[Peace-discuss] Bogus Blair Dossier

[Charles Jenks]

Greetings - I assume most of you know what the title references - that the
Blair government had a secretary and a handful of low level staff cut and
paste their official government 'Dossier' on Iraq's intelligence from a
dated student paper (complete with typos) and some Janes magazine articles
and passed it off as an official document of British intelligence.  (M5 and
M6 refused to go along with the governments attempt to fool the UN on the
substance of the matter, so Blair's spin doctors set to work).  Colin Powell
then praises this creation during his presentation at the UN.

This would be funny if the intended consequences of their deception weren't
so terrible. As many of you know, Traprock has had a close working
relationship for months with Glen Rangwala, who broke this scandal in the
UK.  We have had the leading role in the US in publishing his material since
September, including his recent point by point rebuttal of Powell's
presentation.

We also have extensive coverage of the Dossier scandal on the site -
http://traprockpeace.org, with Dr. Rangwala's commentary, media articles and
a neat contact list for the UNSC, US Administration and media (thanks for
this list, Sally Shaw).  We also have contact info for Senators.

The Blair deception has been and continues to be huge news in the UK and
Europe.  It is no doubt fueling the determination of France and Germany to
stand firm and adding energy to their proposal to sharply increase the
numbers of inspectors.  China and Russia are taking a firmer stand as well.

US media gave the scandal wide attention, but the attention span has been
limited (funny how Code Orange came out just as this story broke).

Our website visitors are paying attention on both sides of the Atlantic,
though, and expressing bewilderment that the US media has grown silent on it
(or shoving it onto back pages of newspapers.) On website visitor from
California lamented media priorities to us, and asks what can be done?

We encourage people to contact UN missions (especially France, Germany,
Russia and China), media and members of Congress.

The website provides the tools to do so effectively.  We post important and
informative articles on the scandal by British media. A letter by writer
David Keppel (his work is featured in the latest MoveOn letter campaign)
discusses the scandal in the context of risks posed by US policy and gives
some talking points. And, of course, you'll find, as noted, Dr. Rangwala's
commentary on the Dossier. These resources with the contact list are all
found on the second box down on the left side of the homepage.

Peace, Charlie


Charles Jenks
President, 
Traprock Peace Center - http://traprockpeace.org
charles at mtdata.com