The Mystery of David Kelly

Those of us who followed the Downing Street Memo story will remember the name David Kelly. Mr. Kelly was the British weapons inspector who reportedly killed himself after becoming a key figure in the dust-up over claims that Tony Blair’s team had “sexed up” the intelligence on Iraq WMDs. I say “reportedly,” because there is increasing evidence that Mr. Kelly didn’t kill himself at all.

It may sound like tinfoil hat stuff, but before you dismiss it out of hand, consider: “The tenacious Lib Dem MP Norman Baker gave up his front-bench job to investigate these claims. What he has uncovered is remarkable and poses questions which demand to be answered.” Not a bunch of radical nuts pushing a conspiracy theory, but evidence uncovered by a member of Parliament.

Why should Americans care about this? Well, for the same reason we cared about the Downing Street Memos—because of the collusion between the Bush and Blair administrations leading up to the Iraq War; because they conspired to swindle us into a war of choice and schemed to hide the evidence of it.

Who could have done such a deed? The Iraqi secret service? Our own? Shadowy terrorists lying in wait in the Oxfordshire woods armed with undetectable poisons and an array of evidence to lay a false trail and bamboozle everyone?

A possible suspect missing from that list? You bet.

The case for suicide was first challenged with charges of inconsistency, but now there is much more evidence “which can no longer be ignored,” which is why the British press is covering the story and asking the question: “Will we ever be told the truth about the death of Dr David Kelly?”

(Hat tip to The King.)