Organization Profile, Featuring: After Downing Street

After Downing Street is a nonpartisan coalition working to expose the lies that create and sustain wars and occupations and to hold accountable those responsible.

After Downing Street’s coalition includes over 200 veterans groups, peace groups, and political activist groups and has worked since May 2005 to pressure both Congress and the media in order to hold Bush, Cheney, and their aides accountable for crimes and abuses of power. The coalition takes its name from the emergence in May and June of 2005 of several documents that quickly came to be known as the Downing Street Memos.

After Downing Street has been named Most Valuable Progressive by the Nation Magazine three of the five years it has existed.

The exposure of the lies that led to the invasion of Iraq has resulted in increased opposition to that war and resistance to similar attempts to generate public support for a war on Iran.  After Downing Street works to oppose any military attack on Iran.  http://afterdowningstreet.org/iran

After Downing Street advocates for the restoration of a rule of law and the deterrence of future crimes through the prosecution of past ones.  A wealth of resources for holding high officials accountable for their crimes is available at http://prosecutebushcheney.org

Among the valuable pages there is one listing the top 50 U.S. war criminals: http://afterdowningstreet.org/warcriminals

The Attorney General of the United States, under the influence of the President, appears unwilling to follow the facts about the illegal war in Iraq and torture to the full extent of the law.  After Downing Street urges congress to open impeachment proceedings against Jay Bybee, Judge on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, who signed memos purporting to legalize aggressive war and torture.  After Downing Street seeks the restoration of power to congress and the use of that power to compel the Department of Justice to do justice.  This includes urging congressional committees to subpoena those responsible for aggressive war and torture, including former president Bush and vice president Cheney, and to enforce those subpoenas through the Capitol Police rather than the Department of Justice.  More on Bybee’s impeachment is posted at http://impeachbybee.org

After Downing Street cofounder David Swanson has just published a new bestselling book called “Daybreak: Undoing the Imperial Presidency and Forming a More Perfect Union.”  http://davidswanson.org/book