Yet Another Petition

Okay, this is the last post this week—no, strike that, this month—having to do with online petitions, I promise. But it's a valid one. TrueMajority.org is sponsoring "The Downing Street Memo Petition," which reads as follows:

Sign the letter. Join hundreds of thousands of Americans and 89
members of Congress in asking President Bush to explain the revelations in the "Downing Street Memo."

On May 5, 89 members of Congress, led by Rep. John Conyers, submitted a letter to President Bush asking five simple questions about the Downing Street Memo. Their request was met with silence. Rep. Conyers is now asking the American people to join him in asking the same questions by signing the letter below. Just fill out the form and we'll give your name to Rep. Conyers, who has promised to personally deliver the names to the White House.

The five questions being asked of President Bush are as follows:

1. Do you or anyone in your administration dispute the accuracy of the leaked document?


2. Were arrangements being made, including the recruitment of allies, before you sought Congressional authorization to go to war? Did you or anyone in your Administration obtain Britain's commitment to invade prior to this time?


3. Was there an effort to create an ultimatum about weapons inspectors in order to help with the justification for the war as the minutes indicate?


4. At what point in time did you and Prime Minister Blair first agree it was necessary to invade Iraq?


5. Was there a coordinated effort with the U.S. intelligence community and/or British officials to "fix" the intelligence and facts around the policy as the leaked document states?

I support this inquiry because all along I have felt that our reasons for going into Iraq were based upon a pack of lies (I love quoting British MP George Galloway; see my previous post). I don't dispute the fact that, despite the heavy human cost, we've done some good things for (most of) the people of Iraq. I just don't like being lied to by my government.