[casi] "Preemptive impeachment"

[H Sutter <citext@DELETETHISchebucto.ns.ca>]

Two articles: one dated January 4, describing
Francis Boyle's impeachment plan. And one about
the national march against war, January 18.


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Online Journal

http://www.onlinejournal.com/Special_Reports/Ramares010403/ramares010403.html

Preemptive impeachment
Law professor stands ready to draft articles for
any member of the House

By llia Ramares
Online Journal Contributing Editor

While the United States will constantly strive to enlist the
support of the international community, we will not hesitate to
act alone, if necessary, to exercise our right of self defense by
acting preemptively against such terrorists, to prevent them from
doing harm against our people and our country...

The National Security Strategy of the United States of America
January 4, 2002.

"We sentenced Nazi leaders to death for waging a war of
aggression," says International Law Professor Francis A. Boyle of
the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. By contrast, Prof.
Boyle wants merely to impeach George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald
Rumsfeld and John Ashcroft for their plans to invade Iraq and
create a police state in America.

Boyle is offering his services as counsel, free of charge, to any
member of the House of Representatives willing to sponsor articles
of impeachment. He is experienced in this work, having undertaken
it in 1991 for the late Rep. Henry B. Gonzalez (D-TX), in an
effort to stop the first Persian Gulf War. It takes only one
member to introduce articles of impeachment. Of course, it will
take many more than that to vote for impeachment, which will
culminate in a trial in the Senate. Boyle is confident that, once
the articles are introduced, others, including Republicans, will
co-sponsor them. But we have to convince our Representatives that
impeachment is necessary for the country and politically safe for
them. This non-violent, constitutional process may be our best way
of stopping World War III and saving our civil rights.

Grounds for Impeachment

Article II Sec. 4 of the Constitution states that: "The President,
Vice President and all Civil Officers of the United States, shall
be removed from Office on Impeachment for and Conviction of,
Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors." Boyle
says that waging a war of aggression is a crime under the
Nuremberg Charter, Judgment and [26] Principles. "It's very
clear," he adds, "if you read all the press reports, they are
going to devastate Baghdad, a metropolitan area of 5 million
people. The Nuremberg Charter clearly says the wanton devastation
of a city is a Nuremberg war crime."
26. http://www.rise4news.net/Nuremberg_Principles.html

The United States is a party to the Nuremberg Charter, Judgment
and Principles, and thus is constitutionally bound to obey them.
"The Constitution, in Article 6, says that international treaties
are the supreme law of the land here in the United States of
America. So all we would be doing here, in this impeachment
campaign," Boyle says, "is impeaching them for violating
international treaties, as incorporated into the United States
Constitution, as well as the Constitution itself."

Bush Cabal Repudiates Nuremberg Principles

We don't have to wait for the devastation of Baghdad to impeach
the Bush cabal because they have already repudiated the Nuremberg
Charter via the so-called Bush Doctrine of preventive war and pre-
emptive attack. "This doctrine of pre-emptive warfare or pre-
emptive attack was rejected soundly in the Nuremberg Judgment, "
Boyle says. "The Nuremberg Judgment... rejected this Nazi doctrine
of international law of alleged self-defense." The Bush Doctrine,
embodied in the [27] National Security Strategy document,
published on the White House web site, is appalling, Boyle says.
"It reads like a Nazi planning document prior to the Second World
War."
27. http://www.whitehouse.gov/nsc/nss.html

The Fruit Doesn't Fall Far From the Tree

As Rep. Henry B. Gonzalez explained on the floor of the House in
1991, his articles charged the elder Bush with:

1) Violating the Equal Protection Clause by having minorities and
poor whites, who were the majority of the soldiers in the Middle
East, "fight a war for oil to preserve the lifestyles of the
wealthy."

2) Violating "the Constitution, Federal law, and the UN Charter by
bribing, intimidating, and threatening others, including the
members of the UN Security Council, to support belligerent acts
against Iraq."

3) Violating the Nuremberg principles by conspiring to engage in a
massive war against Iraq that would cause tens of thousands of
civilian deaths.

4) Committing "the United States to acts of war without
congressional consent and contrary to the UN Charter and
international law." (This refers to the lack of a formal
declaration of war, as required by the Constitution).

5) Committing crimes against the peace by leading the United
States into aggressive war against Iraq, in violation of Article
24 of the UN Charter, the Nuremberg Charter, other international
instruments and treaties, and the Constitution of the United
States.

Boyle believes that the articles he drafted for Gonzalez' effort
to impeach George H. W. Bush, the father, could still serve as a
basis for impeaching George W. Bush, the son.

