End the Death and Destruction: Impeach Bush and Cheney As Soon As Possible

WASHINGTON - January 3 - Citing a litany of alleged high crimes and misdemeanors, abuses of power, and violations of the U.S. Constitution, Green Party leaders urged Congress to initiate impeachment proceedings against President George W. Bush and Vice President Cheney as soon as possible.

"The evidence that President Bush has abused his office and betrayed the trust of the American people is now so overwhelming that failure to undertake impeachment would make Congress even more complicit in this administration’s lawlessness," said Nan Garrett, Georgia Green Party co-chair and spokesperson for the National Women’s Caucus. "Three more years of Bush and Cheney will do lasting damage to the rule of law and result in even more death and destruction under Bush’s reckless policies."

"The Bush Administration blocked an independent probe into 9/11 while making fraudulent statements about the reasons for invading Iraq, and now admits that it spies on American citizens in disregard of legal limits. What more does Congress need before it says enough is enough?" Ms. Garrett added.

The Green Party of the United States called for Congress to commence impeachment of President Bush in July, 2003, after he ordered the invasion of Iraq. The resolution accused the President of numerous deceptions to justify the invasion, as well as violations of the U.S. Constitution (restriction in Article II on the deployment of Armed Forces to defense of U.S. borders; required adherence to international treaties in Article VI) and of international law (U.N. Charter; Geneva conventions).

"In early 2003, there already existed credible evidence that the war was based on White House fraud: false claims that Saddam Hussein possessed WMDs, sought nuclear weapons materials, and colluded with al Qaeda. But most Democrats feared accusations that they’d be soft on terrorism and unpatriotic if they criticized the invasion," said Jody Grage Haug, co-chair of the Green Party of the United States. "Three years later, after more than 2,100 U.S. troop deaths, tens of thousands of dead Iraqi civilians, a continuing military quagmire in Iraq, and indications that the invasion and occupation inflamed anti-U.S. sentiment around the world, especially in Islamic nations, some Democrats have caught up to the Green Party."

In addition to White House falsehoods leading up to the war on Iraq, Greens listed other grounds for impeachment:

* President Bush ordered the National Security Agency to spy on American citizens without obtaining a warrant in accord with the Fourth Amendment and the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). Recent FBI targets of surveillance (nonviolent peace and human rights organizations, Catholic Workers Group, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, Vegan Community Project) prove that his administration’s goals have more to do with politics than with preventing terrorism. Mr. Bush’s insistence that such surveillance is justified and will continue is further proof of his contempt for the law.

* Numerous Bush Administration policies — denial of due process, extraordinary rendition, secret detention centers, and torture at various sites, including Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay — have violated U.S. and international law. Vice President Cheney attempted to gain a license from Congress for torture, even though it has been proven ineffective for gathering accurate information (e.g., Ibn Al Shaykh Al Libi’s testimony about links between Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda, later recanted). Greens noted that the agreement reached by Mr. Bush and Sen. John McCain purportedly outlawing torture allows a significant loophole (see "Tortured Logic: McCain-Bush deal has a big loophole" by James Ridgeway with Michael Roston, The Village Voice, December 19, 2005, ).

* Congress must investigate whether the White House endorsed the use of outlawed weapons materials such as depleted uranium, which causes radioactive contamination of humans (U.S. troops as well as Iraqi civilians) and the environment; white phosphorus, a chemical whose use in warfare is proscribed by international agreement; and cluster bombs, which do not distinguish between civilians and combatants. Their use in Iraq is a war crime for which either the President himself or the Defense Department must be held accountable. Other war crimes, which require impeachment if based on White House orders, include the military targeting of journalists, individual reporters as well as television stations (Al Jazeera and Abu Dhabi), and looting of hospitals, museums, and private homes.

"Many Americans have realized that the Bush-Cheney ideology is about installing a permanent corporate elite in power, buttressed by military power and public fear over perceived and fabricated threats, while missing real dangers to our security," said Jake Schneider, treasurer of the Green Party of the United States. "The response to Katrina, dismissed evidence of global warming, manipulated scientific research, energy policy crafted in secret with corporate lobbies, new prescription drug policy, attack on Social Security, 2000 and 2004 election irregularities, and other evidence should lay to rest any illusion about this Administration’s disregard for the interests of the American people."

http://www.commondreams.org/news2006/0103-05.htm