Americans Should Be Set On Path To Accountability, Blog By Blueduck Says

"You said we're headed to war in Iraq -I don't know why you say that. I hope we're not headed to war in Iraq. I'm the person who gets to decide, not you."
-President George W. Bush to reporters (December 31, 2002)

"No President wants war. Everything you may have heard is that, but it's just simply not true."
-President George W. Bush (March 21, 2005)

No major new revelations here, but more backup for things we've already known...

NY Times: Bush Was Set on Path to War, Memo by British Adviser Says

In the weeks before the United States-led invasion of Iraq, as the United States and Britain pressed for a second United Nations resolution condemning Iraq, President Bush's public ultimatum to Saddam Hussein was blunt: Disarm or face war.

But behind closed doors, the president was certain that war was inevitable. During a private two-hour meeting in the Oval Office on Jan. 31, 2003, he made clear to Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain that he was determined to invade Iraq without the second resolution, or even if international arms inspectors failed to find unconventional weapons, said a confidential memo about the meeting written by Mr. Blair's top foreign policy adviser and reviewed by The New York Times.

Again, we knew this already, but it's important to take a closer look and bring this into the spotlight as often as possible. The majority of the American people seem disinterested in this aspect of the Iraq war debate (it's the death and chaos that fuels their anger), but the lies and spin campaign that got us into this mess remain an issue of great importance. When the President is claiming he didn't want war and only accepted it reluctantly as a needed policy, we need to remember how desperate they were to sell this disaster to an uneasy (but fear-driven) populace.

More-

Although the United States and Britain aggressively sought a second United Nations resolution against Iraq — which they failed to obtain — the president said repeatedly that he did not believe he needed it for an invasion.

This is not unfamiliar. The President shows the same lack of regard for the laws of Congress.

More still-

The memo indicates the two leaders envisioned a quick victory and a transition to a new Iraqi government that would be complicated, but manageable. Mr. Bush predicted that it was "unlikely there would be internecine warfare between the different religious and ethnic groups." Mr. Blair agreed with that assessment.

Spoiler alert... They got this one completely, and horribly, wrong.

Still more-

The memo also shows that the president and the prime minister acknowledged that no unconventional weapons had been found inside Iraq. Faced with the possibility of not finding any before the planned invasion, Mr. Bush talked about several ways to provoke a confrontation, including a proposal to paint a United States surveillance plane in the colors of the United Nations in hopes of drawing fire, or assassinating Mr. Hussein.

Sounds like Mr. Bush was desperate to instigate avoid war at all costs!

Of course, buried in the NY Times and maybe passed around on the liberal blogs, none of this will ever make its way into the mainstream media debate on the war. Don't wanna ask any questions about the President's motives for war that might be too tough! Why, he might yell at us like he did to Helen Thomas! Gosh, that ol' lih-buh-ral media sure doesn't want to rock the boat.

On that note, I am reminded of this Sutton Impact cartoon from last year on the media and their indifference to the Downing Street memos- link. The ongoing chaos in Iraq is certainly getting the required coverage, but how we got there remains of only marginal concern to most.