Pre1960s nemo wilberforce humphrey sybil larry freya. But in context, media behavior makes perfect sense. The secret downing street memo the original publication on may 1st, 2005 of the leaked memo. Letter from congress regarding downing street memo. The six documents are available in pdf form from the think progress web site. It dates from july 23, 2002, just as the bush administration was starting to make a case for invading iraq but before it had officially declared its intention to do so. Circling the wagonscontaining the downing street memo storys impact in america. Downing steet memo john bonifaz traprock peace center. The downing street memo occasionally dsm, or the downing street minutes, sometimes described by critics of the iraq war as the smoking gun memo, 1 is the note of a secret 23 july 2002, meeting of senior british labour government, defence and intelligence figures discussing the buildup to the war, which included direct reference to classified united states policy of the. The first internal paper to earn the tag downing street memo was published in the sunday times of london last month. The downing street memos have become the subject of immense controversy. It was october 16, 2002, and the united states congress had just voted to authorize the president to go to war against iraq. The downing street memo sometimes described by critics of the iraq.
Wright mills 1959 i believe scholars have an obligation to write their way into their historical moments. We promote accountability and citizen participation in decisions on peace and security, social justice and international law. Jul 23, 2002 the downing street memo or the downing street minutes, sometimes described by critics of the iraq war as the smoking gun memo, is the note of a 23 july 2002 secret meeting citation needed of senior british government, defence and intelligence figures discussing the buildup to the war, which included direct reference to classified united states policy of the time. Jun 17, 2005 justifying the silence on downing street memos fair one of the features of the newfound media interest in the downing street memo is a profound defensiveness, as reporters scramble to explain why it received so little attention in the u. Global policy forum is a policy watchdog that follows the work of the united nations. The downing street memo occasionally dsm, or the downing street minutes, sometimes described by critics of the iraq war as the smoking gun memo, 1 is the note of a secret 23 july 2002 meeting of senior united kingdom labour government, defence and intelligence figures discussing the buildup to the war, which included direct reference to classified united states. Photocopy of a memo written by downing street foreign policy aide matthew rycroft in july 2002 and addressed to david manning, then foreign policy advisor to tony blair who appointed him ambassador to the us in 2003.
The downing street memo clearly indicates, however, that facts and intelligence were being fixed around the policy. The downing street memo seems like one of the stranger episodes in media historywith major media virtually ignoring dramatic new evidence in a major story, and then inventing peculiar excuses for why they hadnt covered it. Secret and strictly personal uk eyes only david manning from. Jul 23, 2002 the above statement was made by sir richard dearlove, then head of mi6, at a meeting in downing street of tony blairs war cabinet on 23 july 2002. A leaked british government memo reveals that bush did not believe iraq was a serious threat, intelligence was fixed to sell the war to the american public, and bushs public assurances of war as a last resort were at odds with their privately stated intentions. Downing street memos officially prove illegality iraq war. On may 30, 2005, in a blogswarm, a massive blog alliance formed. The swarm was fueled by the leak of a secret british memo known as the downing street memo.
Bill keller remembers the downing street memos sort of the downing street shuffle. Downing street memo blog this blog is dedicated to exploring ways to publicize the contents of the downing street memo of june 23, 2002 which revealed that the bush and blair administrations fixed the facts to fit the policy to fool the american and british people into a war of aggression against iraq. United kingdom, iraq, historical documents the downing street memo occasionally dsm, sometimes described by critics of the iraq war as the smoking gun memo, contains an overview of a secret 23 july 2002 meeting among united kingdom labour government, defence and intelligence figures, discussing the buildup to the warincluding direct reference to classified united. Bush president of the united states of america the white house. The secret downing street memo, july 23, 2002 sourcewatch. Another group of british memos, including the socalled downing street memo written in july 2002, showed that some senior british officials had been concerned that the united states was determined. Were working with a new organization, to push this issue to the forefront in congress and in the media. It shows that massive military action was contemplated 89 months prior to the march 2003 invasion. Not everyone is convinced of their relevance or even of their validity. Downing street memo united kingdomunited states history. The downing street memo occasionally dsm, or the downing street minutes, sometimes described by critics of the iraq war as the smoking gun memo, 1 is the note of a secret 23 july 2002 meeting of senior united kingdom labour government, defence and intelligence figures discussing the buildup to the war, which included direct reference to classified united states policy of the time.
