As many of us said in the earlier diaries, Tony Blair's leaked minute is more than just a despicably cynical document. It provides us with a smoking gun we could never have hoped for. As the official record of a secret meeting held by Bush's closest ally, it is unlike any other evidence heretofore publicized regarding Bush's deceitful war-mongering. It cannot be dismissed, as earlier evidence was. The revelations are so devastating that they have the potential to destroy the Bush administration, if they are widely disseminated.
The revelations are getting little attention so far in the US, however, as many jaded commentators predicted. Substitute `Clinton' for `Bush'; what would the GOP do? You know the answer. The scandal is potentially as big as Watergate. Why wait upon events? What is needed is a plan of action, and people who are willing to do some work to ensure that Bush is held accountable at long last. Especially now that Congressman Conyers is showing the way, we need to get involved in a big way. More below the fold.
Although most of us are not surprised by the contents of this minute, it is important to recognize two things: (a) Many millions of fellow citizens would be shocked both by the contents and by the cynical tone of the document. People do not enjoy learning that they've been deceived by the President, and that is why many have been unwilling in the past to swallow the accusations made by former officials. In this case, however, the credibility of the information cannot reasonably be dismissed. (b) This document by itself justifies, and practically demands, action by politicians to investigate the manipulation of intelligence (if not also of the democratic process). We should not underestimate the anger of many Congress in particular over the lies they were told by Bush officials.
I began writing this diary before John Conyers' posted his diary about the letter he is circulating requesting answers from the President. Now more than ever it is critical that we get involved. I suspect that John Dean would agree that this is bigger than Watergate. In this case, at least, we do not need to fight to obtain copies of secret tapes; we already possess the secret minute (and there are various other British governmental minutes and memos to back this up, some of them already leaked in months past).
So the question is: What will we do? I won't even consider the option of doing nothing but bitching. Republicans will never respect Democrats until they have success fighting back. It is inconceivable that the GOP would let go of evidence like this, just because it's hard work to make it stick.
It seems to me that we stand a very good chance of success if we commit to a sustained effort on as many fronts simultaneously as possible. The tide in DC has already started to turn against Bush. He is finally being resisted effectively by Democrats, and (as we saw last Thursday) even some journalists have begun challenge him more openly.
The goals of our Iraqgate campaign should be to get the information before the public in a way that makes clear the degree of deliberate deception and sustained manipulation of the American public, and the danger these actions present to democracy (rather than to redebate whether we should have invaded Iraq); to convince the MSM that this story cannot be avoided or denigrated; and to impel congressmen and women of good faith to take action to hold this administration accountable for its abuses of power.
Media: So far there has been almost no discussion of this story in the US media (though it is all over the rest of the English speaking world, including Toronto Globe and Mail). NYT had a piece on Monday buried on page 19 (as a British item). We need tactics to get it on front pages in every city, as US news, so here are some suggestions:
a) traditional blog firestorm to begin the process; why have most blogs ignored this story so far? I find comments only by Kevin Drum and James Wolcott, among the majors.
b) contact local and national newspapers and TV networks to ask about this story and when they will cover it. Provide a citation to the letter Rep. Conyers is circulating.
c) contact talking-head shows to urge them to discuss it
d) LTEs
e) call talk shows and rant calmly
f) contact eZines to ask them to cover it
g) contact national news weeklies to ask them to cover it
h) contact the big political newsletters
i) write op-eds for your local paper
j) compile archives of links to the documents and major news coverage of the story, to point journalists toward
k) compile a timeline of public statements by Pred. and V-P on the issue of war with Iraq, to show the extent of deception (again, doing journalist work for them)
l) contact major print journalists and ask them when they plan to write about the story
That's a start, anyway, and a few WEEKS (not days) of keeping up the pressure ought to result in serious infiltration of the story into MSM.
Politicians: They're more likely to act aggressively once they feel pressure from the public, but a media firestorm could help Congressman Conyers to get the ball rolling.
aa) contact Representatives and Senators to ask for an investigation
bb) contact major Dem leaders and ask for action (public demands to President Bush for accountability; bipartisan hearings or at least Democratic hearings; revival of the stalled/half-completed investigation into what has been styled until now as "intelligence failures"--the leaked minute shows that in July 2002 the plan was to tailor intelligence to suit policy; perhaps a threat of a bill of impeachment, which as some commentators suggested private citizens could draft and begin circulating)
cc) visit local Reps.' offices and make your demands known in person
dd) contact major Reps/Senators to ask for a meeting on this subject (preferably in groups)
ee) attend local meetings held by congresscritters (whatever the venue) to press for action
ff) consider organizing pickets at local offices if congresscritters refuse to take the matter seriously
gg) organize phone-so-and-so-days, to clog the phones of particular congressmen with demands for action
hh) contact county Dem chairs (preferably in groups) to ask them to pressure congress to investigate. Offer volunteer help in exchange for their help on this matter.
Public: many people are thoroughly jaded about the willingness of half the country to give a hearing to this information. I think that's misguided. There may be as much as 20 to 30 percent of the public that is impervious to the facts, but no more. If 70 percent of the public can be convinced that Bush/Cheney played an elaborate game of deceit (must stress elaborateness--few people are willing to admit they've been made chumps by obvious tricksters) on them, then Bush&Co. will find that there is a "cancer on this Presidency." In any case, nearly 50% of the country loathes and mistrusts Bush; many of those people are eager to fight back, at long last.
aaa) get the word out to as many people as you know, casually if necessary, but light a fire under them to find out more, and provide them with links
bbb) organize meet-ups to get activists together working as a group (for ex., asking to meet with congressmen)
ccc) design yard-signs and bumper-stickers
ddd) leaflet cars with news stories
eee) start planning, in the medium term, for street protests and rallies
I really don't know how feasible these things are, and there probably are many other forms of action I haven't thought of. I'm looking for suggestions about what to do, how to facilitate them for other people who want to get involved, and how to organize and plan. Over at John Conyers' diary csuchas posted a master list of contact addresses to media outlets and relevant journalists. Additionally, it would help to have a list of who is contacting whom. For national news outlets we will want multiple letters/calls, but not to the point where other news sources don't get contacted. Perhaps it would help to have a second Diary that compiles information about who is writing to whom.
After I post this diary I'm going to compose a form letter that others may copy and personalize. It will explain succinctly what I've been able to ascertain about what is most significant about the revelations of the leaked document, provide web addresses for the text of the document and several major news stories on it, and request that the addressee investigate the issue as a matter of importance for a US audience. I will post that as a comment to this diary once it's finished.
One thing that would put this issue on the front burner most emphatically would be to hold rallies in a few major cities demanding accountability. But I have no idea how many weeks it would take to organize them and get permission from public officials. It is too early in this story to actually plan that far, but it might help us to light a fire under the media and politicians to start talking about the possibility. I for one would be more than willing to travel to DC for a rally, and yes I would find the time to help organize as well.
Many thanks to all those who commented on the previous diaries, I appreciate your interest in this. I am a little dispirited by all the gloom-and-doom it evoked, but I will be happy to read constructive criticisms about the prospect of mounting a campaign such as this. And of course I want to hear advice about how to organize, and above all, to get help in making it happen! Please, act. I don't think there will ever be another opportunity quite like this.