Conservatives taste sour grapes: Molly Ivins has some creepy samples of war supporters, now on the defensive, insisting that they are being gloated at over the war.

I personally am willing to take out billboards which say, "We told you so. Love, The Peace Movement." But it turns out some of the war cheerleaders are making the odd suggestion that, even if the peace movement was right, those of us opposed are somehow ENJOYING the current carnage. Ms. Ivins makes a respectable response. Star-Telegram | 06/23/2005 | Memo to us: It's appalling (sanluisobispo.com and elsewhere).

Someone with a spine! Someone with a spine! A fun read: May 18, 2005 Galloway v the US Senate: transcript of statement, by Times Online (timesonline.co.uk). One of my favorite parts:

As a matter of fact, I have met Saddam Hussein exactly the same number of times as Donald Rumsfeld met him. The difference is Donald Rumsfeld met him to sell him guns and to give him maps the better to target those guns. I met him to try and bring about an end to sanctions, suffering and war, and on the second of the two occasions, I met him to try and persuade him to let Dr Hans Blix and the United Nations weapons inspectors back into the country - a rather better use of two meetings with Saddam Hussein than your own Secretary of State for Defence made of his.

WORLD VIEWS: New 'Downing Street Memo' says Bush, Blair agreed on 'regime change' in 2002; and more. (sfgate.com, 06/14/05). The sequel to the first Downing Street Memo may be as hot as the next Harry Potter book.

Now [Britain's Sunday] Times has scooped its rivals again with the news -- and the text of -- a leaked, extremely secret British Cabinet Office briefing paper dated July 23, 2002.

Prepared for Blair and his closest advisers, this newly discovered document clearly states that "since regime change was illegal, it was 'necessary to create the conditions' which would make it legal."

If you haven't already caught up on this story (I'm posting these June links in July), this is a great place to start. Mr. Gomez provides great quotes and links to many other source articles, as he does in every one of his columns.

In this particular instance, the material provided is not only about the memo and its political implications, but also from media sources remarking on U.S. media's docility in the face of this story.

Another interesting link: AfterDowningStreet.org | For a Resolution of Inquiry (afterdowningstreet.org).

A good site about Britain's now-famous, smoking-gun-like memorandum: The Downing Street Memo :: Seeking the Truth since May 13, 2005 (downingstreetmemo.com).

Trying to start trouble. WORLD VIEWS: 'Downing St. Memo' reporter says U.S., Britain goaded Saddam (sfgate.com, 06/21/05) notes this:

Now, in his latest news report in The Times, Smith has reported that 'leaked ... legal advice' to the Foreign Office (Britain's counterpart to the U.S. State Department) indicated that American and British bombing raids over southern Iraq, which began in May 2002, almost a year before the full-scale, U.S.-led attack, were illegal. (Times)

At that time, Smith says, U.S. Air Force and Royal Air Force jets 'began 'spikes of activity' designed to goad Saddam Hussein into retaliating and giving the allies a pretext for war.' The Pentagon named the bombing campaign the 'Blue Plan.'

The only silly part is the plan's name, even though it is not as ridiculous as most military names.