letters from america
War of aggression is crime
under Nuremberg Charter - INDICT warmongers NOW |
FYA: "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful,committed citizens can
change the world:indeed it's the only thing that ever does." Margaret Mead
"Almost always the creative dedicated minority has
made the world better." Martin Luther King, Jr.
History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of
social transition was not the strident clamour of the bad people, but the
appalling silence of the good people. Martin Luther King, Jr.
______________________________________________________________________
Onlinejournal.com - Preemptive impeachment - Prof Boyle
{FBOYLE@LAW.UIUC.EDU}.
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 Kéllia 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
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."
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 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."
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,
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 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!"
"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 © 2003 Kéllia Ramares. For fair use only.
Listen to Kéllia Ramares' full interview of Prof. Francis Boyle
(FBOYLE@LAW.UIUC.EDU) at R.I.S.E. - Radio Internet Story Exchange.
Also, [
http://www.rise4news.net/impeach.html
|
Francis A. Boyle
Law Building
504 E. Pennsylvania Ave.
Champaign, IL 61820 USA
217-333-7954(voice)
217-244-1478(fax)
fboyle@law.uiuc.edu
(personal comments only)
Impeachment Resolution Against President George W. Bush
by
Francis A. Boyle
Professor of Law
January 17, 2003
108nd Congress H.Res.XX
1st Session
Impeaching George Walker Bush, President of the United
States,
of high crimes and misdemeanors.
_______________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January __, 2003
Mr./Ms. Y submitted the following resolution; which was
referred
to the Committee on Judiciary.
________________________________________________
A RESOLUTION
Impeaching George Walker Bush, President of the United
States,
of high crimes and misdemeanors.
Resolved, That George Walker Bush, President of the
United States
is impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors, and that
the following
articles of impeachment be exhibited to the Senate:
Articles of impeachment exhibited by the House of
Representatives
of the United States of America in the name of itself and
of
all of the people of the United States of America,
against George
Walker Bush, President of the United States of America,
in maintenanceand support of its impeachment against him
for high crimes andmisdemeanors.
ARTICLE I
In the conduct of the office of President of the United
States,
George Walker Bush, in violation of his constitutional
oath faithfully
to execute the office of President of the United States
and,
to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend
the
Constitution of the United States, and in violation of
his constitutional
duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed,
has attempted
to impose a police state and a military dictatorship upon
the
people and Republic of the United States of America by
means
of "a long Train of Abuses and Usurpations"
against the Constitution
since September 11, 2001. This subversive conduct
includes, but
is not limited, to trying to suspend the constitutional
Writ of
Habeas Corpus; ramming the totalitarian U.S.A. Patriot
Act through
Congress; the mass-round-up and incarceration of
foreigners;
kangaroo courts; depriving at least two United States
citizens
of their constitutional rights by means of military
incarceration;
interference with the constitutional right of defendants
in criminal
cases to lawyers; violating and subverting the Posse
Comitatus
Act; unlawful and unreasonable searches and seizures;
violating
the First Amendments rights of the free exercise of
religion,
freedom of speech, peaceable assembly, and to petition
the government for redress of grievances; packing the
federal judiciary with
hand-picked judges belonging to the totalitarian
Federalist Society
and undermining the judicial independence of the
Constitution's
Article III federal court system; violating the Third and
Fourth
Geneva Conventions and the U.S. War Crimes Act; violating
the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and
the
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms
of Racial
Discrimination; reinstitution of the infamous
"Cointelpro" Program;
violating the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations,
the Convention
against Torture, and the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights;
instituting the totalitarian Total Information Awareness
Program;
and establishing a totalitarian Northern Military Command
for
the United States of America itself. In all of this
George Walker
Bush has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as
President
and subversive of constitutional government, to the great
prejudice
of the cause of law and justice and to the manifest
injury of
the people of the United States.
Wherefore George Walker Bush, by such conduct, warrants
impeachment and trial, and removal from office.
ARTICLE II
In the conduct of the office of President of the United
States,
George Walker Bush, in violation of his constitutional
oath faithfully
to execute the office of President of the United States
and,
to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend
the
Constitution of the United States, and in violation of
his constitutional
duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed,
has violated
the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution. U.S.
soldiers
in the Middle East are overwhelmingly poor White, Black,
and
Latino and their military service is based on the
coercion of
a system that has denied viable economic opportunities to
these
classes of citizens. Under the Constitution, all classes
of citizens
are guaranteed equal protection of the laws, and calling
on the
poor and minorities to fight a war for oil to preserve
the lifestyles
of the wealthy power elite of this country is a denial of
the
rights of these soldiers. In all of this George Walker
Bush has
acted in a manner contrary to his trust as President and
subversive
of constitutional government, to the great prejudice of
the cause
of law and justice and to the manifest injury of the
people of
the United States.
