Reported by The Standard Time on AfterDowningStreet.org

Sen. John F. Kerry yesterday called on Americans to be more aware of the
“bait and switch” Iraq war and the “hollowing out” of the Army in the pursuit of
a mistaken policy.

In a swing through SouthCoast, the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee attacked
the priorities of the Republican Party and President Bush, elaborating on what
they are sacrificing — health care for children, infrastructure, Social
Security — in the pursuit of tax cuts.

“The Holy Grail of the Republican Party is a tax cut, whether or not we need
it,” he said in a meeting with The Standard-Times editorial board.

Sen. Kerry puzzled over the apparent lack of interest by Americans in the Iraq
war and the near silence in the U.S. mass media about the so-called Downing
Street Memo.

That leaked secret document, the minutes of a 2002 cabinet meeting of British
Prime Minister Tony Blair, says bluntly that Mr. Bush had decided to attack Iraq
long before going to Congress with the matter, and that “intelligence was being
fixed around the policy.”

It caused an uproar in Great Britain and badly hurt Mr. Blair in national
elections but went almost unnoticed in the United States.

“When I go back (to Washington) on Monday, I am going to raise the issue,” he
said of the memo, which has not been disputed by either the British or American
governments. “I think it’s a stunning, unbelievably simple and understandable
statement of the truth and a profoundly important document that raises stunning
issues here at home. And it’s amazing to me the way it escaped major media
discussion. It’s not being missed on the Internet, I can tell you that.”

He questioned Americans’ understanding of the war and the sense that criticism
equals disloyalty, saying, “Do you think that Americans if they really
understood it would feel that way knowing that on Election Day, 77 percent of
Americans who voted for Bush believed that weapons of mass destruction had been
found and 77 percent believe Saddam did 9/11? Is there a way for this to break
through, ever?”

I am glad to see Senator Kerry take interest in this issue. I hope he can rally the support he needs in Washington to get answers regarding the memo, and perhaps look into the media blackout surrounding it!