[Sosfbay-discuss] Articles of Impeachment Filed!!! Kucinich: Impeachment is the Right Response

[JamBoi]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/thenation/20070425/cm_thenation/15189758

Kucinich: Impeachment is the Right Response

The Nation Wed Apr 25, 12:05 AM ET

The Nation -- Congressman Dennis Kucinich has now filed his three
articles of impeachment against Dick Cheney, and the Ohio Democrat is
clearly serious about the holding the vice president to account for
manipulating intelligence to fabricate a threat of Iraqi weapons of
mass destruction, manipulating intelligence to fabricate a relationship
between Iraq and al Qaeda, and openly threatened aggression against
Iran absent any real threat to the the United States.

Kucinich's House website ( see
http://kucinich.house.gov/SpotlightIssues/documents.htm ) contains the
text of the resolution, H.R. 333, along with pages of documentation
supporting the articles, a summary of impeachment procedures, and a
copy of the congressman's letter to the vice president.

On Tuesday afternoon, Kucinich explained his initiative at a Capitol
Hill press conference that he began by delivering the following
statement:

We hold these truths to be self-evident: That all men are created
equal; that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable
rights; that, among these, are life, liberty and the pursuit of
happiness; that, to secure these rights, governments are instituted
among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the
government; and, whenever any form of government becomes destructive of
these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it.

These words from the Declaration of Independence are instructive at
this moment. Because not only whenever any form of government, but
whenever any government official becomes destructive of the founding
purposes, that official or those officials must be held accountable.

Because I believe the vice president's conduct of office has been
destructive to the founding purposes of our nation. Today, I have
introduced House Resolution 333, Articles of Impeachment Relating to
Vice President Richard B. Cheney. I do so in defense of the rights of
the American people to have a government that is honest and peaceful.

It became obvious to me that this vice president, who was a driving
force for taking the United States into a war against Iraq under false
pretenses, is once again rattling the sabers of war against Iran with
the same intent to drive America into another war, again based on false
pretenses.

Let me cite from the articles of impeachment that were introduced this
afternoon, Article I, that Richard Cheney had purposely manipulated the
intelligence process to deceive the citizens and the Congress of the
United States by fabricating a threat of Iraqi weapons of mass
destruction to justify the use of the United States armed forces
against the nation of Iraq in a manner damaging to our national
security.

That despite all evidence to the contrary, the vice president actively
and systematically sought to deceive the citizens and the Congress of
the United States about an alleged threat of Iraqi weapons of mass
destruction.

That preceding the March 2003 invasion of Iraq, the vice president was
fully informed that no legitimate evidence existed of weapons of mass
destruction in Iraq. The vice president pressured the intelligence
community to change their findings to enable the deception of the
citizens and the Congress of the United States.

That in this the vice president subverted the national security
interests of the United States by setting the stage for the loss of
more than 3,300 United States service members and the loss of 650,000
Iraqi citizens since the United States invasion; the loss of
approximately $500 billion in war costs, which has increased our
federal debt; the loss of military readiness within the United States
armed services, through an overextension and lack of training and lack
of equipment; and the loss of United States credibility in the world
affairs and decades of likely blowback created by the invasion of Iraq.

That with respect to Article II, that Richard Cheney manipulated the
intelligence process to deceive the citizens and the Congress of the
United States about an alleged relationship between Iraq and Al Qaida
in order to justify the use of United States armed forces against the
nation of Iraq in a manner damaging to our national security.

And that, despite all evidence to the contrary, the vice president
actively and systematically sought to deceive the citizens and Congress
of the United States about an alleged relationship between Iraq and Al
Qaida.

That preceding to the March 2003 invasion of Iraq, the vice president
was fully informed that no credible evidence existed of a working
relationship between Iraq and Al Qaida, a fact articulated in several
official documents.

With respect to Article III, that in his conduct while vice president
of the United States, Richard Cheney openly threatened aggression
against the Republic of Iran, absent any real threat to the United
States, and has done so with the United States's proven capability to
carry out such threats, thus undermining the national security
interests of the United States.

That despite no evidence that Iran has the intention or the capability
of attacking the United States, and despite the turmoil created by the
United States's invasion of Iraq, the vice president has openly
threatened aggression against Iran.

Furthermore, I point out in the articles that Article VI of the United
States Constitution states, and I quote, "This Constitution and the
laws of the United States shall be made in pursuance thereof and all
treaties made or which shall be made under the authority of the United
States shall be the supreme law of the land. Any provision of an
international treaty ratified by the United States becomes the law of
the United States."

The United States is signatory to the U.N. Charter, a treaty among the
nations of the world. Article II, Section 4 of the
United Nations Charter states, and I quote, "All members shall refrain
in their international relations from the threat or use of force
against the territorial integrity or political independence of any
state, or in any manner inconsistent with the purposes of the United
Nations."

The articles conclude by pointing out that the vice president's
deception upon the citizens and the Congress of the United States that
enabled the failed United States invasion of Iraq forcibly altered the
rules of diplomacy so that the vice president recent belligerent
actions toward Iran are destabilizing and counterproductive to the
national security of the United States of America.

These articles of impeachment are not brought forth lightly. I've
carefully weighed the options available to members of Congress and
found this path the path that is the most important to take.

The justifications used to lead our nation to war have unquestionably
been disproved. Brave soldiers and innocent civilians have lost their
lives in a war the United States should never have initiated. The
weight of the lies used to lead us into war has grown heavier with each
death. Now is the time for Congress to examine the actions that led us
into this war, just as we must work to bring the troops home. This
resolution is a very serious matter, and I will urge the Committee on
Judiciary to investigate and carefully consider this resolution.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

John Nichols, the best-selling biographer of Vice President Dick
Cheney, is the author of a new book: THE GENIUS OF IMPEACHMENT: The
Founders' Cure for Royalism. Rolling Stone's Tim Dickinson hails it as
a "nervy, acerbic, passionately argued history-cum-polemic [that]
combines a rich examination of the parliamentary roots and past use of
the 'heroic medicine' that is impeachment with a call for Democratic
leaders to 'reclaim and reuse the most vital tool handed to us by the
founders for the defense of our most basic liberties.'" 

___________________

JamBoi: Jammy, The Sacred Cow Slayer
The Green Parties' #1 Blogger
http://dailyJam.blogspot.com

"To the brave belong all things"
Celt's invading Etrusca reply to nervous Romans around 400BC

"Live humbly, laugh often and love unconditionally" (anon)

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