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URGENT: House Investigation of Downing Street Minutes Nears Vote Deadline

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pbartch Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Aug-27-05 04:21 PM
Original message
URGENT: House Investigation of Downing Street Minutes Nears Vote Deadline
URGENT: House Investigation of Downing Street Minutes Nears Vote Deadline
http://www.uruknet.info/?p=m15099&l=i&size=1&hd=0

URGENT: House Investigation of Downing Street Minutes Nears Vote
Deadline

Rick Gagliano
August 26, 2005

Reported on Wednesday, August 24, by a meager number of media outlets
(a search on Google News produced all of ONE result, this, from
Political Affairs Magazine) Congressman Jim Leach (R) of Iowa has
become the first Republican to publicly announce that he would
cosponsor the bill (H. Res. 375) by representative Barbara Lee (D) of
California.

The bill, a resolution of inquiry, introduced by Lee in the House of
Representatives on July 20, 2005 and referred to the Committee on
International Relations on the same day, requests (quoting directly
from the bill), "the President and directing the Secretary of State
to transmit to the House of Representatives not later than 14 days
after the date of the adoption of this resolution all information in
the possession of the President and the Secretary of State relating
to communication with officials of the United Kingdom between January
1, 2002, and October 16, 2002, relating to the policy of the United
States with respect to Iraq."

The bill was originally co-sponsored by 25 other House members, all
Democrats. Since that time, another 28 have signed on as co-sponsors,
including Leach, who has previously been critical of the Bush
administration's policies on the War in Iraq.

The U. S. House of Representatives Committee on International
Relations is comprised of 50 members - 23 Democrats and 27
Republicans. As of this writing, 10 Democrat members of the committee
have publicly signed on as co-sponsors. A majority of 26 committee
members is needed for passage.

A vote on the resolution must take place on or before September 16.

Including Leach with all 23 Democrats on the committee (assuming that
the vote will proceed along party lines), the total now seemingly in
favor of passage is 24. Representative Ron Paul (R), the libertarian
firebrand from Texas, is widely assumed to be leaning toward co-
sponsorship as well, leaving the margin at just one more Republican
vote for passage.

The bill also has the particular status of a privileged resolution,
meaning that if the committee cannot secure the required votes for
passage, Congresswoman Lee has the right to seek a full House vote.

Of course, with the Republican majority in the House, passage of the
resolution on that basis appears slim.

Noting both how close the committee vote may be and the importance of
having the administration disclose vital pre-war documents, it is
incumbent on the American public, and especially those who reside in
the districts represented by members of the International Relations
Committee, to contact their reps and urge their vote in favor of H.
Res. 375.

<snip>

-----> The reality of the situation is stark: if the committee passes the resolution of inquiry, the administration would be required to reveal any and all information and communications with the UK relating to the lead-up to the war in Iraq, which could lead to more information damaging to the Bush administration and eventually focus efforts toward impeachment.

Failure of the administration to release documents could lead to
subpoenas from the committee or charges of contempt of Congress.

The passage of this bill should therefore be of particular interest
to anti-war activists, as an effective means to end the war in Iraq
would be to depose the administration that sent us there in the first
place.

Charges that President Bush, Vice President Cheney and then-Secretary
of State Colin Powell and their staffs purposely misled Congress, the
United Nations and the American public have been levied against them
since the release of the Downing Street Minutes, mostly by internet
bloggers and political web sites, while the complacent - and some say
complicit - mainstream press in America has not seen fit to pursue
the story nor investigate further.

The Downing Street Minutes (or Memo, as it has been called), refers
to a document leaked to the Sunday Times of London and published on
May 1 and May 29, 2005. The "minutes," dated July 23, 2002, are a
classified document covering a meeting between UK Prime Minister Tony
Blair, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and others, ostensibly, Richard
Dearlove, then head of the British intelligence service, who alleged
that the Bush administration had already decided on going to war in
Iraq.

According to the minutes, Dearlove stated, "military action was now
seen as inevitable. Bush wanted to remove Saddam through military
action, justified by the conjunction of terrorism and WMD. But the
intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy."

After the revelations of the Downing Street Minutes, Democrat
Congressman John Conyers of Michigan sent a letter - co-signed by 89
other House Members - to the President, seeking information about the
administration's policies concerning Iraq at the time and also asking
whether anyone in the Bush administration questioned the authenticity
of the leaked document.

To date, nobody from the administration has responded to Conyers nor
denied the authenticity of the document.

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

Following are links to articles and web sites which relate to this
issue now before Congress, plus a listing of all members of the House
Committee on International Relations.

