By Joel S. Hirschhorn

November 30, 2008 "Information Clearinghouse" -- Electing Barack Obama president was the first step in redeeming American democracy. The second step must be indicting ex-president George W. Bush, giving him a fair trial, finding him guilty of many criminal acts and putting him in prison. Forget revenge. Think rule of law and justice.

I want President Obama soon after taking office to go on television and announce the formation of a special group of outstanding jurists and attorneys to make a recommendation whether or not the US Justice Department should bring criminal charges against George W. Bush. Based on earlier analyses, including work by the American Bar Association, I have no doubt they will recommend indictment.

If moral honesty and courage have any meaning, then the nation must take seriously the concept that no president can ever be allowed to be above the law. How can President Obama not strongly support this? Surely no president must be allowed to disrespect and dishonor the US Constitution. George W. Bush broke his oath of office. His behavior was treasonous. Instead of defending the Constitution he disgraced it. Instead of protecting constitutional rights, including privacy, he sullied them. He asserted his right to ignore or not enforce laws so he could break them. Respect for the office of the presidency must never be allowed to trump truth and justice.

Millions and millions of Americans and people worldwide know that George W. Bush made 9/11 the trigger for initiating an illegal war in Iraq that has killed and maimed so many thousands of people. What Vincent Bugliosi, author of “The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder" called “the most serious crime ever committed in American history.” I say convict Bush of myriad counts of criminally negligent homicide related to both Iraq and the Katrina disaster and put him in prison. A former president in prison would not disgrace the presidency. It would restore honor to the office and the Constitution.

Surely millions more people now understand that George W. Bush bears responsibility for creating the conditions that encouraged greed-driven capitalism to rape and murder the middle class and push us into the current global economic meltdown. By removing government oversight and regulation he committed the greatest acts of fraud in the history of mankind. After he made American democracy delusional he made prosperity delusional.

We the people are paying the price for George W. Bush’s criminal acts and so must he. When George W. Bush is sent to prison everyone will see that American democracy has earned the respect of the world. Everyone will better understand that evil comes in many forms and that even an elected president of the United States of America can and must be recognized as a perpetrator of horrendous criminal acts.

Please President-elect Obama, make it so. Be the principled person we want you to be. Make the USA the nation it is supposed to be. Have the courage to do what Congress refused to do when it did not impeach George W. Bush. Change history by showing the world that American justice applies as equally to the president as it does to anyone else. Do not let George W. Bush escape the justice and prison sentence he deserves. Do not let respect for the presidency trump respect for justice. If we do not bring George W. Bush to justice that probably only you can make happen, then surely we do not restore respect for the office that you worked so hard to achieve.

To ensure that no future president behaves like George W. Bush we must punish him. Not merely through the words of historians, but through the physical punishment that he has inflicted on so many millions of people. In previous eras citizens would have demanded “off with his head.” Now we must demand “lock him up.” How poetic for a pro-torture ex-president. As summed up at www.imprisonbush.com : “Bush must be made accountable to the law, to serve as a lesson to all those who would attempt to destroy the American system of laws and liberty for the sake of their own power.” This is a test for both President Obama and American democracy.

If there is any kind of God in the universe, then George W. Bush must go to prison. When he does, then and only then should God bless America.

Formerly a full professor at the University of Wisconsin, Madison and a senior official at the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment and the National Governors Association, Joel S. Hirschhorn is the author of nonfiction books, including Prosperity Without Pollution, Sprawl Kills and Delusional Democracy.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article20077.htm

what a load... If that was the case then many other past presidents would be up for charges. Not limited to Kennedy, (which his brother was attorney gen. Chosen by JFK's father. Have you ever seen Robbies carrier?.) How about the congress which passed laws stating that American soil shall be able to be purchased by non-citizens. Yep, you heard me, at one point not long in our past US real estate was only to be owned by US Citizens. How about for many years now we are actually trading with known communist countries? WHY? Should we not start trading with Cuba again if that is the case? We trade with many nations now that are MORE a threat to our nation. I won't name names of these countries. HOW many other presidents can people name with bad history?

