Movement Afoot To Impeach Bush
By Karen Nakamura

Ramsey Clark, former Attorney General under President Lyndon Johnson and stalwart protector of the US Constitution, was one of the first to publicly call for the impeachment of George W. Bush and his administration. He mentioned this concept at an anti-war rally in Washington, DC in January. By the March 15 demonstration there, when he again called for impeachment, "Impeach Bush" was a rallying call picked up by speaker after speaker.

In his address to the March 15 gathering, Clark called on the American people to "Take back the constitution" and move to stop the shredding of the Bill of Rights. He asked the huge crowd, "Have you seen what George W. Bush and his administration have done to the constitution?"

To deal with this problem, Clark, a fine lawyer, has helped draw up Articles of Impeachment against George W. Bush and top officials including Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Attorney General John Ashcroft. It's interesting that Secretary of State Colin Powell has not been included.

Former Attorney General Clark and many Americans feel that both President Bush and present Attorney General Ashcroft have committed violations and subversions of the Constitution, especially relating to Article II, Section 4, although impeachment is mentioned a total of six times. The Constitution also calls on the American people to fight against enemies both without and within.

These Articles of Impeachment are to be delivered to the House Judiciary Committee and the leadership of both houses after the informal vote of the people has been collected. To view these articles and possibly join the vote for impeachment, go to VoteToImpeach.org and follow the links. The following is a synopsis of the points for those who can't get to the site. The Articles themselves are clearly and concisely written, each word well considered. Therefore, a newspaper article of this length can barely skim the surface.

The impeachment papers begin by stating: "Impeachment is the direct constitutional means for removing "civil officers of the United States who have acted on or threaten acts that are serious offenses."

Addressing all of the above four officials, the Articles contend they are guilty of criminal conduct and are the architects of unconstitutional policies. It accuses them of having planned an illegal war against Iraq and advancing illegal first strike prerogatives. They are also accused of being guilty of destruction of the constitutionally protected rights of American citizens.

To quote: "Subversions of the Constitution in an attempt to carry out with impunity crimes against peace and humanity by assuming powers of an imperial executive unaccountable to law and usurping powers of the Congress, the Judiciary and those reserved to the people of the United States."

Made up of 17 Articles, the document is divided into loose segments of interest. As an example, the administration's war of aggression is addressed in the first three. The first Article deals with Bush's doctrine of "first use" preemptory strike, his determination to start a war of aggression in Iraq by "overwhelming and indiscriminate force" and the pre-war massive military build-up in surrounding nations and waters. The second Article deals with the Bush administration's authorization, ordering and condoning direct attacks on civilians including locations where civilian causalities are unavoidable. The third speaks of the threatening of Iraqi's independence and sovereignty.

While written before the March 20th start of the invasion, the violations of international and national law are important to remember and keep straight should impeachment proceedings begin in Congress or if the International Court decides to indict on war crimes.

The second segment includes the fourth through the sixth Articles and deals among other things with the Bush Administration's tendency to provide false information to governments and individuals. They also cite attempts by the administration to manipulate the national and international media and to conceal important information from public discussion and thereby hindering the public's ability to make informed judgments.

The fourth and fifth Articles condemn Bush's authorization of assassinations, executions, and kidnapping besides engaging in secret and illegal detentions and coercion of prisoners. The fifth addresses the administration's false creation of an atmosphere of fear. The sixth includes the use of bribery. These actions violate the first, fourth, fifth, sixth and eighth amendments to the Constitution, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The sixth Article brings to the fore violations and subversions of the United Nations Charter and international law.

The third segment, basically the sixth through the seventeenth, look at the violation of detainee rights including racial and religious profiling, government monitoring and abuse of lawyer/client privilege. The final Article addresses the rejection of international treaties such as the US-Russian ABM treaty, the Kyoto protocols and the cancellation of the US signature from the Treaty of Rome which is the basis for the International Criminal Court.

This document deserves greater discussion especially in context of the current "shredding of the Bill of Rights."