imprisonbush.com

The movement to impeach Bush keeps getting larger and stronger. Here’s just a sample of the latest articles appearing in the blogosphere that are calling for the impeachment of George W. Bush.

I have always said that I oppose the war in Iraq, but I support the troops. That’s important for me to say, because Republican strategists have tried to make it out that opponents of the war don’t “support the troops.” So first let me make it clear that the American troops who have given their lives in Iraq have done it for their comrades in arms and for America–not for Bush’s corrupt policies. Their dedication to America is all the more noble, their sacrifice all the more poignant, because the nation they trusted to send them only into a just and necessary war has betrayed them.

But yesterday the Associated Press announced that, according to U.S. Military documents, the U.S. is capturing men’s wives and holding them to try to get their husbands.

So do I support the troops? Not the ones that do this. The troops that do this are twisted, amoral cowards devoid of any sense of honor. They know very well what goes on in American prisons in Iraq, and they are willing to subject a woman to that, in order to get to her husband.

Support the troops? Not these troops.

This is worse than Abu Ghraib.

Abu Ghraib was just one location, one series of incidents. It was, President Bush told the world, just a case with a few bad apples in it.

Now comes news suggesting that the Abu Ghraib incidents were part of a much larger system of torture that seems to be spread across almost the entire planet.

This is not just about a few bad apples. Imagine, instead, an international conspiracy to take hundreds planeloads of rotten apples from country to country, dumping them in dark corners to fester and spread pestilence in each country they touch. That is what the torture scandal has become.

Dick Marty, the European investigator who has begun a probe into secret CIA flights across Europe to carry kidnapped people to unknown locations, says he has found multiple streams of evidence that the United States has constructed an international system in order to take people far away from the rule of law and torture them. He reports, “There is a great deal of coherent, convergent evidence pointing to the existence of a system of ‘relocation’ or ‘outsourcing’ of torture.” Marty also says that, “Acts of torture or severe violation of detainees’ dignity through the administration of inhuman or degrading treatment are carried outside national territory and beyond the authority of national intelligence services.”

Alexandra Arriaga, Director of Government Affairs for Amnesty International USA, reacted to this news by asking, “The Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly Rapporteur, has established that allegations of secret detention centers in Europe come from a variety of credible sources. Secret detention sites, extraordinary rendition and a lack of due process violate international law as well as core principles of human decency. How many more reports must be issued before governments act?”

Consider the implications now for the rule of law in the United States of America. The American president has just been exposed as an international war criminal, violating not just American laws that ban torture and the extraordinary rendition of prisoners to countries where torture is practiced, but also violating international laws, and violating the national laws of several sovereign nations in a criminal conspiracy that crosses international borders.

These violations of the law are not mere technicalities. They are not isolated. They are not accidental. They expose George W. Bush as the worst kind of violent criminal – a rogue warlord with no compassion and no self restraint – and George W. Bush is the most powerful man on Earth.

There can now be no more pretense that President Bush did not know about the torture occurring all over the world under his watch, and under his authority. For such an intricate international system of torture to be constructed without the knowledge of the President of the United States is unimaginable.

There is only one course of action that can be taken to bring George W. Bush to justice and bring the world back from the brink of lawless anarchy. Americans now have the duty to the world to move quickly and with certainty to impeach President Bush and put him in prison where he belongs.

Let’s get down to basics for a minute. When we first started the Imprison Bush web site, the movement to impeach Bush was relatively small. We could have easily, at the time, have taken a domain name or blogspot identity that linked us with the mere idea of impeachment. But, we wanted to look ahead, not just to the impeachment of George W. Bush, but to the practical consequences of what impeaching Bush could mean. We saw it as a way to add urgency to the debate – on both sides.

Now, one year later, impeachment proceedings are looking more likely, as news of crime after crime comes out of the Bush White House. In particular, it looks as if the President’s continuing program to spy against American citizens without any search warrant or other legally required form of judicial oversight will spell trouble for Bush. The NSA charges are sticking all over.

As members of Congress begin calling for investigations and impeachment of George W. Bush, let us reassess our position. Do we really mean to advocate for putting George W. Bush in prison? Behind bars? In the slammer?

It’s easy to be tempted to go soft on a white color criminal. They don’t tend to provoke our instinctual fears. They dress nicely. They tend to be charismatic. They don’t have stubble, or wear ski masks out of season, or smell bad.

