The Invisible Memo

So what if the rest of the world has heard about the "smoking gun" memo that points directly to collaboration between Dubya and Toy Poodle Tony that the Iraq slaughter of innocents was planned a whole year before it began! So WHAT if Chris Matthews has sold himself to General Electric for a lousy buck! Sooooo what if freedom of the press has nothing to do with the same "freedom" on the march! But in case you should happen to care, the following is a good analysis of just what Bushy and Tony were up to before the rest of us were shocked and awed.

British Memo Reopens War Claim

By Stephen J. Hedges and Mark Silva
The Chicago Tribune
Tuesday 17 May 2005

Leaked briefing says US intelligence facts `fixed' around policy.

Washington - A British official's report that the Bush administration appeared intent on invading Iraq long before it acknowledged as much or sought Congress' approval--and that it "fixed" intelligence to fit its intention--has caused a stir in Britain.

But the potentially explosive revelation has proven to be something of a dud in the United States. The White House has denied the premise of the memo, the American media have reacted slowly to it and the public generally seems indifferent to the issue or unwilling to rehash the bitter prewar debate over the reasons for the war.

All of this has contributed to something less than a robust discussion of a memo that would seem to bolster the strongest assertions of the war's critics.

Frustrated at the lack of attention to the memo, Democrats and war critics are working to make sure it gets a wider hearing, doing everything from writing letters to the White House to launching online petitions.

The memo was written by British national security aide Matthew Rycroft, based on notes he took during a July 2002 meeting of British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his advisers, including Richard Dearlove, the head of Britain's MI-6 intelligence service who had recently met with Bush administration officials.

Since being leaked to a British newspaper, the memo has raised questions anew about whether the%