Downing Street Memo

There's an editorial in the Minneapolis Star Tribune today about the Downing Street Memo. The Star Tribune was the first paper in the US to print the memo.

On the subject of when, why and how the United States decided to attack Iraq, American citizens' recent seeming lack of interest has been a puzzle to many in the rest of the world. As the Bush administration's stated reasons for war shifted, ebbed and flowed, many simply went with the flow, finding each succeeding reason -- well, reason enough. Some became more and more skeptical, even cynical; others just didn't know what to believe. But whatever their reasons, Americans have shown much less interest than the British in a bombshell of a memo leaked last month in London.

OK - So I do take issue with this - how can anyone be interested in something they don't know about? How much coverage has there been. In my paper, The Orlando Sentinel, NOTHING. I've written the editor, who is very nice, to ask for coverage. I sent him this editorial today so I'll let you know what he says.

Yesterday it came out that the Bush administration had a man who was not a scientist and used to lobby for petroleum changing the reports on Global warming. Yesterday the Bush Administration told the tobacco industry they only wanted $10 billion instead of the original $137 billion for anti smoking education. The judge in the case wants to know why.

But these stories don't make the headlines or the television news. Now, I feel sorry for the family of the cute, blond girl from Alabama. But isn't the fact that 1685 of our soldiers are now dead in a war that we lied to get into is a bit more important? I'm really sorry, but it should get so much more coverage. The fact that we haven't finished in Afghanistan where two soldiers were killed yesterday and the Taliban is gaining strength should get more coverage.

We didn't finish one war. We jumped into another. It was supposed to be over in 90 days. 30 Days to prepare, 30 days to win and then 30 days and we were out. We didn't catch Bin Laden. We are torturing prisoners. This is not who we are supposed to be.

We care, we really do. But we need the press to do their jobs.