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Alan Northcutt, guest column: Time to mention the forbidden "I" word

Waco Tribune

Dissent is the highest form of patriotism. — Thomas Jefferson

A growing number of Americans now believe that true patriots will defend Democracy, the Constitution and the rule of law against a president who is violating these principles.

Thus U.S. House Resolution 635, calling for a select committee to investigate grounds for impeachment of George W. Bush, has 37 sponsors.

State legislatures, which may present charges directly to the U.S. House, have pending resolutions in Illinois, California and Vermont.

Four major charges

Twenty-one cities from California to Maine have passed resolutions for impeachment. Four major charges are proposed:

* Invasion of Iraq — The U.N. charter (U.S. law) prohibits war against another country except as authorized by the Security Council, or in self defense.

By invading Iraq, Bush committed a “crime against peace,” a war crime, and failed to execute the laws of the U.S.

Further, evidence is now overwhelming that Bush lied to the American people and Congress in an attempt to justify the invasion.

Bush should be held accountable for the unnecessary deaths of more than 129,000 Iraqi civilians and 2,600 U.S. soldiers, and for squandering $308 billion.

As his only remaining justification for the Iraq tragedy, Bush claims the war is crucial to the war on terror. In fact, 80 national security analysts out of 100 surveyed in June believe the Iraq war has undermined the global antiterrorism campaign, as reported in Foreign Policy.

* Torture — Torture violates the Eighth Amendment (prohibiting cruel and unusual punishment), the Fifth Amendment, the War Crimes Act (1996), and the third and fourth Geneva Conventions.

Violations of these laws have been extensively documented at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo prisons. And the authorization for torture began in the White House, with Alberto Gonzales claiming these Geneva Conventions are “quaint” and “obsolete” in the “war on terror.”

After the abuses were discovered, Bush actively opposed legislation authored by Sen. John McCain to ban torture, sent Vice President Cheney to lobby against it and threatened a veto.

When the bill passed Congress overwhelmingly, Bush issued a signing statement expressing the opinion that he can disregard the bill.

To this day, Bush is pressing Congress to repudiate the Geneva Conventions and allow the CIA to use “alternative procedures” such as water boarding. His fondness for torture is thus clearly documented.

* Illegal surveillance —Bush has authorized the National Security Agency to perform warrantless surveillance in clear violation of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (1978).

When the program was discovered, he vowed to continue ignoring the law.

Recently, in a legal challenge, U.S. District Judge Anna Taylor of Detroit ruled that Bush’s spying program is unlawful and unconstitutional. She noted: “There are no hereditary kings in America and no powers not created by the Constitution.”

* Separation of powers —Bush has attached more than 800 signing statements to bills passed by Congress, more than all other administrations combined.

In these he asserts the right to carve out exceptions to legislation as he sees fit, violating his oath to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution.”

A bipartisan task force of the American Bar Association recently released a unanimous report that the signing statements violate the separation of powers of the Constitution.

The grounds for the impeachment process are solid and certainly more substantial in terms of “high crimes and misdemeanors” than those of the recent impeachment of Bill Clinton for issues of his personal life.

The country cannot wait for the end of Bush’s term. Impeachment proceedings must begin for the head of this lawless regime in order to restore the rule of law and replace endless war with diplomacy.

For action information: www.friendsofpeace.org

Alan Northcutt is a Waco physician.