MISLEADING A NATION: How Bush used beliefs and not facts to wage a war
Frank J. Ranelli
When do we, as a nation, stand up for what we believe in and when do we not? The answer to that question is simple: When the facts and evidence support the belief. The foundation of this whole article is over the constant banter back and forth of supporting or not supporting George Bush. (Albeit support is waning at an ever increasing rate.) In order to put the unwise notion of supporting Bush to rest, let’s examine some issues, give them a dressing down and see what is laid bare.
George Bush led our country to war by asking Congress and the American people for approval to do so based on the existence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq- that our country was in imminent danger. That supposition has been totally and completely debunked on multiple levels. From the 9/11 commission report, to the inspectors who where in Iraq to Colin Powell’s own admission on national TV that he mislead the UN.
The President himself admits publicly that the intelligence was wrong. These are undeniable facts. It does not matter whether you believe Bush lied or not. He brought unnecessary war to bear on our country and stubbornly refuses to withdraw. That, in itself, is an impeachable offense. He is abusing a position of public trust and causing great harm to his country.
George Bush repeatedly told the American people he was following the FISA law when wiretapping Americans. On April 20, 2004, he assured a national audience that civil liberties where in place and that FISA was being follow and; “nothing had changed.” That, as we all now know was a lie. That is not in dispute. Bush himself does not run from this fact. That makes Bush a liar. When Bush’s Attorney General was asked about such a program, that was already up and running, it was called; “hypothetical, at best.”
This is clearly perjury and obstruction of justice, the same charge brought against Clinton. Why is it perjury? When Bush placed his hand on the Bible, who took a sworn oath to the best of his ability to protect, preserve and defend the Constitution. Knowingly lying to the American people and Congress, who garnered the executive privilege he had bestowed upon him, constituted at minimum a misdemeanor and warrants investigation through the impeachment process. At worst, due to the deaths he has caused through a mismanaged and superfluous war constitutes a serious high crime and possible war crimes against humanity.
So, what do we have left?
A) George W. Bush, mislead our nation, its electorate and the UN, using inaccurate, deceitful or manipulated intelligence, to start a war with a sovereign nation, who posed no threat to the United States, which in turn, caused the deaths of 2400 plus American soldiers, not in defense of our nation, but in defense of a lie or shear incompetence.
B) George W. Bush knowingly lied to several members of Congress, lied to the American people and violated the 1978 FISA law and abrogated the Fourth Amendment. He admits doing so and uses an outlandish reason to justify his action that as Commander-in-Chief he has the inherent authority to do. That the authority was provided to him when Congress authorized the use of military force. Nothing further away could be the truth. No where, I repeat, no where in Article II of the Constitution does it allow, mention, infer or suggest that the President may usurp civil rights or violate the Constitution in times of war- especially since there was never a formal declaration of war given!
You can make all the opinion arguments you like about why it was a good idea to invade Iraq, remove Saddam, etc. but America is not in the business of policing the world or installing our form of government around the globe at the expense of tax payers’ dollar or Americans lives. It’s as simple as that.
Now, in case any doubt was left, it’s time to open your eyes to the facts and admit that Bush was wrong and he lied. America is a great nation, but we are not the only inhabitants of this planet and only grand arrogance would suggest that our judgment is morally superior to others simply by geography.
The belief that George W. Bush has honorably led his country, performed his duties as a noble public servant and did so using the best of his abilities is patently false. Therefore, I submit the facts and evidence do NOT support the belief and that I strongly suggest Americans re-examine their thinking and priorities. It’s not the democratic or republican thing to do, but it is the American thing to do. George Bush is not a God. He is not infallible and should not be granted impunity simply by virtue of a high position of trust- one that he has most certainly violated.
When do we, as a nation, stand up for what we believe in and when do we not? The answer to that question is simple: When the facts and evidence support the belief. The foundation of this whole article is over the constant banter back and forth of supporting or not supporting George Bush. (Albeit support is waning at an ever increasing rate.) In order to put the unwise notion of supporting Bush to rest, let’s examine some issues, give them a dressing down and see what is laid bare.
George Bush led our country to war by asking Congress and the American people for approval to do so based on the existence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq- that our country was in imminent danger. That supposition has been totally and completely debunked on multiple levels. From the 9/11 commission report, to the inspectors who where in Iraq to Colin Powell’s own admission on national TV that he mislead the UN.
The President himself admits publicly that the intelligence was wrong. These are undeniable facts. It does not matter whether you believe Bush lied or not. He brought unnecessary war to bear on our country and stubbornly refuses to withdraw. That, in itself, is an impeachable offense. He is abusing a position of public trust and causing great harm to his country.
George Bush repeatedly told the American people he was following the FISA law when wiretapping Americans. On April 20, 2004, he assured a national audience that civil liberties where in place and that FISA was being follow and; “nothing had changed.” That, as we all now know was a lie. That is not in dispute. Bush himself does not run from this fact. That makes Bush a liar. When Bush’s Attorney General was asked about such a program, that was already up and running, it was called; “hypothetical, at best.”
This is clearly perjury and obstruction of justice, the same charge brought against Clinton. Why is it perjury? When Bush placed his hand on the Bible, who took a sworn oath to the best of his ability to protect, preserve and defend the Constitution. Knowingly lying to the American people and Congress, who garnered the executive privilege he had bestowed upon him, constituted at minimum a misdemeanor and warrants investigation through the impeachment process. At worst, due to the deaths he has caused through a mismanaged and superfluous war constitutes a serious high crime and possible war crimes against humanity.
So, what do we have left?
A) George W. Bush, mislead our nation, its electorate and the UN, using inaccurate, deceitful or manipulated intelligence, to start a war with a sovereign nation, who posed no threat to the United States, which in turn, caused the deaths of 2400 plus American soldiers, not in defense of our nation, but in defense of a lie or shear incompetence.
B) George W. Bush knowingly lied to several members of Congress, lied to the American people and violated the 1978 FISA law and abrogated the Fourth Amendment. He admits doing so and uses an outlandish reason to justify his action that as Commander-in-Chief he has the inherent authority to do. That the authority was provided to him when Congress authorized the use of military force. Nothing further away could be the truth. No where, I repeat, no where in Article II of the Constitution does it allow, mention, infer or suggest that the President may usurp civil rights or violate the Constitution in times of war- especially since there was never a formal declaration of war given!
You can make all the opinion arguments you like about why it was a good idea to invade Iraq, remove Saddam, etc. but America is not in the business of policing the world or installing our form of government around the globe at the expense of tax payers’ dollar or Americans lives. It’s as simple as that.
Now, in case any doubt was left, it’s time to open your eyes to the facts and admit that Bush was wrong and he lied. America is a great nation, but we are not the only inhabitants of this planet and only grand arrogance would suggest that our judgment is morally superior to others simply by geography.
The belief that George W. Bush has honorably led his country, performed his duties as a noble public servant and did so using the best of his abilities is patently false. Therefore, I submit the facts and evidence do NOT support the belief and that I strongly suggest Americans re-examine their thinking and priorities. It’s not the democratic or republican thing to do, but it is the American thing to do. George Bush is not a God. He is not infallible and should not be granted impunity simply by virtue of a high position of trust- one that he has most certainly violated.
posted by Frank J. Ranelli at 1:25 PM
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