Bush in my estimation held off WAY to long to attack. It took months after 9/11 to attack. We where attacked first.... Hmmmmm... Basically the UN, and many Allies gave the USA a blank check to retaliate against... (Won't name)

Believe it or not many people who are looked upon with distaste are actually more correct than others know it. Sorry, but when people raise arms against our core beliefs then we should protect those beliefs. It's not a pretty world out there. People DO like us and people DON'T like us. What is best? How about we start liking ourselves and what this country was truly based on. There are other countries for people who wish to be Politically Correct Commies to live in. I bet Chavez will love this article above. Heck, maybe the guy will even win a Nobel prize like Arafat!

A great tribute to the USA and her beliefs. Thank you, so very much.

Lindyy

actually clinton had the go ahead to attack

and did not have the balls to do it

i have never belittled bush for the invasion

but he is an azz on the away he permitted it to be run

and letting friends and business associates have nearly a free hand in their part of the event

if they would of done it right the first time this would not be an issue (oh yeah that was bush as well)

federal reserve board sure is making a lot of money

yep the original federal reserve board members would be proud
(oh yeah that is bush to)

dang sounds like conflict of interest to me

interesting

very interesting (in best artie johnson voice)

Geo II clearly violated his oath to support and defend the Constitution.

He and his administration have refused to answer the questions of congress. A congress that even when dominated by his own party had questions.

He acted in violation of international treaties and ignored the direction of the SCOTUS.

He engaged in domestic spying without warrant.

He asserted that because the President does it it is therefor legal. I bet Nixon (if alive) would have loved that and used it too.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

once again...everyone whose always pointing the finger at President Bush in regards to either taxes or...in this case the war...read your constitution...the president cannot go at it alone...clause 11 states the powers of congress..." To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water "



Article 1 - The Legislative Branch
Section 8 - Powers of Congress
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The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;

To borrow money on the credit of the United States;

To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;

To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;

To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;

To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States;

To establish Post Offices and Post Roads;

To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;

To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;

To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offenses against the Law of Nations;

To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;

To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;

To provide and maintain a Navy;

To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;

To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;

To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;

To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States, and to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings; And

To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.

exactly

initiating an illegal war in Iraq


?????????????????????????????????


congress voted to go to war......not illegal...

Of Course having the WORSE freaking 8 years ever is no indication that Bush is the WORSE President EVER.

My 9 yr old daughter could easily pulled the ATTACK card... because it is harder to think things throughly and have a Plan and other options.

You know the Republican Party used to be know for intelligence and Common Sense... now it is only represented by Religious Freaks, Idiots and Morons.

The more Religion gets into Politics especially the Republican Party... the more stupid the Party gets. You got Bush and you guys were going for Palin. THe lady thinks "What do you Read for information?" is a TRICK question.

I hate Bush and the NeoCons.

But for this Country to get BETTER, we need to be Better and thus leave Bush alone and FOCUS on the Economy than the Politics... together.

So, why were we invading Iraq???

It is Illegal to falsify evidence to get into a WAR.

We sold them the capability for WMD's.....We held the invoices...


Chemical weapons of mass destruction....

Ali Hassan al-Majid and two other senior Iraqi officials were sentenced to hanging for genocide and war crimes for the two-year campaign against Iraqi Kurds, code named "Anfal" — Arabic for "spoils of war" — in which an estimated 180,000 Kurds were killed.

well since you are holding the proof that he falsified evidence send it ti soon-to-be President Obama to start the wheels rolling

Congress voted based on manipulated intelligence given them by the administration.

Not all of life is black and white.

He did it so so can I!

They did it too!

Oh yeah well what about ____!

And the host of other crap that some people post here is pretty entertaining.

Who cares about accountability and the rule of law?

Lynan you are the best

"Geo II clearly violated his oath to support and defend the Constitution.

He and his administration have refused to answer the questions of congress. A congress that even when dominated by his own party had questions.

He acted in violation of international treaties and ignored the direction of the SCOTUS.

He engaged in domestic spying without warrant.

He asserted that because the President does it it is therefor legal. I bet Nixon (if alive) would have loved that and used it too.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg."

Anyone who agrees with the assertions of the dimwits are dimwits themselves.

Q: How did George Bush violate the Constitution? The fact one can claim that EVERY US president has violated the Constitution.

Q: Which questions did the Executive refuse to answer? Oh yes... Those to which Executive Privilege applied. Clinton refused to answer those questions, JFK refused to answer those questions and every Democratic Executive has refused to answer those questions. Answering questions to which Executive Privilege applies sets a dangerous precedence tying the hands of future presidents in carrying out their duties.

