Nationwide call for President Bush's impeachment
By Deyva Arthur
Green Party of New York State

"So what do you think of the war now, after the recent bombings in London?" shouted the heckler at the end of the press conference.

"We are not here today to make judgments on whether the war is right or wrong," said Mark Dunlea, a New York Green. "We are here today calling for an investigation towards the impeachment of a president who purposely deceived the country in order to engage in that war."

So wrapped up one of the press conferences held throughout the country by the Green Party of the United States (GP-US) demanding the impeachment of President Bush. The GP-US is asking party members to hold press conferences to educate the public about the level of deception in the White House.

"The invasion and occupation of Iraq have caused the deaths of over 1,730 U.S. military personnel,* as well as untold suffering and tens of thousands of civilians dead in Iraq," said Bill Peltz, also a New York Green. "The Downing Street Memos confirm what we already knew--that a conspiracy to deceive the American people led us into the war. This conspiracy constitutes 'high crimes and misdemeanors,' according to the U.S. Constitution."

In 2003 the GP-US called for the impeachment of both President Bush and Vice-President Cheney. The party has increased its efforts after the Downing Street Memos provided substantial evidence the Bush administration purposely altered information in order to gain Congress' and the public's approval to start the war.

Rebecca Rotzler, co-chair of the Green Party Peace Action Committee, said "all of the reasons for invasion that Mr. Bush listed in his Jan. 28, 2003 State of the Union address--Iraqi WMDs [weapons of mass destruction], collusion between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda, evidence that Saddam had sought nuclear weapons materials from Africa, nuclear aluminum rods, Iraq's supposed threat to the U.S. and to other nations--are now known to be false."

Although the Green Party has been in the forefront in demanding an investigation of the White House, some within Congress have also pushed for a proper inquiry. Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) has sent out a letter calling for a full explanation of the Downing Street Memos from Bush. One hundred members of Congress and 500,000 U.S. citizens have signed the letter, investigating whether the president committed impeachable offenses. 

Bill Peltz, John Amadon and Mark Dunlea spoke at a press conference  calling for the impeachment of President Bush. Peltz and Dunlea are  both active members of the Capital District Greens, and John Amadon  is a member of Veterans for Peace, which co-hosted the event held in  Albany, N.Y. Photo: Deyva Arthur / Green Party of New York State

A recent national poll by Zogby International found that 42 percent of Americans believe President Bush should be impeached if he lied to Congress about going to war with Iraq. An ABC News/Washington Post poll in August found 52 percent of Americans believe the Bush administration "deliberately misled the public before the war," and 57 percent say the Bush administration "intentionally exaggerated the evidence pre-war that Iraq possessed nuclear, chemical or biological weapons."

Mainstream media have covered little of any investigations of the president's actions at the start of the war or his involvement with war crimes in violation of international law. 

Ben Kjelshus, a Green from Kansas City, said, "The people in this country must be informed of what the Bush administration was doing behind closed doors while it was preaching peace and international cooperation. Now the media have a wonderful opportunity to rectify their negligence by bringing this memo to the attention of the American people."

Not only the media have been reticent on this issue. Despite substantial support from individuals, many organizations hesitate to demand publicly the president's removal. 

"Many don't know what the value of calling for impeachment is, since Republicans hold both houses, and any further steps won't go anywhere," said Dunlea. "But support is building, especially since the Downing Street Memos have come out.... We cannot allow the horrible crimes of September 11 to be used as an excuse to suspend our Constitution."

* The death toll has risen to more than 2,030 U.S. military personnel as of posting.

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