Leftclick thumbnails for enlargements javascript should be enabled, but please allow all images to load before doing so, or some may not display. The secret downing street memo national security archive. Secret downing street memo leaked wikinews, the free. The documents, which came to be known as the downing street memo, reported on a perceptible shift in the attitude in washington, saying that military action was now seen as inevitable. Bush was set on path to war, memo by british adviser says don van natta jr. It was issued to journalists on 3 february 2003 by alastair campbell, blairs director of communications and strategy, and. Circling the wagonscontaining the downing street memo storys impact in america article pdf available in journal of communication inquiry 3. The downing street memo or the downing street minutes, sometimes described by critics of the iraq war as the smoking gun memo, is the note of a 23 july 2002 secret meeting of senior british government, defence and intelligence figures discussing the buildup to the war, which included direct reference to classified united states policy of the. The document now known as the downing street memo is a summary of a meeting between richard dearlove, the head of british intelligence, and senior bush administration officials. I no longer believe that reddit can enrich my life. Defence secretary, foreign secretary, attorneygeneral, sir richard wilson, john scarlett, francis rich. Bush wanted to remove saddam, through military action, justified by the conjunction of ter rorism and wmd. Request pdf the secret downing street memo and the politics of truth. The document, known popularly as the downing street memo, is a document purporting to contain the minutes taken during a meeting among united kingdom government and political figures on july 23.
This version of the pdf file refers directly to the downing street minutesmemo issue. Downing street memo wikisource, the free online library. Secret british memos on iraq war report commonwealth institute. Circling the wagonscontaining the downing street memo. People can find better news, entertainment, and discussion elsewhere. The secret downing street memo, july 23, 2002, also known as the smoking gun memo regarding u. Jun 16, 2005 nearly three years after it was written, the downing street memo on prewar intelligence on iraq is spotlighted in the u. Downing street memo wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The secret downing street memo, the one percent doctrine, and.
Another look at the downing street memos, which seem to indicate president bush had decided to invade iraq in early 2002 and that intelligence was being fixed around the policy. Purrnfur uk downing street cats larry, humphrey, sybil. Downing street memos and revenge of informed comment. Secret downing street memo leaked wikinews, the free news. The downing street memo occasionally dsm, or the downing street minutes, sometimes described by critics of the iraq war as the smoking gun memo, 1 is the note of a secret 23 july 2002, meeting of senior british labour government, defence and intelligence figures discussing the buildup to the war, which included direct reference to classified united states policy of the time. This memo summarized a july 23, 2002, meeting of blair and top advisers. Criticism of the mainstream media has come not only from the left. Analysis and text of the downing street memo stony brook. These are just a few examples of how metadata contained in a digital file could compromise your case. But the intelligence and facts were being fixed around. Basing in diego garcia and cyprus, plus maritime and air assets.
Call for an inquiry into the downing street minutes. House judiciary pdf archive 10832 letter from congress regarding downing street memo congress of the united states of america 2005 may 5, 2005. Most commentators on the smith story have missed his open acknowledgment of the role of the blogging world in. Most commentators on the smith story have missed his open acknowledgment of the role of the blogging world in turning the downing street. A further document, a 21 july 2002, cabinet office. An unbelievable mess memo from john sawers to 10 downing street. Washington cnn nearly three years after it was written, the downing street memo on prewar intelligence on iraq is spotlighted in. Bush was set on path towar, british memo says the new. A coalition of citizen groups running the gamut of social. Basing in san diego and cyprus, plus a land contribution of up to 40,000 perhaps with a discrete role in northern iraq entering from turkey, tying down 2 iraqi divisions.
Downing street memo how is downing street memo abbreviated. Justifying the silence on downing street memos fair. Well the downing street memo isnt mentioned in the resolution the resolution is much broader, but the resolution was a direct consequence of the downing street memo and related documents being released, and the downing street memo and related documents were released in part to support the civil case in europe challenging the legality of the war. Jun 21, 2005 the first internal paper to earn the tag downing street memo was published in the sunday times of london last month. Jun 12, 2005 the secret downing street memo the original publication on may 1st, 2005 of the leaked memo. But sir david manning, then downing street foreign policy adviser, now uk ambassador to washington, discloses in one of the newly emerged documents, a memo on march 14 2002, that at the time the main issue for mr blair was regime change.
