What is truly frightening is how close we came. A single person stood in the way of tearing down one of our most important legal and political traditions. The bar on domestic law enforcement activities distinguishes this country from other countries where the military holds tremendous power like Iran. The recent military takeover in Honduras is an example of the dangers. We have long believed that people raised under our freedoms (and particularly trained in our laws) would be opposed to such attacks on our traditions and values. Yet, a vice president and top legal advisers facilitated an effort that was not just unlawful but unnecessary. It shows that, even in the most successful democracy in history, we can still stand just one vote away from a path of abuse or even tyranny. The alarm over this story is magnified by the utter failure of both Democrats and Republicans in Congress to exercise checks and balances during this period. We came down to George Bush - no civil libertarian - to block this effort - though this may have been more of a political and legal calculation."
In the end, while Bush did refuse to allow the military to deploy, I cannot help but remember this Bushism:
Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we." ."-Washington, D.C., Aug. 5, 2004
All of this is further proof that America needs a special prosecutor to further investigate and prosecute the lowest and highest ranking officials involved in lawless and criminal actions committed by the Bush Administration.Â
Â
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
