Activism

Letter Queries Rumsfeld About U.S. Military Attacks Prior to Approval of War on Iraq
Congressman Calls Latest Report: 'The smoking bullet in the smoking gun'
FROM THE BRAD BLOG

In regards to what John Conyers over the weekend reportedly described as "the smoking bullet in the smoking gun", a letter has just been sent to Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, asking questions about the recent reports that the U.S. and U.K. stepped up their air attacks in the Iraqi "No-Fly-Zone" prior to the war in "an attempt to provoke Saddam Hussein into giving the allies an excuse for war."

Former C.I.A. Analyst Ray McGovern and Attorney John Bonifaz Will Headline Progressive Democrats� Panel Discussion In Washington, D.C. on Friday, June 3

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) � Tim Carpenter, National Director of Progressive Democrats of America, announced today that former C.I.A. Analyst Ray McGovern and author and attorney John Bonifaz will headline the organization�s Teach-In this Friday, June 3.

McGovern and Bonifaz will detail the misdeeds by the U.S. President and a possible movement by members of Congress to move to a Resolution of Inquiry as a result of what has been revealed in the Downing Street Minutes. Details of topics, speakers and the event location follow.

Media Black Out Downing Street Minutes
By David Swanson, www.afterdowningstreet.org

Aggressive followers and participants in U.S. politics often have strong opinions about the Downing Street Minutes. Most other Americans have not heard of or are not clear about what the Downing Street Minutes are.<

How is this possible? Here we have the official government minutes from a meeting of British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his top national security officials, including a briefing by Richard Dearlove, then-director of Britain's CIA equivalent, MI-6, who had just returned from meetings with high U.S. Government officials in Washington. While the meeting recorded in these minutes occurred on July 23, 2002, months before President Bush submitted his resolution on Iraq to the United States Congress and months before Bush and Blair asked the United Nations to resume its inspections for alleged weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, the minutes make clear that Bush had decided to overthrow Iraqi President Saddam Hussein by launching a war which, Dearlove reports, would be "justified by the conjunction of terrorism and WMD [weapons of mass destruction]." Dearlove continues: "But the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy."

Our brothers and sisters in Italy are demanding answers there as well. Here's a letter recently sent by an activist to the secretary of the Italian political party Rifondazione Comunista:

Egr. Sig.

FAUSTO BERTINOTTI

Segretario Rifondazione Comunista

Londra, 29 maggio 2005

Egregio Sig. Bertinotti,

Le scrivo perch� � uno dei politici italiani che stimo di pi�. Vivo a Londra da qualche anno, e sto seguendo con attenzione gli sviluppi del "Downing Street Memo" in Inghilterra e in America. Ritengo che anche in Italia la questione debba essere affrontata, possibilmente con un'interrogazione parlamentare.

The Big Brass Alliance was formed in May 2005 as a collective of progressive bloggers who support After Downing Street, a coalition of veterans' groups, peace groups, and political activist groups formed to urge that the U.S. Congress launch a formal investigation into whether President Bush has committed impeachable offenses in connection with the Iraq war.

FOLLOW THIS LINK: http://www.bigbrassblog.com/bba.html

A plea from Military Families Against the War in Britain to friends in America:

My name is Judy Linehan. I am a member of Military Families Speak Out (MFSO) in the US, and mother of an Iraq War veteran. While studying in London I am working with our twin group here in the UK, Military Families Against the War (MFAW).

Just as the Downing St Memo is serving as a lightening rod for the Peace community in our country, it has ignited an important campaign in England led by MFAW. I write to tell you about the action MFAW has undertaken to bring accountability to the British government, and to request your assistance in adding international momentum to this historic endeavor.

Democrats.com is offering a reward of $1,000 to anyone, professional journalist or citizen activist who gets President Bush to answer a particular question. Click Headline above.

The question is:
"In July 2002, did you or your administration 'fix' the intelligence and facts about non-existent Iraqi WMDs and ties to terrorism -- which were disputed by US intelligence officials -- to sell your decision to invade Iraq to Congress, the American people, and the world - as quoted in the Downing Street Minutes?"

Granted, if we had democratic media in this country, there would be no need to offer money to get someone to ask this question. But have you heard it asked? Democrats.com is even offering a smaller reward if you ask it and Bush does not answer.

Congressman John Conyers is the leader we're hoping we can turn to for a Resolution of Inquiry. Read below what he's saying about the Downing Street Minutes. At the bottom of the article follow the link to sign the letter to the President.

From http://www.johnconyers.com/
May 27, 2005

**CLICK HERE** TO SIGN THIS Letter to President Bush Concerning the Downing Street Memo. TO SIGN THE LETTER CLICK THESE WORDS. POSTING COMMENTS BELOW IS WELCOME BUT DOES NOT GET YOUR SIGNATURE ON THE LETTER.

A Matter of Minutes -- DOWNING STREET DOSSIER
by Apian
Fri May 27th, 2005 at 06:55:44 PDT

Here's a collection of evidence someone just put together at the Daily Kos

A coalition of veterans' groups, peace groups, and political activist groups announced a campaign today to urge that the U.S. Congress launch a formal investigation into whether President Bush has committed impeachable offenses in connection with the Iraq war. The campaign focuses on evidence that recently emerged in a British memo containing minutes of a secret July 2002 meeting with British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his top national security officials.

KEY DOCUMENTS
Downing Street Minutes
Bonifaz Memo to Conyers
RawStory Article
Bio of John Bonifaz

This web page is no longer active
See the Legislative Feedback Form to provide feedback on other bills.

Please call your Congressional House member's D.C. office and ask to speak to the Legislative Director. Ask why they haven't cosponsored HRes375, and then enter the reason into the form below:

Activist Name:

Activist Email:

Activist Phone:

State:

Select One...
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
D.C.
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming

Congressperson

Date of Call (mm/dd/yy)

Staffperson Reached Name

Staffperson Reached Title

Legislative_Director
Other

HRes375 Status

Co-sponsor
Declined
Considering
Other - see below

Other Status:

Thanks for signing up to host an event!

To check on the status of your event go to the Edit Your Profile web page, request a password, login, and then click on the "Events" tab. You can edit your event details and see who is signed up for your event on this web page.

Please e-mail AfterDowningStreet at benslade dot com with any questions.

You can return to any AfterDowningStreet.org event via this page.