Q: Which treaties were violated? Which ones exactly? Is it the one that says somewhere that blah blah blah connot detain combatants etc etc blah blah. Well I called you ****heads idiots for a reason. Safeguards apply only to legal combatants designated by a country. Irregular combatants and illegal combatants do not have recourse to such safeguards in International Law. No matter how loudly you scream and repeat your mantra over and over it does not change the fact of law: an irregular or illegal combatant is not a legal combatant. A simple requirement is the wearing of a uniform to distinguish combatants from civilians etc. So Where the **** were their uniforms, up their asses … exactly where you all have your heads stuck in. How can they be combatants when they do even mean the most rudimentary test standard?

Q: Which SCOTUS ruling was ignored???? None!!! Lies said loudly and repeatedly do not change the truth.

Q: Domestic spying??? Have you dumb****s read the law itself? I bet you have not even passed an LSAT test. Read the safeguards and provisions of the law. If the law was unconstitutional it would have been ruled as such. It was not. It was in fact upheld by SCOTUS.

SCOTUS Rules on Gitmo
by John Cole

CNN is reporting that SCOTUS has ruled that the detainees in Gitmo have constitutional rights and can challenge their detention in civilian court. That sound you hear is six years of Republican bull**** being flushed down the drain, followed by the inevitable wailing from the Malkin wing of the GOP:

http://www.balloon-juice.com/?p=10609

Not at all. The US did not provide any WMDs to Iraq and neither did they provide the technology. It is supposed that France or Russia may have provided this technology but even this is contentious as there is no solid paper trail to provide such evidence.

The fact is that the chemical weapons used by Iraq are fairly easily made. Iraq did possess the know how and the facilities to make these weapons without US, France, Russian or Chinese help.

The fact that they purchased piping from Germany which was used in the manufacture of chemical weapons does not make the German Government or the German company complicit in the Iraqi production of WMDs.

And no, The US government does not have any such invoices from Iraq as claimed by the poster.

thats what I say, put up or shutteee

ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT OF PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH

Article I
Creating a Secret Propaganda Campaign to Manufacture a False Case for War Against Iraq.

Article II
Falsely, Systematically, and with Criminal Intent Conflating the Attacks of September 11, 2001, With Misrepresentation of Iraq as a Security Threat as Part of Fraudulent Justification for a War of Aggression.

Article III
Misleading the American People and Members of Congress to Believe Iraq Possessed Weapons of Mass Destruction, to Manufacture a False Case for War.

Article IV
Misleading the American People and Members of Congress to Believe Iraq Posed an Imminent Threat to the United States.

Article V
Illegally Misspending Funds to Secretly Begin a War of Aggression.

Article VI
Invading Iraq in Violation of the Requirements of H. J. Res114.

Article VII
Invading Iraq Absent a Declaration of War.

Article VIII
Invading Iraq, A Sovereign Nation, in Violation of the UN Charter.

Article IX
Failing to Provide Troops With Body Armor and Vehicle Armor.

Article X
Falsifying Accounts of US Troop Deaths and Injuries for Political Purposes.

Article XI
Establishment of Permanent U.S. Military Bases in Iraq.

Article XII
Initiating a War Against Iraq for Control of That Nation's Natural Resources.

Article XIIII
Creating a Secret Task Force to Develop Energy and Military Policies With Respect to Iraq and Other Countries.

Article XIV
Misprision of a Felony, Misuse and Exposure of Classified Information And Obstruction of Justice in the Matter of Valerie Plame Wilson, Clandestine Agent of the Central Intelligence Agency.

Article XV
Providing Immunity from Prosecution for Criminal Contractors in Iraq.

Article XVI
Reckless Misspending and Waste of U.S. Tax Dollars in Connection With Iraq and US Contractors.

Article XVII
Illegal Detention: Detaining Indefinitely And Without Charge Persons Both U.S. Citizens and Foreign Captives.

Article XVIII
Torture: Secretly Authorizing, and Encouraging the Use of Torture Against Captives in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Other Places, as a Matter of Official Policy.

Article XIX
Rendition: Kidnapping People and Taking Them Against Their Will to "Black Sites" Located in Other Nations, Including Nations Known to Practice Torture.

