Britons voiced Iraq concerns behind scenes

from MercuryNews.com

Lots of folks have been mining the Downing Street memos for nuggets of useful information. This article focuses on how right some Brits were (in private). I was especially struck by this little pearl of wisdom from

David Manning, Blair's chief foreign-policy adviser at the time, wrote to the prime minister on March 14, 2002, after he returned from meetings with Condoleezza Rice, then Bush's national security adviser, and her staff. "They may agree that failure isn't an option, but this does not mean they will necessarily avoid it.''

This observation really captures Bushopia in a nutshell. Tough talk is believed to be the equivalent of action; rose-tinted perception more tangible than statistics and frank assessment -- and body bags.