Wherefore George Walker Bush, by such conduct, warrants
impeachment and trial, and removal from office.
ARTICLE III
In the conduct of the office of President of the United
States,
George Walker Bush, in violation of his constitutional
oath faithfully
to execute the office of President of the United States
and,
to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend
the
Constitution of the United States, and in violation of
his constitutional
duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed,
has violated
the U.S. Constitution, federal law, and the United
Nations Charter
by bribing, intimidating and threatening others,
including the
members of the United Nations Security Council, to
support belligerent
acts against Iraq. In all of this George Walker Bush has
acted
in a manner contrary to his trust as President and
subversive
of constitutional government, to the great prejudice of
the cause
of law and justice and to the manifest injury of the
people of
the United States.
Wherefore George Walker Bush, by such conduct, warrants
impeachment
and trial, and removal from office.
ARTICLE IV
In the conduct of the office of President of the United
States,
George Walker Bush, in violation of his constitutional
oath faithfully
to execute the office of President of the United States
and,
to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend
the
Constitution of the United States, and in violation of
his constitutional
duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed,
has prepared,
planned, and conspired to engage in a massive war and
catastrophic
aggression against Iraq by employing methods of mass
destruction
that will result in the killing of hundreds of thousands
of civilians,
many of whom will be children. This planning includes the
threatened
use of nuclear weapons, and the use of such
indiscriminate weapons
and massive killings by aerial bombardment, or otherwise,
of
civilians, violates the Hague Regulations on land
warfare, the
rules of customary international law set forth in the
Hague Rules
of Air Warfare, the Four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and
Protocol
I thereto, the Nuremberg Charter, Judgment, and
Principles, the
Genocide Convention, the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights,
and U.S. Army Field Manual 27-10 (1956). In all of this
George
Walker Bush has acted in a manner contrary to his trust
as President
and subversive of constitutional government, to the great
prejudice
of the cause of law and justice and to the manifest
injury of
the people of the United States.
Wherefore George Walker Bush, by such conduct, warrants
impeachment and trial, and removal from office.
ARTICLE V
In the conduct of the office of President of the United
States,
George Walker Bush, in violation of his constitutional
oath faithfully
to execute the office of President of the United States
and,
to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend
the
Constitution of the United States, and in violation of
his constitutional
duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed,
has committed
the United States to acts of war without congressional
consent
and contrary to the United Nations Charter and
international
law. From September, 2001 through January, 2003, the
President
embarked on a course of action that systematically
eliminated
every option for peaceful resolution of the Persian Gulf
crisis.
Once the President approached Congress for consent to
war, tens
of thousands of American soldiers' lives were in jeopardy
- rendering
any substantive debate by Congress meaningless. The
President
has not received a Declaration of War by Congress, and in
contravention
of the written word, the spirit, and the intent of the
U.S. Constitution
has declared that he will go to war regardless of the
views of
the American people. In failing to seek and obtain a
Declaration
of War, George Walker Bush has acted in a manner contrary
to
his trust as President and subversive of constitutional
government,
to the great prejudice of the cause of law and justice
and to
the manifest injury of the people of the United States.
Wherefore George Walker Bush, by such conduct, warrants
impeachment and trial, and removal from office.
ARTICLE VI
In the conduct of the office of President of the United
States,
George Walker Bush, in violation of his constitutional
oath faithfully
to execute the office of President of the United States
and,
to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend
the
Constitution of the United States, and in violation of
his constitutional
duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed,
has planned,
prepared, and conspired to commit crimes against the
peace by
leading the United States into aggressive war against
Iraq in
violation of Article 2(4) of the United Nations Charter,
the
Nuremberg Charter, Judgment, and Principles, the
Kellogg-Brand
Pact, U.S. Army Field Manual 27-10 (1956), numerous other
international
treaties and agreements, and the Constitution of the
United States.
In all of this George Walker Bush has acted in a manner
contrary
to his trust as President and subversive of
constitutional government,
to the great prejudice of the cause of law and justice
and to
the manifest injury of the people of the United States.
Wherefore George Walker Bush, by such conduct, warrants
impeachment and trial, and removal from office.
