President Obama should be impeached, removed from office and prosecuted for war crimes. He continued President Bush’s illegal wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, illegal torture of prisoners in Guantanamo and other places, and massive illegal spying on Americans. These actions by Bush were illegal under our Constitution, U.S. laws, and international law.
These three issues — wars, torture and spying — are the major reasons various members of Congress called for impeachment of Bush and Vice President Cheney from 2005 onward. The impeachment resolutions were not taken up by the House committees because the top Democrat, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, ordered, “Impeachment is off the table.”
Many House and Senate Democrats and Republicans were and are complicit in the approval of the Bush/Cheney crime spree and the continuation of that crime spree by Obama. But remember, it was the Democratic leaders who thwarted the will of millions of Americans who called for the impeachment of Bush and Cheney. And it is likely they will do the same for the call to impeach Obama. But the call must still be made. Veterans for Peace called for Obama's impeachment in 2011 just as they called for the impeachment of Bush and Cheney in 2005.
Our Declaration of Independence and Constitution founded our nation based on the rule of law — rather than the rule of political whim. The Constitution calls for representative government in which Congress makes the laws, the executive branch enforces those laws, and the judiciary processes the cases of alleged law breaking to determine innocence or guilt and punishment.
Our system is broken in so many ways. Our nation’s wealth — in human resources and dollars — is being squandered. Afghanistan and Iraq have been ruined civically, physically, economically and environmentally. Millions of people have lost their lives, schools, health, emotional stability, wealth, family, homes and future due to America’s ferocious war on them and their own civil wars. And only a fool would say we “won” these wars.
It is time for a revolution! It is time to remove the leader of the executive branch of our government — Obama. Specifically, we should impeach him, remove him from office and prosecute Obama, Bush and Cheney for war crimes and massive illegal spying.
Some Democrats may exclaim, "Oh, no! We might get a Republican president!" To live under the rule of law, we must enforce the laws and lets the chips fall where they may.
Our Declaration of Independence and Constitution provide us with two ways to accomplish revolution. Conduct war — we called it the Revolutionary War in the 1770s. Realizing the horror of war, those same Founders provided a peaceful way to conduct revolution in the Constitution adopted in 1787.
Under the Constitution, the House of Representatives investigates what it feels are "high crimes or misdemeanors" committed by a leader, decides there is reasonable likelihood that such crimes have been committed, and drafts articles of impeachment. If a majority of the House votes in favor of one or more articles, then the Senate conducts an impeachment trial on those articles/crimes. If the Senate votes the person is guilty of one or more of those crimes, the person is impeached and removed from office. Note: The impeached person is immediately removed from office and stripped of any government support (salary, pensions, guards, offices and health care). But that person cannot be imprisoned, fined or executed.
Result: A revolution has been conducted using the rule of law rather than assassinations, weapons and death.
We must face the facts as adults. For the last 50 years, we have had leaders of both parties lying to us and the Congress and finagling us into war after war after war. And the present leaders promise us more wars. Neither America nor the world can stand much more of this macho, risky behavior that kills so many and enriches only the corporations and top politicians that feed on war like vultures but avoid battle themselves.
We must impeach and prosecute Obama, Bush and Cheney to again create an opportunity for our people to live under the rule of law and regain our freedoms. In order to do this we must set aside our alliances to political parties, look at the laws, look at the alleged crimes, and make our decisions trying to do what is best for the future of our people and the rest of the world.
We have been a brutal nation; we must face that fact and try to regain our footing and our way — for we are lost.
Buzz Davis, of Stoughton, is a former VISTA volunteer, Army officer, elected official, union organizer and state government planner, and current senior activist and member of Veterans for Peace. dbuzzdavis@aol.com
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