Beating\r\nthe drums for justice: Calls for Bush's impeachment for 9–11<\/b><\/p>\r\n
By\r\nJoyce Lynn
\r\n<\/b>Online\r\nJournal Contributing Writer<\/p>\r\n
http:\/\/www.onlinejournal.com\/Special_Reports\/Lynn012303\/lynn012303.html<\/p>\r\n
January\r\n23, 2003—The \"I\" word in connection with 9–11 has come out of the\r\ncloset as activists and citizens call for impeachment of the Bush\r\nadministration.<\/p>\r\n
A\r\ndelegation of about 30 people on January 15 visited the office of Palo Alto\r\nCongresswoman Anna Eshoo (D-Ca) urging her to introduce articles of impeachment\r\nagainst George W. Bush for his \"crimes of 9–11.\"<\/p>\r\n
\"The\r\nadministration is lying to the American people and trying to cover-up the truth\r\nabout 9–11,\" said organizer Carol Brouillet, a member of the Women's\r\nInternational League for Peace and Freedom.<\/p>\r\n
With\r\nlocal television cameras rolling, a staffer to Rep. Eshoo said she would relay\r\nthe group's concerns.<\/p>\r\n
At\r\na community meeting on 9–11 the following night, Brouillet urged attendees to\r\nlaunch similar visits to their members of Congress.<\/p>\r\n
Referring\r\nto the sign popular at peace marches, Brouillet asserted, \"Regime change\r\nbegins at home.\"<\/p>\r\n
One\r\nparticipant likened post 9–11 fears of questioning the administration's story\r\nand the lockstep response to Bush's patriotic fever to the Germans' response to\r\nHitler. \"The German people were trained for over 100 years to be free from\r\npersonal responsibility. They could feel free as long as they were obeying their\r\nleader. I see a lot of that obedience in Americans,\" she said.<\/p>\r\n
Another\r\nquestioned whether an administration that was illegally installed could be\r\nimpeached.<\/p>\r\n
The\r\nmarch came a year after Brouillet led a delegation to the San Francisco office\r\nDemocratic Senator Dianne Feinstein demanding a congressional investigation of\r\n9–11.<\/p>\r\n
At\r\nthat time, the group raised questions about the business relationships of the\r\nBush and bin Laden families through the Carlyle Group, the failure of fighter\r\njets to intercept the four hijacked planes in violation of standard procedures,\r\nand questions about U.S. oil interests in the Caspian Sea Basin.<\/p>\r\n
With\r\npressure from 9–11 families and over administration objections, a joint\r\nHouse-Senate Committee was set up to investigate the intelligence communities\r\nand 9–11. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney urged then Senate Majority\r\nLeader Tom Daschle (D-SD) to limit the inquiries.<\/p>\r\n
Because\r\nof the administration's failure to fully cooperate with the Joint Committee and\r\nbecause its scope was limited to the Intelligence communities, the 9–11\r\nfamilies pushed for an independent commission. Legislation established the\r\ncommission late last year.<\/p>\r\n
Bush\r\nIgnoring<\/b> Numerous Warnings<\/b><\/p>\r\n
Among\r\nthe first to sound the 9–11 impeachment siren were two veteran Democratic\r\nstrategists. In June 2002, Bob Fertik and David Lytel launched \"The Buck\r\nStops Here\" on their Democrats.com\r\nwebsite. Similar to Homeland Security chief Tom Ridge's color-coded system of\r\nterrorists' alerts, Fertik and Lytel have compiled a devastating indictment of\r\nBush, Cheney, Rice, and Rumsfeld.<\/p>\r\n
That\r\ncall for impeaching Bush asserts Bush allowed the September 11 terrorist attacks\r\nto succeed by ignoring numerous warnings, failing to take precautions against\r\nhijackings, and then lying about it afterwards. As of January 16,\r\nDemocrats.com's electronic petition to impeach Bush had 4,774\r\n\"signatures.\"<\/p>\r\n
Asked\r\nwhether the site, home to progressive Democrats, had garnered any congressional\r\nsupport for impeachment, Fertik said, \"Look at what happened to Cynthia\r\nMcKinney. Nobody wants to be next,\" he said. Challenging the administration\r\non 9–11 \"is a guaranteed ticket to political hell.\"<\/p>\r\n
