As most of you know, I'm cursed to live in the district of one of America's worst congresscritters, Gingrich Gang member
Sue Myrick (R-NC9).
Two months ago, I emailed her to ask that she sign Conyers' "what the hell is going on here?" letter to Shrub regarding the DSM. She finally wrote me back. One paragraph in her response, I think, is very interesting to say the least.
She says that the UK usage of the word "fixed" suggests that American and UK officials were actually trying to hash out how to present the evidence to the UN. The graph in question is after the jump ...
At first glance, the documents leaked seem to be irrefutable proof that Coalition nations knew that weapons of mass destruction did not exist prior to the war in Iraq. However, for the "Downing Street Memo" to carry any weight, it relies on the Americanized use of the word "fixed." In this case, the word "fixed" means "arranged," a term commonly used in Great Britain. The British officials were actually referring to discussions with American officials regarding the arrangement of the intelligence to be presented to the UN related to the alleged production of WMDs. THe conversation did not involve any acknowledgement or desire to create false intelligence as some have suggested.
Well, if that's true, then how come there was such a stink raised in the UK after it came out? Had this memo come out a few weeks earlier, I suspect Charles Kennedy would be prime minister right now.
I don't know whether to laugh or scream at Myrick--the logic in this graph leaves a lot to be desired.