Here a memo. There a memo. Everywhere a memo, memo

The American Street provides a "handy dandy" talking point to explain why the Downing Street memo is still very valid and how the new memo even supplements the argument that George Bush "fixed the intelligence" to go to war in Iraq.

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. And this was recorded
in the minutes taken at the meeting:

“C reported on his recent talks in Washington. There was a perceptible
shift in attitude. Military action was now seen as inevitable. Bush wanted
to remove Saddam, through military action, justified by the conjunction of
terrorism and WMD. But the intelligence and facts were being fixed around
the policy. The NSC had no patience with the UN route, and no enthusiasm
for publishing material on the Iraqi regime’s record. There was little
discussion in Washington of the aftermath after military action.”

So, there ya go. And as Hesiod so eloquently puts it, "there is more smoke coming out of this gun than out of Cheech and Chong’s VW Van."