The truth is that the downing street memo is a reminder of how poorly the media served the public before the war which might explain their reluctance to take it seriously. A performance text reading forward from the recently released secret downing street. Iraq its infrastructure of concealment, deception and intimidation more commonly known as the iraq dossier, the february dossier or the dodgy dossier was a 2003 briefing document for the british prime minister tony blairs labour party government. Responding to the reporter, he stated, somebody said, well, you know, we had made up our mind to go to use military force to deal with saddam. Bush and prime minister tony blairs plans for war in iraq, was revealed by the united kingdoms the sunday times, may 1, 2005. The above statement was made by sir richard dearlove, then head of mi6, at a meeting in downing street of tony blairs war cabinet on 23 july 2002.
Conyers blasts deafening sound of silence ray mcgovern was a 27year career analyst with the cia. Olbermann discusses some of the most important revelations. Jun 12, 2005 the eightpage memo, written in advance of a july 23, 2002, downing street meeting on iraq, provides new insights into how senior british officials saw a bush administration decision to go to war. Other articles where downing street memo is discussed. It reported on a meeting between meyer and paul wolfowitz.
The downing street memo was the first documentary evidence of what many people had believed for years, that george w. Blog alliance forms over leaked downing street memo. It was leaked to michael smith, a staff correspondent on the uk daily telegraph, as part of the now infamous downing street memo which comprises the minutes of that meeting. The downing street memo occasionally dsm, sometimes described by critics of the iraq war as the smoking gun memo, contains an overview of a secret 23 july 2002 meeting among united kingdom labour government, defence and intelligence figures, discussing the buildup to the warincluding direct reference to classified united states policy. Dan rather, a news anchor for cbs tv, was no doubt ushered.
The downing street memos are official documents that prove that bush. On march 25 2002 straw wrote a memo pdf to blair, saying he. Postwar iraq strategy a mess, blair was told ewen macaskill. The swarm was fueled by the leak of a secret british memo known as the downing street. Bush, the downing street memo, the outing of valarie plame wilson and holding the bush administration accountable for lying about the basis for sending the. The failure to do so, makes us complicit with the histories that too often go. The secret downing street memo and the politics of truth. The downing street memo first published by the sunday times of london on may 1 summarizes a highlevel meeting between prime minister tony blair search and his senior national security team on july 23, 2002, months before the march 2003 coalition invasion of iraq.
Pdf within the context of a sharp rise in americans access to foreign news, especially since september 11, 2001, this article examines the. The memos add not a single fact to what was previously known about the administrations prewar deliberations. Army released a redacted document which became readable when the text area was pasted back into word. Bush claimed, and still claims, that military force was the last option. More than 11 years later, this key document, referred to as the downing street memo is of crucial significance. Introduction the secret way to war why the memo matters the memo, the press, and the war appendices.
Basing in diego garcia and cyprus, plus 3 sf squadrons. The mainstream press is suddenly all over the socalled downing street memo, which purports to show that the bush administration was hell bent on war with iraq and willing to invent any excuse to achi. The downing street memo or the downing street minutes, sometimes described by critics of the iraq war as the smoking gun memo, is the note of a 23 july 2002 secret meeting citation needed of senior british government, defence and intelligence figures discussing the buildup to the war, which included direct reference to classified united states. Bush came before members of his cabinet and congress gathered in the east room of the white house and addressed the american people, he was in a somber mood. Pdf circling the wagonscontaining the downing street memo. The washington post in its lead editorial yestreday writes. A performance text reading forward from the recently released secret downing street memos, to the 2001 no child left.
The first and now infamous downing street memo chronicled a highlevel briefing for blair that occurred in july 2002, during which the head of british intelligence said bush was already committed. The downing street memo or the downing street minutes, sometimes described by critics of the iraq war as the smoking gun memo, is the note of a 23 july 2002 secret meeting of senior british government, defence and intelligence figures discussing the buildup to the war, which included direct reference to classified united states policy of the time. Us media citations of downing street memo fear of clowns. Downing street cats and other british government felines to go directly to the text for a particular cat, use the following links. Page 3 of 3 registered historic places the national park service maintains an internet resource that can be used to determine whether any registered historic. One of these was a memo, dated 18 march 2002, from then british ambassador to washington, christopher meyer to a downing street foreign policy advisor, david manning, who later replaced meyer.
The downing street memos and the revenge of the bloggerswhen michael smith of the london times wrote about a further leaked british cabinet document on decisionmaking about the iraq war in july 2003, he did not simply report the revelations in the document. One memo records c, the designation the brits use for the head of the british secret secret intelligence service, as saying that intelligence and facts. Selfassessment on course selfassessment questionnaire dec 12, 2014. Call for an inquiry into the downing street minutes blogger. A performance text presented to the society for the study. House judiciary pdf archive may 5, 2005 the honorable george w.
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