"As a citizen, taxpayer and voter, I believe it is imperative that our people be able to trust our government, representatives and commander in chief when representations and statements regarding our nation engaging in war are made.
As a result, I have asked Congress to publicly respond to these questions as promptly as possible."
- Channy Wood, an attorney in Amarillo, TX
DSM: Amarillo Attorney Publically Demands InvestigationThe following is an opinion posted at Amarillo.com.
LINK (registration required).
I write because of concern regarding The London Times' recent disclosures of a Downing Street Memo, comprising the minutes of a meeting with Prime Minister Tony Blair and his top advisers. These minutes indicate that the United States and Great Britain agreed, by the summer of 2002, to attack Iraq, well before the invasion and before congressional authority to engage in military action was sought, and that U.S. officials were deliberately manipulating intelligence to justify the war.
Among other things, the British government document quotes a high-ranking British official as stating that by July 2002, President George W. Bush had made up his mind to take military action. Yet a month later, Bush stated to the public that he was willing to llook at all optionsn and that there was "no timetable" for war. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld flatly stated that the president has made no such determination that we should go to war with Iraq.
In addition, the origins of the false contention that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction remain a serious and lingering question about the lead-up to the war. There is an ongoing debate about whether this was the result of a massive intelligence failure (in other words, a mistake) or the result of deliberate manipulation of intelligence to justify the case for war. The memo appears to resolve that debate as well, quoting the head of British intelligence as indicating that in the United States, "the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy."
As a result of these concerns, I ask that Congress respond to the following questions:
- Do lawmakers dispute the accuracy of the Downing Street Memo?
- Were arrangements being made, including the recruitment of allies, before congressional authorization to go to war was sought?
- Was there an effort to create an ultimatum about weapons inspectors to help with the justification for the war as the minutes indicate?
- At what point did Bush and Blair first agree it was necessary to invade Iraq?
- Was there a coordinated effort with the U.S. intelligence community and/or British officials to lfixn the intelligence and facts around the policy of going to war with Iraq as the leaked document states?
As a citizen, taxpayer and voter, I believe it is imperative that our people be able to trust our government, representatives and commander in chief when representations and statements regarding our nation engaging in war are made.
As a result, I have asked Congress to publicly respond to these questions as promptly as possible.
Nearly 2,000 American soldiers have given their lives in this war, and tens of thousands have served and been wounded, including men like Rob Winchester and Pat Tillman.
We must ensure that we do not ask the fighting men and women of this country to sacrifice their health, bodies and lives at the whim of the commander and chief.
These soldiers' lives are precious; the families they leave behind are precious. And the sacrifices they make deserve and honest response from our government.
I ask our Texas congressional delegation to join Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., in his effort to bring our troops home to their families.
Our troops and their families deserve that.
- Channy Wood
