[GPCA Updates] GP RELEASE Greens: Congress must impeach lawless Bush & Cheney now

[updates-admin at cagreens.org]

GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES
http://www.gp.org

For Immediate Release:
Tuesday, January 3, 2006


Congress must impeach Bush and Cheney, say Greens, citing White House 
lawlessness, growing threat to U.S. democracy, and war crimes


WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Citing a litany of alleged high crimes and 
misdemeanors, abuses of power, and violations of the U.S. Constitution, 
Green Party leaders urged Congress to initiate impeachment proceedings 
against President George W. Bush and Vice President Cheney as soon as 
possible.

"The evidence that President Bush has abused his office and betrayed the 
trust of the American people is now so overwhelming that failure to 
undertake impeachment would make Congress even more complicit in this 
administration's lawlessness," said Nan Garrett, Georgia Green Party 
co-chair and spokesperson for the National Women's Caucus.  "Three more 
years of Bush and Cheney will do lasting damage to the rule of law and 
result in even more death and destruction under Bush's reckless 
policies."

"The Bush Administration blocked an independent probe into 9/11 while 
making fraudulent statements about the reasons for invading Iraq, and 
now admits that it spies on American citizens in disregard of legal 
limits.  What more does Congress need before it says enough is enough?" 
Ms. Garrett added.

The Green Party of the United States called for Congress to commence 
impeachment of President Bush in July, 2003, after he ordered the 
invasion of Iraq.  The resolution accused the President of numerous 
deceptions to justify the invasion, as well as violations of the U.S. 
Constitution (restriction in Article II on the deployment of Armed 
Forces to defense of U.S. borders; required adherence to international 
treaties in Article VI) and of international law (U.N. Charter; Geneva 
conventions).

"In early 2003, there already existed credible evidence that the war was 
based on White House fraud: false claims that Saddam Hussein possessed 
WMDs, sought nuclear weapons materials, and colluded with al Qaeda.  But 
most Democrats feared accusations that they'd be soft on terrorism and 
unpatriotic if they criticized the invasion," said Jody Grage Haug, 
co-chair of the Green Party of the United States.  "Three years later, 
after more than 2,100 U.S. troop deaths, tens of thousands of dead Iraqi 
civilians, a continuing military quagmire in Iraq, and indications that 
the invasion and occupation inflamed anti-U.S. sentiment around the 
world, especially in Islamic nations, some Democrats have caught up to 
the Green Party."

In addition to White House falsehoods leading up to the war on Iraq, 
Greens listed other grounds for impeachment:

. President Bush ordered the National Security Agency to spy on American 
citizens without obtaining a warrant in accord with the Fourth Amendment 
and the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).  Recent FBI 
targets of surveillance (nonviolent peace and human rights 
organizations, Catholic Workers Group, People for the Ethical Treatment 
of Animals, Vegan Community Project) prove that his administration's 
goals have more to do with politics than with preventing terrorism.  Mr. 
Bush's insistence that such surveillance is justified and will continue 
is further proof of his contempt for the law.

. Numerous Bush Administration policies -- denial of due process, 
extraordinary rendition, secret detention centers, and torture at 
various sites, including Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay -- have violated 
U.S. and international law.  Vice President Cheney attempted to gain a 
license from Congress for torture, even though it has been proven 
ineffective for gathering accurate information (e.g., Ibn Al Shaykh Al 
Libi's testimony about links between Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda, later 
recanted).  Greens noted that the agreement reached by Mr. Bush and Sen. 
John McCain purportedly outlawing torture allows a significant loophole 
(see "Tortured Logic: McCain-Bush deal has a big loophole" by James 
Ridgeway with Michael Roston, The Village Voice, December 19, 2005, 
<http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0551,ridgeway,71143,2.html>).

. Congress must investigate whether the White House endorsed the use of 
outlawed weapons materials such as depleted uranium, which causes 
radioactive contamination of humans (U.S. troops as well as Iraqi 
civilians) and the environment; white phosphorus, a chemical whose use 
in warfare is proscribed by international agreement; and cluster bombs, 
which do not distinguish between civilians and combatants.  Their use in 
Iraq is a war crime for which either the President himself or the 
Defense Department must be held accountable.  Other war crimes, which 
require impeachment if based on White House orders, include the military 
targeting of journalists, individual reporters as well as television 
stations (Al Jazeera and Abu Dhabi), and looting of hospitals, museums, 
and private homes.

"Many Americans have realized that the Bush-Cheney ideology is about 
installing a permanent corporate elite in power, buttressed by military 
power and public fear over perceived and fabricated threats, while 
missing real dangers to our security," said Jake Schneider, treasurer of 
the Green Party of the United States.  "The response to Katrina, 
dismissed evidence of global warming, manipulated scientific research, 
energy policy crafted in secret with corporate lobbies, new prescription 
drug policy, attack on Social Security, 2000 and 2004 election 
irregularities, and other evidence should lay to rest any illusion about 
this Administration's disregard for the interests of the American 
people."


MORE INFORMATION

Green Party of the United States
http://www.gp.org
1700 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 404
Washington, DC 20009.
202-319-7191, 866-41GREEN
Fax 202-319-7193

"Congress Must Reject Patriot Act, Ban Warrantless Spying"
Press release from the Green Party of the United States, December 19, 
2005 
http://www.gp.org/press/pr_2005_12_19.shtml

"Greens Call for Impeachment of Bush, Withdrawal of Troops by the Winter 
Holidays"
Press release from the Green Party of the United States, July 21, 2003
http://www.gp.org/press/pr_07_21_03.html


~ END ~