Article XX
Imprisoning Children.

Article XXI
Misleading Congress and the American People About Threats from Iran, and Supporting Terrorist Organizations Within Iran, With the Goal of Overthrowing the Iranian Government.

Article XXII
Creating Secret Laws.

Article XXIII
Violation of the Posse Comitatus Act.

Article XXIV
Spying on American Citizens, Without a Court-Ordered Warrant, in Violation of the Law and the Fourth Amendment.

Article XXV
Directing Telecommunications Companies to Create an Illegal and Unconstitutional Database of the Private Telephone Numbers and Emails of American Citizens.

Article XXVI
Announcing the Intent to Violate Laws with Signing Statements.

Article XXVII
Failing to Comply with Congressional Subpoenas and Instructing Former Employees Not to Comply.

Article XXVIII
Tampering with Free and Fair Elections, Corruption of the Administration of Justice.

Article XXIX
Conspiracy to Violate the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Article XXX
Misleading Congress and the American People in an Attempt to Destroy Medicare.

Article XXXI
Katrina: Failure to Plan for the Predicted Disaster of Hurricane Katrina, Failure to Respond to a Civil Emergency.

Article XXXII
Misleading Congress and the American People, Systematically Undermining Efforts to Address Global Climate Change.

Article XXXIII
Repeatedly Ignored and Failed to Respond to High Level Intelligence Warnings of Planned Terrorist Attacks in the US, Prior to 911.

Article XXXIV
Obstruction of the Investigation into the Attacks of September 11, 2001.

Article XXXV
Endangering the Health of 911 First Responders.

____________

ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT FOR PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH

Resolved, that President George W. Bush be impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors, and that the following articles of impeachment be exhibited to the United States Senate:

Articles of impeachment exhibited by the House of Representatives of the United States of America in the name of itself and of the people of the United States of America, in maintenance and support of its impeachment against President George W. Bush for high crimes and misdemeanors.

In his conduct while President of the United States, George W. Bush, in violation of his constitutional oath to faithfully execute the office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in violation of his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, has committed the following abuses of power.

_____________

ARTICLE I

CREATING A SECRET PROPAGANDA CAMPAIGN TO MANUFACTURE A FALSE CASE FOR WAR AGAINST IRAQ

In his conduct while President of the United States, George W. Bush, in violation of his constitutional oath to faithfully execute the office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in violation of his constitutional duty under Article II, Section 3 of the Constitution "to take care that the laws be faithfully executed," has both personally and acting through his agents and subordinates, together with the Vice President, illegally spent public dollars on a secret propaganda program to manufacture a false cause for war against Iraq.

The Department of Defense (DOD) has engaged in a years-long secret domestic propaganda campaign to promote the invasion and occupation of Iraq. This secret program was defended by the White House Press Secretary following its exposure. This program follows the pattern of crimes detailed in Article I, II, IV and VIII. The mission of this program placed it within the field controlled by the White House Iraq Group (WHIG), a White House task force formed in August 2002 to market an invasion of Iraq to the American people. The group included Karl Rove, I. Lewis Libby, Condoleezza Rice, Karen Hughes, Mary Matalin, Stephen Hadley, Nicholas E. Calio, and James R. Wilkinson.

The WHIG produced white papers detailing so-called intelligence of Iraq’s nuclear threat that later proved to be false. This supposed intelligence included the claim that Iraq had sought uranium from Niger as well as the claim that the high strength aluminum tubes Iraq purchased from China were to be used for the sole purpose of building centrifuges to enrich uranium. Unlike the National Intelligence Estimate of 2002, the WHIG's white papers provided "gripping images and stories" and used "literary license" with intelligence. The WHIG's white papers were written at the same time and by the same people as speeches and talking points prepared for President Bush and some of his top officials.

The WHIG also organized a media blitz in which, between September 7-8, 2002, President Bush and his top advisers appeared on numerous interviews and all provided similarly gripping images about the possibility of nuclear attack by Iraq. The timing was no coincidence, as Andrew Card explained in an interview regarding waiting until after Labor Day to try to sell the American people on military action against Iraq, "From a marketing point of view, you don't introduce new products in August."

