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Never before has there been such a compelling case for impeachment and removal from office of the president and vice-president of the United States. Bush and Cheney have committed the most serious crimes known to law and history. Nothing in the experience of the impeachment power under the US Constitution compares. Bush and Cheney repeatedly spewed out the big lie that Iraq harbored weapons of mass destruction and that they knew where they were. They falsely claimed that Iraq had a nuclear weapons program for which it was importing aluminum tubes and uranium and warned of seeing mushroom clouds. They made the bogus charge that Iraq had produced thousands of tons of chemical agents and used mobile weapons labs. They fabricated the tale that the secular Saddam had ties with the al-Qaeda religious extremists. And, they mislead the public with mind-blurring rhetoric that implied Iraq had indirectly caused 9/11. In their deceit, Bush and Cheney played fast and loose with intelligence. They failed to provide Congress with all the unfettered intelligence that they possessed. They deleted portions of reports such as the August 6, 2001, presidential daily brief. They supported their charges with unreliable evidence such as forged documents, plagiarized student papers and vague satellite photos. They pressured the CIA and other intelligence agencies to manipulate intelligence fixing it around the policy of going to war with Iraq (Downing Street Memo). They enlisted CIA head George Tenet to conjure up a bogus National Intelligence Estimate that corroborated their war policy. And, they created the Office of Special Plans inside the Pentagon, which "cherry-picked" and embellished findings supporting war while debunking whatever that didn't. This group resorted to taking information out of context, juxtaposing unrelated data and removing caveats such as "likely," "probably" and "may". Bush and Cheney deceived the public with the misconception that their war in Iraq was in response to 9/11. The truth is 9/11 was just a "convenient" excuse to kick off their war that was in the works years before the Bush presidency. Back in 1997, Dick Cheney's group dubbed as the "Project for a New American Century" (PNAC)(Neo-Cons), which included Jeb Bush and subsequent major players in George W. Bush's administration, embraced the policy to conquer Iraq and turn it into a base of operations to control the oil reserves in the Middle East and Central Asia for privatization by the oil companies. Not long after, they unsuccessfully lobbied President Clinton and Congress to attack an already weakened Iraq to topple Saddam Hussein and build permanent U.S. bases. The many individual members of Congress, state legislatures and city councils calling for impeachment have cited a long list of other potential impeachable offences:
Our present national emergency must be ended post haste. Under the current corrupt regime, America is turning fascist, seeking war and not peace, losing its moral authority in the world and dismantling its welfare safety net. Thousands of soldiers are being killed and maimed while the war industry is reaping huge profits. Also, further crimes and the appointment of another extremist, non-constructionist jurist to the Supreme Court must be prevented. Bush and Cheney are lawless, dangerous men with war in their hearts. Despite their war in Iraq going way wrong, Cheney's "PNAC" stated goal of turning Iraq into a base of operations to control the oil reserves in the Middle East and Central Asia for privatization by the oil companies is right on track. The construction of permanent military instillations is moving forward. They are now beating the drums for war against Iran in order to get their hands on its oil reserves, which are easily accessible on a small strip along the Iraq border. Many believe that such an attack would spark WWIII. In fact, the two men have promised a multi-generational "long war" for the future. With the Patriot act, Military Commissions Act and other laws and proclamations they have set up the mechanics for martial law and turning America into a dictatorship. With their lack of respect for the Constitution and hunger for power, it wouldn't be surprising that they went for it by orchestrating another 9/11 type of disaster rather than leaving office after 2008. Moreover, Congress is bound by law to force accountability for Bush and Cheney's crimes. Giving them a pass would destroy the Constitution, the rule of law and a chance for peace. Also, impeachment now would make future leaders think twice about taking a similar lawless and dictatorial path to destroy our democracy.
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Dan Merica is a political cartoonist and opinion writer battling the right wing scourge now devastating our country. His work is posted on his website, www.cartoons-political.com.
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author
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Impeach both Bush and Cheney
by Samuel Bryan on Tuesday, Jul 3, 2007 at 5:57:52 PM
How to Impeach?
by Dan Merica on Wednesday, Jul 4, 2007 at 4:30:12 AM
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