by Kimberly Blaker

G21 Contributing Editor

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Kimberly Blaker

NEW BOSTON, MI, USA - During his presidency, Bill Clinton was the ongoing victim of a massive, righteous Right-wing assault, from allegations of his knowledge and involvement in the Whitewater deal and questions pertaining to his 1996 fundraising efforts (neither of which was substantiated) to Kenneth Starr's obsession with the President's extramarital relations.

Despite a long history of politicians, particularly presidents, having secret and less than admirable rendezvouses, it became deemed the business of the public and the government during Clinton's tenure. As a result of this partisan witch-trial, Clinton was impeached for lying under oath about his sexual indiscretions, though later acquitted by the Senate.

Contrast this to the weighty allegations by a multitude of citizens, political action groups, and government representatives against President George W. Bush and his administration.

Former Attorney General Ramsey Clark, founder and chairperson of the International Action Center, has drafted Articles of Impeachment, listing 17 acts for which President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, and Attorney General John Ashcroft should be removed from office. The accusations are of Constitutional violations and subversions in the Administration's efforts to carry out "crimes against peace and humanity," for war crimes, and for depriving U.S. citizens and others of their civil rights.

Crimes listed, though in greater detail, include domestic spying; secret military tribunals; violating attorney-client confidentiality privileges; the seizure of assets prior to a hearing or trial; violating and subverting the Charter of the United Nations; refusal to disclose the names of detainees and their whereabouts to the public; the authorization and ordering and condoning of civilian attacks, as well as assassinations, kidnappings, illegal detentions, and torture and coercion to obtain false statements from prisoners; and more.

And the evidence against Bush and his administration continues to mount. To date, no hard evidence of weapons of mass destruction has materialized, leading to yet further allegations that not only has our country and Iraq fallen victim to Bushenanigans, but that Americans and the nations supporting the war have been duped.

MoveOn, a fast-growing and powerful political action organization, has also taken up the Bush impeachment cause and in a period of only three weeks has already gained signatures of 190,000 Americans in a petition to create an independent commission to investigate possible manipulation and distortion of evidence by the Bush Administration to gain support for its war in Iraq.

A bill has now been written by Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) to create this commission, and its cosponsors are not just those originally opposed to the war, but also, according to MoveOn, moderate Democrats who voted for it.

Of monumental importance are the apparent lies that have unfolded in recent days. These include, but are not limited to, says MoveOn, a White House admission of a false statement made by Bush in his State of the Union address "that Iraq was trying to procure nuclear materials from Niger" . . .; and Bushís statement: "We found the weapons of mass destruction," which British investigators concluded, following an investigation of the trailers Bush was referring to, was untrue.

But perhaps the most disturbing of Bush's fabrications is his exploitation of Americansí fears following 9-11 and his linking of Saddam Hussein's regime to al-Qaida. The Associated Press has reported: "Before the war, Bush and members of his cabinet said Saddam was harboring top al-Qaida operatives and suggested Iraq could slip the terrorist network chemical, biological or even nuclear weapons. . . . . Now, two former Bush administration intelligence officials say the evidence linking Saddam to the group responsible for the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks was never more than sketchy at best. 'There was no significant pattern of cooperation between Iraq and the al-Qaida terrorist operation,' former State Department intelligence official Greg Thielmann said this week."

Article II, Section 4, of the U.S. Constitution states: "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." Should the impeachment process make it so far, it'll be interesting to see how it plays out in a Republican controlled House and Senate and with the ultra-conservative Chief Justice William Rehnquist presiding over the anticipated impeachment hearing.

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