That’s superficial stuff. What we’re asking America to do is to grow up and start considering the real implications of crime. A crime is an attack on the rule of law itself, and President Bush’s crimes are the greatest attacks on the rule of law America has ever seen. President George W. Bush has actually declared himself to be above the law, and, as Republican former congressman Bob Barr has said, Bush has dared the American people to do something about it.

Yes, we do need to do something about it, as soon as possible, or America will descend into despotism. But prison for Bush?

The rule of law dictates that when a crime is committed, the appropriate punishment is also given, regardless of who commits the crime. The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act clearly provides for particular punishment for government officials who violate the law it establishes. FISA states that when a government official sanctions a program to conduct electronic surveillance against American citizens without getting a search warrant or FISA court approval, the violation shall be “punishable by a fine of not more than $10,000 or imprisonment for not more than five years, or both.”

So, the question remains whether the fine of ten thousand dollars or imprisonment is appropriate for George W. Bush.

There are two factors that must be considered in this matter: The gravity of the crime, and the likely impact on the criminal.

The crime committed by George W. Bush is most grave. It constitutes not only a single act, but a continuing program that has gone on for years, violating the legal rights of thousands of Americans. Furthermore, the criminal shows no remorse. Finally, the crime creates a threat to the integrity of the entire government of the United States of America.

How about the likely impact on the criminal? A ten thousand dollar fine against a man who inherited a huge fortune is hardly a punishment at all. George W. Bush spends ten thousand dollars with the same nonchalance that most Americans spend ten dollars. For such a grave crime, the fine would be an unjust punishment – because it would be too lenient.

America cannot afford to allow its presidents to act as kings. Our freedom depends on the treatment of George W. Bush, after his impeachment. No cruel or inhuman punishment should be given to President Bush, although he has no mercy against those he holds as prisoner. However, 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.

Yes, we say imprison Bush. Criminals belong behind bars.

Here’s what Human Rights Watch has to say about America:

“New evidence demonstrated in 2005 that torture and mistreatment have been a deliberate part of the Bush administration’s counterterrorism strategy, undermining the global defense of human rights…The evidence showed that abusive interrogation cannot be reduced to the misdeeds of a few low-ranking soldiers, but was a conscious policy choice by senior U.S. government officials.” (Source Human Rights Watch, 1/18/06)

Over the months since the Abu Ghraib photos became public, there has been a steady stream of revelations of systematic U.S. torture around the world. We’ve seen more and more evidence of abuse in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo, and heard about a secret system of “black site” prisons around the world operated by the CIA.

Nearly two years ago, when the Abu Ghraib pictures came to light, government officials and their allies in the media ramped up the noise machine to blare “Bad apples on the night shift” ad nauseum. By now, enough evidence has accumulated to demonstrate just how much of a lie that was.

But we’re so used to lies by now that I guess we don’t even really care. Lies about torture, lies about war, lies about weapons of mass destruction, lies about illegal spying.

Come on, guys. This is the United States of America, land of the free, home of the brave, pillar of the free world, the joint that stood up to Fascism and Communism. We’re better than this.

Aren’t we?

Where are the American people? Stuffing their faces, sitting on the couch watching TV. Believing what they want to believe. Ignoring the war about to go into its fourth year and the other already into its fifth. Because after all wouldn’t you rather be happy?

Where is the press? Providing a “fair and balanced perspective”–staying objectively neutral in the debate between the truth and the lies, quoting verbatim with a coy little smile what they know damn well are probably lies, in the knowledge that they’ll get away with it if they just throw in “officials today say.”

Where are our religious leaders? Pounding the pulpit in a righteous rage against the wrong kind of love between consenting adults. Silent about torture, unjustified war, the shredding of the constitution, the erosion of human rights, prancing to the bank every month to cash their “faith based initiatives” checks.

We are Americans. We are better than this. Aren’t we?