(In memory of Congressman Henry B. Gonzalez - R.I.P. -
and H.
Res. 86, 102nd Cong., 1st Sess., Jan. 16, 1991.)
FROM DR. AND MRS.JAMES
ROGERS :
As Methodists, as human rights
advocates, as advocates of freedom of speech and
advocates of equality with regard to our foreign
policies, we are appalled at the warmongering of George
Bush and his cohorts.
Mr. Bush is not a leader. he is a follower and
uninformed. He isn't even smart enough to come up with his own dumb comic book,
cowboy rhetoric as in "axis of evil." The man
who did, David Frum, has written a not-so-lovely book
about him. An article in the St. Petersburg Times l-8-03
says "With the exception of Karl Rove, Frum views
Bush as surrounded by genial lieutenants - few of whom
impressed the author with their intellectual power. He
says Bush is often glib - he would refer to
environmentalists as 'green-green-lima-beans." Frum
also describes Bush as "often uncurious and as a
result ill informed" on some matters that Frum does
not specify. He also said that Bush in private is not the
easy, genial man as he shows in public. In other words he
has a dual personality, one for the public and the other
for those working for him.
Well, isn't that interesting? So the man is as many of us
suspect a camelian. Let us say that we voted for him and
are sorely disappointed that we did.
We do not believe the president really is concerned about
other humans. If he did he would be searching for peace,
not war against Iraq, people who have already been bombed
back to the Stone Age by his father, a country that was
beautiful and its women were free, with equal rights. And
they have been bombed regularly ever since, with inhumane
sanctions recogized as that by most of the rest of the
world with the exception of the rogue state of Israel, an
illegal and brutal military occupier.
Saddam Hussein is again hyped to be the most evil man in
the universe (has he yet be on the cover of Time where
once Kadafy was accused of holding that honor?). Saddam
Hussein has not been guilty of killing nearly the number
of people Israel has killed with impunity, including our
own sailors on the USS Liberty, a crime not just against
the U.S. but against the men serving the U.S. who have
never been honored because the culprit was Israel and
Johnson was in charge and bought out.
In the book "Body of Secrets" Johnson is quoted
as having said that Israel could sink that ship for all
he cared but he would not expose his ally, Israel. The
man should be removed from Arlington and his body hanged
in a public square as a traitor.
Bush is also very influenced by the voting power of the
fundamentalist Christian Zionists who are without
question dangerous people. Their television and radio
stations are propaganda machines, pushing for war,
unconcerned about the disruption of young families, young
students, all facing death or severe injuries and for
what?
Oil? No. Weapons of mass destruction? No. For what? The
rogue state of Israel whose claws reach deeply into the
pockets of our elected officials with threats and money.
Israel, the country with weapons of mass destruction
including nuclear weaponry for which their own man was
put kidnapped and put into solitary confinement in Israel
for daring to talk about it. Israel, a country that
refuses to sign the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and
refuses inspections. Israel that has occupied several
Arab countries illegally and is run by Eastern European
Jews who have no ties to the Middle East except as greedy
criminals.
War is ugly. Charlie Rangel and John Conyers, both
congressmen are to be congratulated - they are, by the
way, being attacked by the Washington based Janet
Paschal's America (not sure of the spelling), a woman who
has all the likings of a Tokyo Rose, a virtual propaganda
machine of hatred and racism against all Arabs and
Muslims and apparently does not give a whit for Arab
Christians in Palestine and in Iraq. She is pushing for
war and against anyone who calls in and disagrees with
the Bush policies of warmongering.
Her radio talk show number is 1-800-343-9282. People
should call this program and let her know that Israel is
not the only country in the Middle East and what Israel
is doing with the aid of our hard earned tax dollars we
desperately need here is criminal, genocidal and evil.
And that a war against Iraq that endangers the already
malnourished people and particularly children injured by
our sanctions is equally evil.
If Bush is really a Christian he will be willing to sit
and talk with his perceived enemies and
make concessions. He is unwilling because he is either a
warmonger who cares little for anything but his own
greedy goals or he is so sadly misinformed that he is a
threat to peace and security. He certainly is no peace
maker.
All of us need to continue to call Washington at
202-456-1111 and express our outrage at the war buildup
and threats to our young people whose lives are already
being torn apart by being shipped off to places in the
Middle East. Education, family life torn apart, perhaps
never to be put back together. Remember too, that Iraq
had nothing to do with 9-11, the pilots were all from
Saudi Arabia.
from
Dr. and Mrs.James Rogers
|