[Sosfbay-discuss] Bush could take us from bad to worse

[Drew Johnson]

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/337917_firstperson05.html
Bush could take us from bad to worse

DONALD A. SMITH
GUEST COLUMNIST

Thousands of anti-war protesters marched in Seattle on Oct. 27, including
several co-signers of this essay. But can this war be stopped? Recent
articles in Mother Jones and The New Yorker quote experts who say that
leaving Iraq suddenly would likely be disastrous, for both Iraq and the
U.S. The three Democratic presidential front-runners refuse to promise to
bring the troops home by 2013.

But staying in Iraq may be worse. Even war supporters aren't claiming that
the U.S. can actually "win" in Iraq. At best, a lengthy, debilitating
occupation awaits us. U.S. troops already are exhausted and understaffed.
Prolonging the war may merely postpone the day of reckoning, with an even
greater loss of lives and money. Meanwhile, Turkey may attack the Kurds,
oil has topped $90 a barrel and President Bush is asking for another $200
billion for the war and is beating the drums for war with Iran.

In short, the Bush administration has made a huge mess while ignoring the
real terrorists responsible for 9/11 and failing to address the
Palestinian-Israeli conflict or the high demand for oil that are the root
causes for the war and for terrorism.

If members of Congress can't end this war, we beg them to hold its
architects accountable, by investigative hearings leading to censure or
(better yet) impeachment.

Some people argue that pursing accountability would be a distraction from
the real things that matter. But Congress is not accomplishing much
anyway. Until Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney are stifled, things will
continue to be bad -- and will get a lot worse if Bush attacks Iran.

Some people say the populace has no patience for drawn-out hearings. But
according to a recent Reuters/Zogby poll, Bush's approval ratings are 24
percent; polls this summer by American Research Group indicate 45 percent
of Americans favor impeaching Bush, with 54 percent favoring impeaching
Cheney. One of the reasons Congress' approval ratings are even lower than
Bush's is that Congress hasn't stood up to the administration. Many
Democrats would love to see Bush and Cheney in jail but believe pursuing
impeachment is useless; we beg to differ.

In contrast to Bill Clinton, whose "crime" involved lying about sex, the
Bush administration is responsible for: a disastrous war based on
falsehoods; the deaths of hundreds of thousands of civilians and nearly
4,000 U.S. soldiers; the displacement of several million Iraqis; promotion
of torture and rendition; illegal wiretapping; signing statements that
thwart the will of Congress; revealing the name of a CIA agent;
politicizing the Justice Department; denial of fair trial at Guantanamo;
suppression of inconvenient evidence; obsessive secrecy; and gross
incompetence and corruption in the management of federal agencies, the
Hurricane Katrina disaster, the war and veterans' care.

Impeachment by the House is a real possibility. Even if the Senate is
unable to convict, hearings would embarrass and weaken the administration.
Most of all, hearings would reveal the truth, re-establish the rule of law
and demonstrate that Americans defend their Constitution.

We have an obligation -- to the world, to justice and to posterity -- to
at least try to hold Bush and Cheney accountable.

What high crimes are more odious than promoting torture and misleading the
country into a disastrous, mismanaged war based on lies? Please, America,
hold these men accountable.

Donald A. Smith of Bellevue wrote this on behalf of more than two dozen
anti-war activists.