Have you heard of the Downing Street Memo?

In the USA, if you listen to or watch mainstream news or read mainstream newspapers, you probably have not! (Another reason to support public broadcasting.)

The "Downing Street Memo" contains meeting minutes transcribed during British Prime Minister Tony Blair's meeting on July 23, 2002—a full eight months prior to the invasion of Iraq on March 20, 2003.

The minutes detail how our government did not believe Iraq was a greater threat than other nations; how intelligence was fixed to sell the case for war to the American public; and how the Bush Administration’s public assurances of "war as a last resort" were at odds with their privately stated intentions. When asked, British officials did not dispute the document's authenticity and a senior American official has described it as "absolutely accurate." Yet the Bush administration continues to simultaneously sidestep the issue while attempting to cast doubt on the memo’s authenticity.

Tags: Politics, Iraq