4 July 2005

War of independence in 2005: Impeach Bush

George Dubya Bush's speech of June 28 was an un-apologetic insult to the intelligence of the American people, a slap in your face. There were 5 direct references to 9/11 in that speech, used in the context of justifying a war that has no justification. Bush would have you believe that the reason we must prosecute the war in Iraq is because of 9/11 and "if we don't fight them in Iraq we'll have to fight them here". Dubya claims that Iraq is the "latest battlefield in this war".

The connection between Iraq and 9/11 has been thoroughly debunked. The 9/11 Commission has the official bipartisan word on this; their report states that although there were a few incidental contacts between low level Iraqi officials and al-Qaeda in the 90s, Saddam did not have any role in supporting, planning, or execution of the attack. This has been public information for many months. Did George Bush neglect to read the report? Or is he counting on the hope YOU didn't read it or perhaps have been living on another planet?

Dubya went on to quote General John Vines. (Dubya thinks this lends him credibility, although Vines is a toady who is talking about bringing home troops because the Iraqi training is going so well). Dubya credited Vines with the inane, home-rolled aphorism often heard in chat-boards and truck stops that "We either deal with this terrorism and this extremism abroad, or we deal with it when it comes to us". The logic behind this is so flawed, so fractured, so utterly vacuous that it makes one wonder if our leadership has any connection with the real world. In order for Vines' statement to be true,

1. the "terrorists" and "extremists" would have to be one large, homogeneous organization

2. all members and resources of this imaginary organization would have to be committed to Iraq and available to be "dealt with" by US military forces

3. if somehow the US can achieve a "victory" in Iraq terrorists will become disgruntled and give up the idea of attacking the US again

Dubya's June 28 speech was billed as his opportunity to shore up American public opinion, which has recently turned against his war. He has rarely addressed the American people on any issues of policy, preferring instead to leak policy statements through "White House spokesmen speaking on condition of anonymity" if indeed he even cares to share anything. So this speech was a chance to rally the populace, to present specific documentation about his plan and progress made.

Instead he offered up misleading generalizations, propaganda, and outright lies. It is a lie that the US attacked Iraq because of 9/11. It is a lie that if we don't fight terrorists in Iraq they will attack us at home. It is a lie that 160 thousand Iraqis are trained, equipped, and ready to take over.

People on both sides of the aisle are beginning to publicly question Dubya's ability to lead this nation. However, no one questions his ability to lie to us. He has been lying to the UN, the Congress, the world, and yes, to YOU about Iraq for years.

Dubya must think we're either stupid or a nation of amnesiacs.  Before the war, he told us we had to attack Iraq because of their posession of  WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION. Dubya claimed that he had proof that Iraq had vast stores of chemical and biological weapons.  He even claimed to know where they were. He claimed to have proof that Iraq had an active nuclear weapons program. He claimed there were mobile bioweapons labs and nerve gas spraying drones that could cross the Atlantic. He claimed that Iraq was a threat to her neighbors, despite the fact that economic sanctions and daily air raids crippled the nation.

So what word, phrase, or acronym never made it into Dub's June 28 speech? If you said "WMD", go to the head of the class. Dubya has completely abandoned this pack of lies and therefore has been caught in them. The POTUS has been caught… lying to Congress and the American people to MISLEAD US INTO WAR. His last best hope is that you will have somehow forgotten that he lied to you, that the constant fear- and war-mongering lies and innuendoes for months before the war will have been washed away by time.

By any definition of the phrase "high crimes and misdemeanors", Bush has abused his powers as Commander in Chief. He used those powers to cram an illegal, immoral, and unnecessary war down the world's throat. In the aftermath of the war we find disturbing evidence of a systemized prisoner abuse and murder scandal that has shocked the world. The cost of this war is measured in tens of thousands of lives lost, hundreds of billions of dollars wasted, and America's position as the world's champion of justice, truth, and freedom in the toilet. There has never been any apology, no contrition, nothing but an endless stream of denial and blame. There has never been an adequate explanation of how Bush got the WMD thing so wrong.

Well, Mr. President, you can dodge and deny and blame… but you can't hide from the facts. The facts are that you are a WAR CRIMINAL presiding over a ROGUE ADMINISTRATION and you are a ONE-MAN AXIS OF EVIL.

For these high crimes and misdemeanors Mr. Bush should be impeached.