- While the United States will constantly strive to enlist
the support of the international community, we will not hesitate to act
alone, if necessary, to exercise our right of self defense by acting preemptively
against such terrorists, to prevent them from doing harm against our people
and our country . . .
-
- -The National Security Strategy of the United States
of America
-
- "We sentenced Nazi leaders to death for waging a
war of aggression," says International Law Professor Francis A. Boyle
of the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. By contrast, Prof. Boyle
wants merely to impeach George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and
John Ashcroft for their plans to invade Iraq and create a police state
in America.
-
- Boyle is offering his services as counsel, free of charge,
to any member of the House of Representatives willing to sponsor articles
of impeachment. He is experienced in this work, having undertaken it in
1991 for the late Rep. Henry B. Gonzalez (D-TX), in an effort to stop the
first Persian Gulf War. It takes only one member to introduce articles
of impeachment. Of course, it will take many more than that to vote for
impeachment, which will culminate in a trial in the Senate. Boyle is confident
that, once the articles are introduced, others, including Republicans,
will co-sponsor them. But we have to convince our Representatives that
impeachment is necessary for the country and politically safe for them.
This non-violent, constitutional process may be our best way of stopping
World War III and saving our civil rights.
-
- Grounds for Impeachment
-
- Article II Sec. 4 of the Constitution states that: "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." Boyle says that waging
a war of aggression is a crime under the Nuremberg Charter, Judgment and
Principles. "It's very clear," he adds, "if you read all
the press reports, they are going to devastate Baghdad, a metropolitan
area of 5 million people. The Nuremberg Charter clearly says the wanton
devastation of a city is a Nuremberg war crime."
-
- The United States is a party to the Nuremberg Charter,
Judgment and Principles, and thus is constitutionally bound to obey them.
"The Constitution, in Article 6, says that international treaties
are the supreme law of the land here in the United States of America. So
all we would be doing here, in this impeachment campaign," Boyle says,
"is impeaching them for violating international treaties, as incorporated
into the United States Constitution, as well as the Constitution itself."
-
- Bush Cabal Repudiates Nuremberg Principles
-
- We don't have to wait for the devastation of Baghdad
to impeach the Bush cabal because they have already repudiated the Nuremberg
Charter via the so-called Bush Doctrine of preventive war and pre-emptive
attack. "This doctrine of pre-emptive warfare or pre-emptive attack
was rejected soundly in the Nuremberg Judgment, " Boyle says. "The
Nuremberg Judgment . . . rejected this Nazi doctrine of international law
of alleged self-defense." The Bush Doctrine, embodied in the National
Security Strategy document, published on the White House web site, is appalling,
Boyle says. "It reads like a Nazi planning document prior to the Second
World War."
-
- The Fruit Doesn't Fall Far From the Tree
-
- As Rep. Henry B. Gonzalez explained on the floor of the
House in 1991, his articles charged the elder Bush with:
-
- 1) Violating the Equal Protection Clause by having minorities
and poor whites, who were the majority of the soldiers in the Middle East,
"fight a war for oil to preserve the lifestyles of the wealthy."
-
- 2) Violating "the Constitution, Federal law, and
the UN Charter by bribing, intimidating, and threatening others, including
the members of the UN Security Council, to support belligerent acts against
Iraq."
-
- 3) Violating the Nuremberg principles by conspiring to
engage in a massive war against Iraq that would cause tens of thousands
of civilian deaths.
-
- 4) Committing "the United States to acts of war
without congressional consent and contrary to the UN Charter and international
law." (This refers to the lack of a formal declaration of war, as
required by the Constitution).
-
- 5) Committing crimes against the peace by leading the
United States into aggressive war against Iraq, in violation of Article
24 of the UN Charter, the Nuremberg Charter, other international instruments
and treaties, and the Constitution of the United States.
-
- Boyle believes that the articles he drafted for Gonzalez'
effort to impeach George H. W. Bush, the father, could still serve as a
basis for impeaching George W. Bush, the son.
-
- Are the People Ready for Another Impeachment?
-
- Impeachment has the advantage of bypassing the U.S. Supreme
Court, which illegally installed Bush in the Oval Office. The same "Justices"
would have the final word on legal challenges to constitutional abominations,
such as the USA PATRIOT Act and the Homeland Security Act, both of which
the White House rammed through a Congress frightened by the September 11th
attacks and the as yet unsolved anthrax attacks on Capitol Hill.
-
- But no matter how blatant the violations of constitutional,
statutory and international law are, impeachment is still a political process.
Republicans control the Congress and many Democrats, fearful of being labeled
"soft on terrorism" might be unwilling to challenge the Bush
cabal. It would take tremendous public pressure to get a reluctant Congress
to impeach. Still, Boyle thinks he can garner public support by adding
an article of impeachment against John Ashcroft.
-
- "We know for a fact that there are Republicans
and Democrats and Independents and Greens, even very conservative Republicans,
such as Dick Armey and [Bob] Barr, who are very worried about a police
state." Boyle says that an article against Ashcroft would make clear
"that we don't want a police state in the name of an oil empire."
-
- It's Up to Us
-
- Unfortunately for the impeachment campaign, Armey has
retired and Barr, who spoke out against some of the most draconian proposals
for what eventually became the USA PATRIOT Act, was defeated in the Republican
primary. Boyle is still waiting for the one member of Congress willing
to introduce articles of impeachment when the 108th Congress convenes on
January 7.
-
- Since Bush has indicated that he is not likely to go
to war before the end of January or early February, Boyle thinks we have
a month to stop the war by impeaching the chain of command: Bush, Cheney
and Rumsfeld, along with police state enforcer Ashcroft. Time and the Internet
are advantages Rep. Gonzalez did not have in 1991, when the Persian Gulf
War was launched the day after he introduced his articles.
-
- Boyle is asking the public to push for impeachment in
two ways. First, contact your own member of Congress to urge him or her
to introduce articles of impeachment, and tell the member that he or she
may contact Prof. Boyle for assistance in drafting the articles. Second,
demand impeachment by engaging in non-violent direct action, in exercise
of your First Amendment rights to free speech, peaceable assembly and petition
for redress of grievances. Boyle was pleased that 100,000 people marched
around the White House last October 26 to protest the impending war on
Iraq. But he says one million people need to peaceably take to the streets
with signs, banners and voices shouting, "Impeach Bush!"
-
- "The bottom line: it's really up to you and to
me to enforce the law and the Constitution against our own government,"
he says. "We are citizens of the United States of America. We have
to act to preserve the republic that we have, to preserve our Constitution,
to preserve a rule of law. This is our responsibility as citizens. We simply
can't pass the buck and say 'Oh, some judge is going to do it somewhere.'
It's up to us to keep this republic."
-
-
- Copyright © 2003 Kéllia Ramares.
- For fair use only.
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