Are the People Ready for Another Impeachment?

Impeachment has the advantage of bypassing the U.S. Supreme Court,
which illegally installed Bush in the Oval Office. The same
"Justices" would have the final word on legal challenges to
constitutional abominations, such as the USA PATRIOT Act and the
Homeland Security Act, both of which the White House rammed
through a Congress frightened by the September 11th attacks and
the as yet unsolved anthrax attacks on Capitol Hill.

But no matter how blatant the violations of constitutional,
statutory and international law are, impeachment is still a
political process. Republicans control the Congress and many
Democrats, fearful of being labeled "soft on terrorism" might be
unwilling to challenge the Bush cabal. It would take tremendous
public pressure to get a reluctant Congress to impeach. Still,
Boyle thinks he can garner public support by adding an article of
impeachment against John Ashcroft.

"We know for a fact that there are Republicans and Democrats and
Independents and Greens, even very conservative Republicans, such
as Dick Armey and [Bob] Barr, who are very worried about a police
state." Boyle says that an article against Ashcroft would make
clear "that we don't want a police state in the name of an oil
empire."

It's Up to Us

Unfortunately for the impeachment campaign, Armey has retired and
Barr, who spoke out against some of the most draconian proposals
for what eventually became the USA PATRIOT Act, was defeated in
the Republican primary. Boyle is still waiting for the one member
of Congress willing to introduce articles of impeachment when the
108th Congress convenes on January 7.

Since Bush has indicated that he is not likely to go to war before
the end of January or early February, Boyle thinks we have a month
to stop the war by impeaching the chain of command: Bush, Cheney
and Rumsfeld, along with police state enforcer Ashcroft. Time and
the Internet are advantages Rep. Gonzalez did not have in 1991,
when the Persian Gulf War was launched the day after he introduced
his articles.

Boyle is asking the public to push for impeachment in two ways.
First, [28] contact your own member of Congress to urge him or her
to introduce articles of impeachment, and tell the member that he
or she may [29] contact Prof. Boyle for assistance in drafting the
articles. Second, demand impeachment by engaging in non-violent
direct action, in exercise of your First Amendment rights to free
speech, peaceable assembly and petition for redress of grievances.
Boyle was pleased that 100,000 people marched around the White
House last October 26 to protest the impending war on Iraq. But he
says one million people need to peaceably take to the streets with
signs, banners and voices shouting, "Impeach Bush!"
28. http://www.house.gov/house/MemberWWW.html
29. mailto:FBOYLE@LAW.UIUC.EDU

"The bottom line: it's really up to you and to me to enforce the
law and the Constitution against our own government," he says. "We
are citizens of the United States of America. We have to act to
preserve the republic that we have, to preserve our Constitution,
to preserve a rule of law. This is our responsibility as citizens.
We simply can't pass the buck and say 'Oh, some judge is going to
do it somewhere.' It's up to us to keep this republic."

Copyright 8 2003 llia Ramares. For fair use only.
###

Listen to llia Ramares' full interview of Prof. Francis Boyle at
[30] R.I.S.E. - Radio Internet Story Exchange. Also, [31] shop the
R.I.S.E. online store for impeachment paraphernalia.


[32] Download a printable version.
For a free copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader, click [33] here.

National march against war and racism

Saturday, Jan. 18

National march on Washington, DC, to say no to war on Iraq. The
event will begin with a rally at 11a.m. Eastern time on the west
side of the Capitol Building, followed by a march to the
Washington, DC, Navy Yard, a huge military complex located in the
heart of one of Washington's working class communities.

In a joint action in San Francisco, marchers will assemble at
11a.m. Pacific time at Market and Embarcadero Streets in the
Financial District for a march to Civic Center.

Sunday, Jan. 19

There will be a Youth and Student Rally and March against War and
Racism In Washington, DC. Marchers should gather at 11 a.m. at the
Departmentt of In-Justice on Pennsylvania Ave., between 9th and
10th Streets NW. There will be a march to the Presidential Palace
(a.k.a. the White House) for a Youth & Student Weapons Inspection.

The Youth and Student Rally and March is to protest the attacks
against the Arab and Muslim communitiesincluding the recent mass
arrests in California. People are encouraged to bring banners and
puppets, to dress as weapons inspectors, to find as many creative
methods to dramatize your demands in opposition to a war of
aggression and in support of a reorganization of society's
priorities that would put people's needs ahead of the Pentagon and
the war profiteers in Corporate America. For more information on
these protests, please visit the website of [34] International
ANSWERAct Now to Stop War and End Racism.
34. http://www.internationalanswer.org/


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