... who is Tweety? n/t

[Tesla]

40. Chris Matthews

Looks like Tweety !!

[katinmn]

31. You guys at RawStory have led the way on verifying and

laying out the facts.

I just saw the timeline -- it's great.

Thanks for all you're doing!

[lala_rawraw]

39. I have MUCH more to say about this

In this post ... my peace is said, back to work I go

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=3856023&mesg_id=3856023&page=

[salin]

32. still giving the cushion at the end

still pushing the "one way or another" Sadam needed to go, as if the "other ways" were being played out.

Does anyone remember that we tried to discredit the UNArms inspectors within their first week on the ground in Iraq? Anyone remember a MSNBC news editor type calling Will Pitt to ask if he were an expert (due to his book with Ritter) and would he be willing to come on the air to discuss the failures of the inspections... IN THE FIRST WEEK - and Will's response that a) he wasn't an expert, b) that everything he had been hearing from folks who were was that the inspections were going very well and c) if he were to speak to why they were working - rather than the opposite presumption would he be asked to speak - and the newspersons rather startled response (as if hadn't even thought of that)??? *Appologies to Will if I remember that incident incorrectly - and my paraphrase is inaccurate*

Does anyoe remember James Baker's letter in the NYT to bush asking him not to go the military route but the diplomatic route - and to set the bar TOO high for the iraqi's to meet so that there would then be an international reason to go in? (That was august or september of 2002, btw)

Andrea, Andrea - look at the memos and the content you just summarized - back in 2002 - before the second stop (and the scary Powell speech) to the UN - the Brits are worrying about post war planning .... not post diplomatic planning - this backsup the "they were planning for war" not just to get rid of Saddam with the questin of when or how - it was a question of WHEN to go to War - and whether or not they could get UN and international backing.

Stop giving them cover - especially when the material you are covering does not fit your closing line.

[Jackpine Radical]

33. Credits go to Rawstory for this. (nt)

[dave123williams]

37. Gee; I wonder if there are any American memos like Downing Street?

I find it somewhere between difficult and impossible to believe that there are no memos from anyone in our own Government that questioned the rationale for war, the lack of planning, the outright lies? Where's our State Dept leak?

[katinmn]

38. That's what Conyers was getting at when he started a

site for government whistleblowers.

Wonder if there have been any takers on staff at the State Dept., Pentagon, and other offices.

There has to be at least one!