July 6, 2005


Dear CODEPINK Activist,

You probably wouldn't know it from the mainstream media, but on June 16, Congressman Conyers held an extraordinary hearing to draw attention to the Downing Street Memos and demand accountability from the Bush Administration. He then hand-delivered to the White House 560,000 signatures from Americans demanding answers.

Since then, CODEPINK and our friends at After Downing Street have been pushing the media and Congress to cover the issues brought up by the memos: Did the Bush administration "fix" the facts about WMDs to justify the invasion? Was there a deliberate attempt to deceive the American people about the reasons we went to war?

Saturday, July 23rd will mark the third anniversary of the writing of the Downing Street Memo. Let's use that day to educate the public, push the media, and encourage our local representatives to call for a Congressional investigation.

  • Organize a town hall meeting with your congressional representative or attend one that is already being organized
  • Hold a house party and watch the DVD of the June 16 hearing (available from www.afterdowningstreet.org)
  • Stage a dramatic reading of the memos at a local venue (click here for the texts)
  • Write an op-ed or letter-to-the-editor marking the anniversary
  • Call your local talk radio station and alert the listening audience to the memo; reading your favorite inflammatory lines
  • Be creative, like hiring a London Taxi Cab and passing out flyers with the text of the Memo at high traffic locations

Whether you decide to use one of the suggestions above or come up with something entirely new and original, do something to mark the day and let us-and your local press-know your plans.

With 6 out of every 10 Americans now calling for the full or partial withdrawal of US troops from Iraq, with new congressional resolutions calling for an exit strategy, and with renewed momentum by grassroots peace activists, the timing couldn't be better.

Let's show the public that Bush lied to take us to war. Who knows? If we push hard enough for a true investigation of the memos by Congress and the media, Downing Street could eventually wind its way down the road to impeachment.

With hope that the truth will prevail,

Dana, Farida, Gael, Jodie, Medea, Nancy, Rae, and Tiffany