June 14, 2005
The Universe Did Not Come Into Existence in the Order You Discovered It
Via Jim Henley of Unqualified Offerings, this piece from the American Street nips a nasty little meme in the bud:
The current British memo being debated is dated July 21, 2002.It was prepared in advance of a meeting between US and British officials to discuss their Iraq strategy.
Thus, it reflects the British pre-meeting perception of the US position on Iraq.
In that memo, the Brits expressed the view that “no political decision” had been taken by Bush on an invasion of Iraq.
The Downing Street “memo” is actually the minutes recorded by a high level British intelligence official AT THAT MEETING. It is dated July 22, 2002.
Therefore, the impressions in those minutes are later in time, and more accurately reflect Bush administration intentions and policy than the pre-meeting memo.
Before the meeting, as I noted above, the Brits believed that “no political decision” to go to war had been made by Bush.
AT THE MEETING, however, they learned otherwise.
That "current memo" the American Street is talking about is this one.
For more info on all the British Briefing memos, and transcripts, head to Think Progress. Not news to me, but it might be to you.
Posted by ben at June 14, 2005 07:54 PM