It began with the speech by Vice President Al Gore six days ago, in which Gore called for, among other things, the appointment of a special counsel to investigate the criminal activity of President George W. Bush. Then, on Thursday, Jerrold Nadler wrote a letter to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, in his official capacity as a member of the United States House of Representatives, requesting that Alberto Gonzales appoint a special counsel to investigate the illegal spying by Gonzales and President Bush against American citizens. You can read that letter for yourself below.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales now has only two options: First, he can agree to the special counsel, which will surely lead to impeachment hearings, probably after this year’s congressional elections, in which the Democrats will regain both the House and the Senate. Secondly, he can refuse to appoint a special counsel in spite of the fact that himself is accused of a crime in collusion with the President. Such a move may buy Gonzales and Bush some time, but presents a conflict of interest that may be overruled by the Supreme Court if Congressman Nadler chooses to press his case. That’s the kind of action that brought the Nixon White House tapes out into the open. Knowing Nadler, he’ll press his case, and good for him.

“I write to demand that a special counsel be appointed to investigate the President’s secret directive that authorizes domestic eavesdropping on United States citizens, without a warrant, by the National Security Agency (NSA). This unprecedented intelligence gathering policy is clearly prohibited by law.

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (50 USCA §1809) provides that a person who “engages in electronic surveillance under color of law except as authorized by statute’ is ‘guilty of an offense . . . punishable by a fine of not more than $10,000 or imprisonment for not more than five years, or both.”

It further states that:

“(1) Notwithstanding any other law, the President, through the Attorney General, may authorize electronic surveillance without a court order under this subchapter to acquire foreign intelligence information for periods of up to one year if the Attorney General certifies in writing under oath that – . . .

(B) there is no substantial likelihood that the surveillance will acquire the contents of any communication to which a United States person is party;” (§1802)

The President’s assertion in his weekly radio address Saturday morning that there is nothing wrong with his secret directive to eavesdrop, without first seeking warrants, on international phone calls originating in America, indicates clearly that he no longer considers himself subject to the laws he is sworn to uphold. It is unconscionable that the President would authorize the NSA to spy on Americans without legal authority, in violation of the Constitution and of the law – and that he states brazenly that he will continue to do so. His refusal to accede to the warrant process – and, therefore, to the Fourth Amendment – is an affront to the Constitution and the American people.

Neither the President himself, nor anyone else in the White House can authorize an order to spy on Americans without a warrant. Since the President stated that the Attorney General and the White House counsel were part of the decision to initiate this eavesdropping, they cannot carry out an investigation.

The President and his Administration must be compelled to obey the law and to cease violating the President’s Constitutional duty to “take care that the laws be faithfully executed.” I strongly urge you to appoint a special counsel to investigate these actions by the President and his associates. Only in this way can we hold the President accountable and protect American liberties.”

Here at Imprison Bush, we’ve been working for a whole year now in the effort to get Bush impeached and sent off to prison, where ambitious felons like him belong.

Now, as the crimes of George W. Bush are piling up and looking really serious, the movement to impeach Bush is growing stronger day by day.

Along with that surge in strength, we at Imprison Bush are adding more features to this web site.

Our latest feature is the Imprison Bush newsletter, which we’ll use to keep you informed of information related to the investigation, prosecution, impeachment of George W. Bush.

No spam, no selling you email, no dump of newsletters in your email box with this one – just a once a month newletter giving you some of the latest news about the move to kick Bush out of office.

You can sign up in the little box on the right hand side of this page.

Last night, the editor of a great new web site, Bush War Crimes, dropped us a line and asked us to take a look at the site.

It’s a really frightening, but frighteningly necessary site. Part of what Bush War Crimes does is draw eerie parallels between the regime of George W. Bush and the reich of Adolph Hitler. In particular, the two following parallel sets of quotes caught my eye:

Set 1: God put this dictatorship on Earth

“I tell you this morning that George Bush is in the White House because God put him there for a time such as this.” : Lt Gen William Boykin, speaking of George W. Bush, New York Times, 17 October 2003 (My note – in spite of public declarations that the War on Terror is a war against Islamic Satanism, General Boykin remains a top military and intelligence advisor to George W. Bush)

“God gave this savior to the German people. We have faith that he was sent to us by God to save Germany. “Hermann Goering, speaking of Hitler

Set 2: Our invasion of foreign countries is no big deal.

“We have no desire to dominate, no ambitions of empire.” George W. Bush, prior to invasion of Iraq

“Germany does not desire war, we want only our nation’s security.” Adolf Hitler, 1935

Folks, these parallels are just the start of it. You could make a lifelong study of the paralells between historical fascism and George W. Bush’s presidency.

To the folks at Bush War Crimes, I say: Keep up the good work. We need more honest voices out there, calling out the disturbing truth about what’s happening to America.