September 7-8, 2002:

NBC’s “Meet the Press”: Vice President Cheney accused Saddam of moving aggressively to develop nuclear weapons over the past 14 months to add to his stockpile of chemical and biological arms.

CNN: Then-National Security Adviser Rice said, regarding the likelihood of Iraq obtaining a nuclear weapon, "We don't want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud."

CBS: President Bush declared that Saddam was "six months away from developing a weapon," and cited satellite photos of construction in Iraq where weapons inspectors once visited as evidence that Saddam was trying to develop nuclear arms.

The Pentagon military analyst propaganda program was revealed in an April 20, 2002, New York Times article. The program illegally involved "covert attempts to mold opinion through the undisclosed use of third parties.” Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld recruited 75 retired military officers and gave them talking points to deliver on Fox, CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, and MSNBC, and according to the New York Times report, which has not been disputed by the Pentagon or the White House, "Participants were instructed not to quote their briefers directly or otherwise describe their contacts with the Pentagon."

According to the Pentagon's own internal documents, the military analysts were considered "message force multipliers" or "surrogates" who would deliver administration "themes and messages" to millions of Americans "in the form of their own opinions.” In fact, they did deliver the themes and the messages but did not reveal that the Pentagon had provided them with their talking points. Robert S. Bevelacqua, a retired Green Beret and Fox News military analyst described this as follows: "It was them saying, 'We need to stick our hands up your back and move your mouth for you.'"

Congress has restricted annual appropriations bills since 1951 with this language: "No part of any appropriation contained in this or any other Act shall be used for publicity or propaganda purposes within the United States not heretofore authorized by the Congress."

A March 21, 2005, report by the Congressional Research Service states that "publicity or propaganda" is defined by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) to mean either (1) self-aggrandizement by public officials, (2) purely partisan activity, or (3) "covert propaganda."

These concerns about "covert propaganda" were also the basis for the GAO's standard for determining when government-funded video news releases are illegal:

"The failure of an agency to identify itself as the source of a prepackaged news story misleads the viewing public by encouraging the viewing audience to believe that the broadcasting news organization developed the information. The prepackaged news stories are purposefully designed to be indistinguishable from news segments broadcast to the public. When the television viewing public does not know that the stories they watched on television news programs about the government were in fact prepared by the government, the stories are, in this sense, no longer purely factual -- the essential fact of attribution is missing."


The White House's own Office of Legal Council stated in a memorandum written in 2005 following the controversy over the Armstrong Williams scandal:

"Over the years, GAO has interpreted 'publicity or propaganda' restrictions to preclude use of appropriated funds for, among other things, so-called 'covert propaganda.' ... Consistent with that view, the OLC determined in 1988 that a statutory prohibition on using appropriated funds for 'publicity or propaganda' precluded undisclosed agency funding of advocacy by third-party groups. We stated that 'covert attempts to mold opinion through the undisclosed use of third parties' would run afoul of restrictions on using appropriated funds for 'propaganda.'"

Asked about the Pentagon's propaganda program at White House press briefing in April 2008, White House Press Secretary Dana Perino defended it, not by arguing that it was legal but by suggesting that it "should" be: "Look, I didn't know look, I think that you guys should take a step back and look at this look, DOD has made a decision, they've decided to stop this program. But I would say that one of the things that we try to do in the administration is get information out to a variety of people so that everybody else can call them and ask their opinion about something. And I don't think that that should be against the law. And I think that it's absolutely appropriate to provide information to people who are seeking it and are going to be providing their opinions on it. It doesn't necessarily mean that all of those military analysts ever agreed with the administration. I think you can go back and look and think that a lot of their analysis was pretty tough on the administration. That doesn't mean that we shouldn't talk to people."

In all of these actions and decisions, President George W. Bush has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as President and Commander in Chief, and subversive of constitutional government, to the prejudice of the cause of law and justice and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States. Wherefore, President George W. Bush, by such conduct, is guilty of an impeachable offense warranting removal from office.

http://kucinich.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=93581

Red Cross finds Bush administration guilty of war crimes

In a secret report last year, the Red Cross found evidence of the CIA using torture on prisoners that would make the Bush administration guilty of war crimes, The New York Times reported Friday.

The Red Cross determined the culpability of the Bush administration after interviewing prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, according to the article.

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Red_Cross_finds_Bush_admininstration_guilty_0712.html