The Buck Stops Here

25/07/2008

It is obvious to me that the reasons that we were told that our armies needed to invade Iraq and depose Saddam Hussein were wrong. Iraq was not in cahoots with al Qaida. Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction and weren’t poised to use them against us. Iraq was not actively building nuclear weapons. Iraq was not harboring terrorists.

We sent our troops into war against a foreign nation for the wrong reasons — at least not for the reasons cited. At best, we’ve made a horrible mistake. At worst, we’ve committed murder.

Either someone screwed up royally or someone is lying to us. I believe the latter.

Now over 4,000 American servicemen and women are dead. Over 100,000 innocent Iraqis are dead. A horrible precedent of unprovoked war has been created. The United States’ moral foundation has been compromised; our stead as world leader squandered. The Constitution has been circumvented. And no one has taken responsibility for it.

“The Buck Stops Here,” said a sign on President Harry Truman’s desk. He was responsible for the decisions his administration made. The current administration, I fear, won’t even admit that there is a “buck.”

The House Judiciary Committee is holding a hearing today imploring Congress to find the administration responsible for sending us to war under false pretenses. And then find the administration responsible for all ramifications and fall-out of sending us to war.

Here is the outline of the resolution being presented to the Committee:

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 HJRes114.

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

You can read the details of the resolution here (pdf file).

This is heady stuff. In my opinion, the hearing today is among the most important news item of the year. I don’t understand why it’s not being covered that way.

I think Congress needs to investigate this deeply. I think that George Bush and his administration should have the opportunity to respond to the investigation.

The most appropriate forum is probably an impeachment hearing. Bush should embrace such a hearing to prove that he did the right thing. He won’t.

Hell, we’re not even going to get a full impeachment hearing.

Still, this is important.

Is anyone listening?

There are 4 comments in this article:

  1. 25/07/2008GK say:

    You fail to mention that the articles are brought by Dennis Kucinich, a man the media loved to ridicule (or ignore) during his bid for his party’s presidential nomination, a man I believe was simply asking for a return to Constitutional government in the United States, and a man who had to relentlessly press a Congress controlled by his own party for the hearings that are now taking place. This “investigation” is cursory at best and has absolutely no teeth — because the Speaker of the House has repeatedly insisted that impeachment proceedings are simply off the table. Why? The reason given is the nation can’t stand another scandal. But I think the truth is a number of Democrats in the House and Senate would also come under scrutiny and be proven either incompetent, negligent, or culpable in the same scandal — and a number of seats that are now considered sure things would suddenly come into question.

    Why isn’t the media paying attention? Because if these investigations can’t go anywhere, they aren’t news. I am deeply disappointed, not just because I will never have an answer about motivation for this war, but also because I realize the elected officials I once admired and even honored are little more than Eliot’s “hollow men, heads full of straw”.

    I’m most disappointed in the American citizenry, and in myself, because I believe if we cared enough and if we were informed enough, we could make a real difference in the way government is conducted. We’re too easily placated. We should demand better — if not for ourselves, then for the children to whom we will leave this nation and this government. All along I’ve asked Republicans who were gung ho about giving George W. Bush overreaching executive powers, “Would you feel the same if Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton had the same power? Is this really what you want for the future?”

    I hate to think of the legacy we are leaving future generations. It looks pretty bleak to me.

  2. 26/07/2008Barbra say:

    from Barbra AKA CitizenX:

    Yes. Way to catch up Jim
    Our invasion of Iraq was an illegal occupation. The UN never approved it (remember) We went against the UN. Why?

    It never made sense to me. Ever.
    Given this.
    I appreciate our soldiers who brought down Saddam.
    He was the head of the worst example of tyranny
    because his citizens suffered with deplorable living conditions
    while he lived in a gold-plated castle.

    We invaded Iraq after 9/11. Because of 9/11.
    the target was wrong.
    Bring them home.

  3. 26/07/2008BWG say:

    And yet some Americans still don’t understand why the rest of the world hates the United States (I don’t, but I hope the next President will reverse most of the damage that’s been done).

    This isn’t what the founding fathers had in mind.

  4. 1/08/2008Reid say:

    Recently on my site, you were seeking a reason to vote for Obama. I answered with a link, but you’ve presented a fine one here; if there is to be any accountability for these actions, it will not come from the same party (and a campaign now essentially run by the same Rovian methods and actors) retaining power.

    I know, that’s not so much a reason to vote “for” as a reason to vote “against.” But as you say, this is important.

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