How Cheney Fooled Himself -Downing Streets Still Alive!

WP ^ | 6/21/05 | E. J. Dionne Jr.

[Tumbleweed_Connection]

...Bush planted the seeds of the destruction of his Iraq policy before the war started. Salvaging the venture will require an unprecedented degree of candor and realism from a White House that was never willing to admit --even to itself-- how large an undertaking it was asking the American people to buy into.

The notion that the president led the country into war through indirection or dishonesty is not the most damaging criticism of the administration. The worst possibility is that the president and his advisers believed their own propaganda. They did not prepare the American people for an arduous struggle because they honestly didn't expect one.

How else to explain the fact that the president and his lieutenants consistently played down the costs of the endeavor, the number of troops required, the difficulties of overcoming tensions among the Sunnis, the Shiites and the Kurds? Were they lying? The more logical explanation is that they didn't know what they were talking about.

Because the White House failed to prepare Americans for what was to come, the administration now faces a backlash. Over the weekend Bush said that the terrorists in Iraq were seeking to "weaken our nation's resolve." But the rising impatience about which Bush complains is a direct result of the administration's blithe dismissal of those who warned just how tough the going could get.

The assertion of the "Downing Street Memo" that "the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy" of invasion has understandably become a rallying point for the war's opponents. But in some ways more devastating are other recently disclosed documents in which British officials warned that "there was little discussion in Washington of the aftermath after military action." The British worried at the time that "U.S. military plans are virtually silent"...

[eyespysomething]

There was actual hearings about this last week in Congress,

No there wasn't. Conyers played house last week with some anti-American left-wing shills, but they weren't hearings.

[longtermmemmory]

This from another post here on FR.

It would be like cutting and pasting a signature on an unsigned letter for demonstrative purposes.

[nosofar]

(which is always proposed by people who forget that Gore WON the 2000 election by more than a half a million votes)

Constitutional nitwit alert. Al Gore did NOT win the 2000 election. The winner is NOT determined by who got the most POPULAR votes. It's determined by who got the most ELECTORAL votes. This is NOT a democracy. It's a republic.

[Frank_Discussion]

No it would be forging a government document with an official seal to make it look more authentic.

[tiredoflaundry]

There was actual hearings about this last week in Congress, and the only station to give it any coverage was CSPAN-2.

LOLOLOL!

[Buke]

Well I guess my boss was wrong yet again...one of these days, I am going to catch him before he opens his mouth about something...you would think for a Colonel he would be a little more educated on stuff like this. His exact words were: "Conyers and his friends were on C-SPAN last week and they had a hearing over that Downing Street Memo." Okay not a direct quote since he has a very strong Texas accent...

[TheDon]

You must be joking. The "Downing Streets Memo" is getting no play in the MSM? Where you been?

[DarthVader]

EJ Dionne needs a flaming xylene enema to clear his mind.

[b4its2late]

I wonder why E.J doesn't have a first name?

[longtermmemmory]

In the Brave New MSM World how many times must a fake document be referenced in order to make it authentic?

[Steve_Seattle]

A couple of years ago there was a long article in The Atlantic Monthly describing preparations for the war and its aftermath. A task force worked on this for months, and there were huge binders full of detailed planning for the post-war rebuilding effort. I wish I still had that magazine, because it refutes the idea that there was no planning for the post-war scenario.

[eyespysomething]

[Buke]

Believe me when this first came out, I honestly looked at it with an un-biased eye to find out if it is true or not. I looked at it, and found nothing factual about it.

I also found little to nothing on it on televised media. I have found articles, but they are by the usual loons that believe everything before they research it. That is on both sides though. I find the extremists on the left and right are the only ones who are really talking about this and nobody listens to them anyway. I was talking about legitimate sources from the left or right talking about this.

[finnman69]

Hardball had a special on this last night and it was pretty thin gruel. They interviewed Michael Smith and I think he came off as partisan. the followed up w/ David kary and Woolsley who seemed far more credible as they deflated the controversy and basically said there is nothing of substance here.

(you can see it here: http://movies.crooksandliars.com/Hardball_DSM_Michael_Smith_6-20-05.wmv )

[mattdono]

Paging Mr. Rather, Mr. Dan Rather.

[Buke]

Thanks. I'll be sure to send that over to the good Colonel to watch.

[God luvs America]

As much as the MSM wants to pull our chain, convolute or create the news, or twist polls, the American people are not stupid....I don't need the government to tell me what a long struggle this will be....I just need to remember:

 

[RedEyeJack]

"The reporter typed up the documents from documents he claims he later destroyed, and attributed the "leak" to an official with no name."

And on top of that the memo as described is, at best, hearsay. It was drafted after the fact by someone who may or may not have actually been present when the paraphrased (not quoted)remarks were made.

Add to that the use of the word "fixed" which has numerous definitions to include some that would lead one to believe that the desire to go to war (policy) was being tied directly (fixed) to the intelligence. That is, the Americans are not going to war unless/until the intelligence supports such action.

Using this memo as a "smoking gun" is ludicrous...

[OldFriend]

Interesting to watch the left on crack cocaine.