Home > Ralph Nader calls for impeachment: Downing Street Memo is trouble for Bush

Ralph Nader calls for impeachment: Downing Street Memo is trouble for Bush

by Open-Publishing - Thursday 23 June 2005
9 comments

Governments USA

Maybe we don’t want fries with this.

The winds are shifting in Washington, DC in the wake of the now-infamous Downing Street Memo, a secret document detailing the minutes of a meeting that included British Prime Minister Tony Blair and the chief of Britain’s intelligence agency.

The memo insinuates that the Bush administration fixed intelligence concerning WMD and terrorism in Iraq and reveals something that many of us in the YES! Weekly newsroom (and most rational Americans) have suspected all along: that the Bush regime had been hankering for a piece of Saddam from the beginning.

The story failed to gain much traction in the mainstream media when the memo was made public by the Times of London on May 1, largely due to overblown media fetes concerning the runaway bride and the ongoing saga of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie (both of which, by the way, received more ink in YES! Weekly than the Downing Street Memo, to our chagrin).

But the whispers are turning to angry shouts and even Mr. Freedom Fries, Rep. Walter Jones, a Republican from the eastern part of our state whose district includes Camp Lejeune, thinks it’s time to re-evaluate the war.

Jones and other congressmen from both parties want to see a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq and they introduced legislation to that end on June 9. A similar piece of legislation has been introduced in the Senate.

This is a good start. But others, most notably perennial and ineffectual presidential candidate Ralph Nader, are calling for accountability from the administration in the form of the impeachment of the president.

And why not? The US Constitution outlines the grounds for impeachment thusly: “The President, Vice President, and all civil officers of the United States shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.”

President Clinton was impeached in 1998 by the House for perjury, obstruction of justice and abuse of power, though the Senate later acquitted him of these charges in a close vote. Richard Nixon, who resigned before the impeachment process reached a vote, also had charges of obstruction and abuse leveled against him.

Clinton had an affair with an intern. Nixon took the fall for a GOP rife with corruption and intrigue rather than give the names of his shady cronies, with whom he was inextricably linked. Both did what they could to prevent the truth from surfacing and both paid a price.

What will become of this recent snowjob is anybody’s guess, but it is evident to us that mistruths have been perpetuated, facts have been shaded and that something fishy certainly has been going on. We believe that the president led us to war under false pretenses. We know for certain that as of this writing almost 1,700 US troops have died overseas since the invasion of Iraq that began in March 2003 as well as uncounted Iraqi civilians.

And someone has to answer for this.

In this instance, we feel that the impeachment process is necessary to provide accountability and deter future abuses of power. It’s time for the truth, all of it, and let the chips fall where they may.

Reader Comments

Posted: Tuesday, June 21, 2005
Article comment by: Jim McDermott

Bush lied, invaded a country under false pretext and should be impeached. Many thousands of Iraqi’s and Americans have died and been injured. He has spent our national treasure while giving tax breaks to his base. Bush is the worst president in the history of our country. It will take a decade to get this country back on track and gain real legitimacy in the world again.

http://www.yesweekly.com/main.asp?S...

Forum posts

  • It will take as long as we determine it will take based on the actions we DECIDE to TAKE!
    We WILL SEND THE BILL TO THE CORPORATIONS THAT TOOK US THEIR AND WE WILL MAKE them
    pay the Iraqis for the death of their civilians and the American Soldiers.

    IF you put a coropration above you and belive they are part of what should exist in our society then you will have what you have today! --- YOU as their SLAVE!

    The corporations have over the past centuty built the industrial military complex to be the largest expenditure and damage to humanity and the earth to MAINTAIN the IDIOT PSYCHOTIC MIND CONTROL PARANOID FEAR oriented oligarchy that worships money and POWER. And today we are standing up against ODDS that ARE CROOKED and IMPOSSIBLE Against US! And what will happen? WE WILL DO WHAT the collective has always DONE! We will stand up to it and TAKE IT DOWN! That is what you do when something is out control as they are delusional paranoid weak minded and need to be taught what REAL VALUES ARE and that is the earth and human lives.

    Believe in Yourself! --- STAND UP and take control of the money system to stop the psychotic military industrial complex, makling us enemies of each other — so they can maintain power and control over us their slaves!!! NOT FOR LONG! get the word out!

    STOP supporting MONEY! That is what the lynch pin is! PULL it and TAKE IT DOWN brothers and sisters!!!

    The reason it has come to this point is that we have been ASLEEP at the WHEEL living our empty lives in the capatilist inhumane myopic mind control media oriented distraction of human greed and fear driven by the money system which is backed by their FEAR CREATING military industrial complex.

    Think about this . This richest countries with the most influencial banking relationships HAVE THE LARGEST MILITARIES! They are protecting their stupid FEAR oriented delusional Paranoid belief in their oligarchy and the FEAR of scoial evolution into something ELSE where money does not exist. As it was with all the cultures they murdered in America, Europe, Australia, and every other place that the economic development plan has GONE! Its the practice of death dealing for profit!

    7b peace out --- destroy money. create peace. live love. accept people as they are.

    Believe in yourself people. Look inside the solutions are inside. Success is Psychological. Remember that!

  • Ah, oh...

    Ralph Nader calling for imjpeachment means the issue is dead. No one in America likes a loser. For sure the issue is dead.

    • Why because he speaks the truth?

    • Bush is the loser, Ralph is the Hero! Bush is a liar! Ralph speaks the truth! Bush sold out America, Ralph is trying to help America!!!!!

    • Ralph Nader has a Name. He is well respected. He has many accomplishment and he has done alot more for the people of this country and the world. Just because he lost the presidential seat does not mean he is a loser. You are a loser...The only winning streak you obviously have is to be critical of people for at least trying to do good for his people and country. You are the biggest example of a LOSER. Before you criticize take a long look at yourself in the mirror....an undeniable picture perfect of a LOSER.

  • Impeach them all! Once a liar always a liar! They will keep lying until we take them dowm! Halliburton has alot to do with it! Halliburton is running the show not Bush! Halliburton is ripping off the American peoples hard earned money!
    Mary

    • PBS had a great specil on a few nights ago that showed Haliburton and all they have and will gain from Iraq’s instability. It is ALL about the Almighty $$and Cheney is filling the pockets of his coworkers and buddies.
      Our money is going to them, not the troops! We should demandan end to all of this ASAP before another 13,000(10%of troops), are wounded!

  • Don’t call Nader a looser! If honesty doesn’t count anymoore in the U.S. then guess what - which country is full of loosers. Greed, theft, murder and ambush that’s what counts in the U.S. obviously.

    The rogue states are: U.S and Britain.

    • The losers are the people of the United States.

      The few valiants such as Ralph Nadar and Kathy Kelly http://vitw.org/ will go down in history as the only people of sanity in such an hysterical time.

      But it will not take 10 years for the United States to recover.

      The United States will never recover from this. Not as a super-power.

      The United States of America is living on borrowed time and borrowed money,

      It is only the banks (Asia and Europe) that are propping up the country, and that will stop.

      China has already decided that the U.S. dollar is worth nothing. Reason for its extravagant bids for U.S. companies.

      It might as well own the country by buying it.

      Cheaper by far than trying to overcome it with their billion people army.

      But most cannot yet see this.

      Most think like the Romans that there always is time, and that life for the rich and spoilt always will be this way.

      Indeed the real losers are the American People who have seen their dream of liberty and attempt at goodness in WWII perish - because they have in their selfisness allowed it.