In the memo, written by top Blair aide Matthew Rycroft (search),
Foreign Secretary Jack Straw indicated in the meeting that it "seemed
clear" Bush had already decided to take military action.

"But the case was thin," reads the memo on Straw's impressions.
"Saddam was not threatening his neighbors, and his WMD capability was
less than that of Libya, North Korea or Iran."

The memo also paraphrased former head of the British Secret
Intelligence Services, Richard Dearlove, fresh from meetings in the
United States. The memo said Dearlove believed "military action was
now seen as inevitable."


"Bush wanted to remove Saddam Hussein, through military action,
justified by the conjunction of terrorism and WMD," the memo reads.
"But the intelligence and the facts were being fixed around the
policy," according to Dearlove's impressions.

"The NSC (National Security Council) had no patience with the U.N.
route, and no enthusiasm for publishing material on the Iraqi regime
record. There was little discussion in Washington of the aftermath
after military action."

The memo, which received sporadic reporting in major newspapers in the
United States throughout May, has sparked an outcry from more than 88
Democratic members of Congress who have signed two letters to
President Bush demanding a response.

Led by Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., the signatories are mostly
representatives who opposed the war in Iraq and make up the
Congressional Progressive Caucus.

Conyers says the mainstream media have ignored the story and let
President Bush off the hook. He noted that liberal blogs and
alternative media have been keeping the story alive. "But these voices
are too few and too diffuse to overcome the blatant biases of our
cable channels and the negligence and neglect of our major
newspapers," Conyers said in a recent statement.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan has said there is "no need" to
respond to the memos, the authenticity of which has not been denied.

Dante Zappala does not agree. For Zappala, the Downing Street Memo
strikes a critical and personal chord. His brother, Sgt. Sherwood
Baker, 30, a soldier in the Pennsylvania National Guard, was killed in
Baghdad 13 months ago on what Zappala said was a mission to find
weapons there.

"My family knows the consequences of the decision they made to go to
war," said Zappala, 29, of Philadelphia. He is a member of Military
Families Speak Out, a group that opposes the war and, according to
Zappala, now has more than 2,000 members.

"I can't speak for what the TV news decides to focus their attention
on," Zappala said. "They seem to have a willful deference to all
relevant information. I think they've really just dropped the ball on
this."

But not everyone believes the Downing Street Memo represents a
"smoking gun" and deserves more attention.

"As a smoking gun it leaves a lot to be desired," said Kevin Aylward,
a northern Virginia-based technology consultant who runs the
conservative-leaning blog, Wizbangblog.com. "It's interesting, but
it's probably fourth- or fifth-hand information."
Interesting here that he dismisses an 'apparently authentic memo
detailing the meeting as "fourth or fifth-hand".

Aylward added: "I suspect the more interesting story at this point,
seeing it three weeks later, is who is behind the letter-writing
campaign to push it in the media."

Now he shifts focus to the 'Left' agenda.........

Several popular left-leaning blogs have taken up the cause to keep the
story alive, encouraging readers to contact media outlets. A Web site,
DowningStreetMemo.com, tells readers to contact the White House
directly with complaints.

"This is a test of the left-wing blogosphere," said Jim Pinkerton,
syndicated columnist and regular contributor to FOX News Watch, who
pointed out that The Sunday Times article came out just before the
British election and apparently had little effect on voters'
decisions.

"In many ways that memo might prove all of the arguments the critics
of the war have made," he added. "But the bulk of Americans don't
agree, or don't seem that alarmed, so it is a power test to see if
they can drive it back on the agenda."
Now it is a QED - that this tempest is only in the left's teapot.


Shrug

Gunner

Double shrug.
Ken.