Article on Rep. Jim Leach cosponsoring resolution of inquiry:
http://www.politicalaffairs.net/article/articleview/1719/1/32/

The text of the Resolution, H. Res. 375, a list of current co-
sponsors, and what you can do to help:
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/902

Another link to the full text of H. Res. 375:
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=hr109-375
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rumpel Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Aug-27-05 05:07 PM
Response to Original message
1. Kick. This is very important! Thanks
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BobMorr Donating Member (326 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Aug-27-05 06:40 PM
Response to Reply #1
2. keep this kicked!
Don't let this fade. Call your media!!
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ChiciB1 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Aug-27-05 06:53 PM
Response to Original message
3. Thanks For This Info... Lots Of Work... But GREAT Job!
We need to keep this fire burning!
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WePurrsevere Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Aug-27-05 07:10 PM
Response to Original message
4. Thank you for the heads up...
here's a :kick: and a nom
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ray of light Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Aug-27-05 07:14 PM
Response to Original message
5. kicked and nominated!
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BlueIris Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Aug-27-05 07:19 PM
Response to Original message
6. Kick.
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bnr65432 Donating Member (133 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Aug-27-05 07:42 PM
Response to Original message
7. the bill seems like it wont actually force bush to do anything
"the President and directing the Secretary of State
to transmit to the House of Representatives not later than 14 days
after the date of the adoption of this resolution all information in
the possession of the President and the Secretary of State relating
to communication with officials of the United Kingdom between January
1, 2002, and October 16, 2002, relating to the policy of the United
States with respect to Iraq."
bush wouldnt give up any harmful info
it gets the issue publicity and shows some people actually care though so
it is good
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petgoat Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Aug-27-05 07:53 PM
Response to Original message
8. Here's a list of the members of the House Int'l Rel'ns Committee
Henry J. Hyde, Chairman
Illinois, 6th District


Gary L. Ackerman
New York, 5th District

Shelley Berkley
Nevada, 1st District

Howard L. Berman
California, 28th District

Earl Blumenauer
Oregon, 3rd District

John Boozman
Arkansas, 3rd District

Sherrod Brown
Ohio, 13th District

Dan Burton
Indiana, 5th District

J. Gresham Barrett
South Carolina, 3rd District

Dennis A. Cardoza
California, 18th District

Steve Chabot
Ohio, 1st District

Ben Chandler
Kentucky, 6th District

Joseph Crowley
New York, 7th District

William D. Delahunt
Massachusetts, 10th District

Eni F. H. Faleomavaega
American Samoa

Elton Gallegly
California, 24th District

Katherine Harris
Florida, 13th District

Darrell Issa
California, 49th Distric

Peter T. King
New York, 3rd District

James A. Leach
Iowa, 2nd District

Tom Lantos
California, 12th District

Barbara Lee
California, 9th District

Connie Mack
Florida, 14th District

Thaddeus G. McCotter
Michigan, 11th District

Michael McCaul
Texas, 10th District

Betty McCollum
Minnesota, 4th District

Gregory W. Meeks
New York, 6th District

Robert Menendez
New Jersey, 13th District

Grace F. Napolitano
California, 38th District

Ron Paul
Texas, 14th District

Donald M. Payne
New Jersey, 10th District

Mike Pence
Indiana, 6th District

Ted Poe
Texas, 2nd District

Dana Rohrabacher
California, 46th District

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
Florida, 18th District

Edward R. Royce
California, 40th District


Adam B. Schiff
California, 29th District

Adam Smith
Washington, 9th District

Brad Sherman
California, 27th District

Christopher H. Smith,
Vice Chairman
New Jersey, 4th District

Thomas G. Tancredo
Colorado, 6th District


Diane E. Watson
California, 33rd District

Jerry Weller
Illinois, 11th District

Joe Wilson
South Carolina, 2nd District

Robert Wexler
Florida, 19th District
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rateyes Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Aug-27-05 09:06 PM
Response to Reply #8
12. Thanks...
and, here's a link to the list, with further links to each member's individual homepage, where one can find contact info:

http://wwwc.house.gov/international_relations/fullmem.htm
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Independent_Liberal Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Aug-27-05 08:12 PM
Response to Original message
9. Kick!
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bribri16 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Aug-27-05 08:12 PM
Response to Original message
10. OK, we need to get some flyers printed and distributed on this
Do it any way you can. I'm going to ask the folks at www.justicefornone to add this to their Handbill selection. While Cindy has the attention of the world, we need to take advantage of every opportunity to be our own media and help her out.

Kicked and recommended!
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oxbow Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Aug-27-05 08:49 PM
Response to Original message
11. This should DEFINITELY be the next DU action
I can't even say how much time, work and energy was spent by people on DU bringing the DS minutes into the media spotlight. In a very real way, this is our baby, and we have to make sure that we get the 26 members needed to get this ball rolling.

Come on, Admins! If ever there was an issue that we need to work together on, THIS IS IT.
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snot Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Aug-27-05 10:18 PM
Response to Original message
13. Suggestion:
Edited on Sat Aug-27-05 10:19 PM by snot
If you re-post this, put this near top:

The text of the Resolution, H. Res. 375, a list of current co-
sponsors, and WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP:
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/902

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BlueIris Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Aug-27-05 11:48 PM
Response to Original message
14. Kick.
Let's keep it up, Downing Streeters.
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WePurrsevere Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Aug-28-05 05:25 AM
Response to Original message
15. An early morning...
:kick:


:hangover:
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laylah Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Aug-28-05 06:09 AM
Response to Original message
16. Kick! n/t
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BlueIris Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Aug-28-05 07:08 AM
Response to Original message
17. One...more...kick.
Now back to bed. Need sleepy.
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BlueIris Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Aug-28-05 04:40 PM
Response to Original message
18. Kick.
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calimary Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Aug-28-05 04:59 PM
Response to Original message
19. KICK! Let's NOT forget this, guys.
Don't let this issue fall through the cracks!!!

Anybody called Jim Leach to thank him?
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