Last\r\nspring, McKinney, a Democratic congresswoman from Georgia, called for an\r\ninvestigation of the events surrounding 9–11. McKinney said, \"The\r\nAmerican people deserve answers about what went wrong on September 11 and\r\nwhy.\"<\/p>\r\n
She\r\naccused the administration of warmongering in Afghanistan and connected the role\r\nof oil and defense interests to U.S. policies. Although her statement seems\r\nprophetic now, McKinney was ridiculed at the time. Political strategists of her\r\nown party on national television derided her. Her reelection bid went up in\r\nsmoke when she was defeated in the primary election.<\/p>\r\n
Fertik\r\ncalled the \"real juice\" for investigating 9–11 the \"People's\r\nInvestigation and the 9–11 families who are pushing to have a commission. They\r\nare unhappy with the rigged commission. They want the truth.\"<\/p>\r\n
Despite\r\nthe administration's resistance to an independent commission to look into\r\n9–11, Bush finally agreed. However, he appointed Henry Kissinger to head the\r\ncommission. Kissinger, who has served in four Republican administrations, has a\r\ncontroversial reputation and oil interests in the Caspian Sea Basin.<\/p>\r\n
Kissinger\r\nresigned and Bush appointed Thomas Kean, who also has oil interests conflicts\r\nand financial ties to bin Laden's brother-in-law.<\/p>\r\n
Disappointed\r\nwith the administration's response, a loose association of citizens,\r\nresearchers, and activists is assembling a 9–11 Truth Alliance to establish\r\nits own investigation of the many unanswered questions surrounding 9–11. The\r\nalliance is organizing a 9–11 Citizens Truth Commission and planning a\r\nconference in New York City in the spring.<\/p>\r\n
Fertik\r\nsaid there were a myriad of warnings about 9–11 \"but whether Bush was\r\npersonally privy has not been established.\"<\/p>\r\n
That\r\nkind of information could be put on the table after hearings begin. Fertik\r\npointed out that the Watergate hearings revealed Richard Nixon was tape\r\nrecording his Oval office conversations and those tapes provided the proof of\r\nthe cover-up of the illegal break-in at the Democratic National Headquarters and\r\nhush-funds payoffs.<\/p>\r\n
The\r\n9–11 Independent Commission, which has an 18-month legislative life, is\r\nunlikely to release its findings before the 2004 presidential election.\r\n\"Yeah, that is part of their game plan,\" Fertik said. \"They\r\ncontrol the clock.\" He said Karl Rove, Bush's chief political strategist,\r\n\"is brilliant at this. If they want something, it has to happen\r\nimmediately, like the bombing of Iraq. Otherwise they will run out the\r\nclock.\"<\/p>\r\n
\"'Finality.'\r\nRemember that?\" Fertik asked ruefully referring to the Republican tactics\r\nduring the 2000 election recount. The Republicans argued the future of democracy\r\ndepended on knowing who the next president would be, rather than on counting the\r\nvotes.<\/p>\r\n
\"They\r\nwill run this out, too,\" Fertik said.<\/p>\r\n
Then,\r\npausing, he offered: \"Bob Graham is serious about running for president.\r\nHe's furious at the White House and Bush and the intelligence community for\r\njerking them (the Joint Intelligence Committee) around, and they kept secrets\r\nfrom the committee.\"<\/p>\r\n
Fertik\r\nalso said former committee co-chair Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala) is \"equally\r\nlivid. Maybe Graham will start talking about it if he runs, \" mused Fertik.<\/p>\r\n
Regardless\r\nof the scenario, Fertik maintained, \"The American people have the right to\r\nknow what went on and who to hold accountable.\"<\/p>\r\n
The\r\ncommittee's 50-plus page staff report released in September listed dozens of\r\nwarnings about attacks on U.S. soil including terrorists plans to use planes as\r\nweapons. (Excerpts from the committee report are below.)<\/p>\r\n
CIA\r\ndirector George Tenet has refused to declassify a memo containing what he told\r\nBush about terrorists' threats in an August 6, 2001, briefing. Graham has also\r\nexpressed concerns about how the terrorists were able to enter and travel in the\r\nU.S.<\/p>\r\n
Asked\r\nif the Bush administration's recalcitrance related to 9–11 might be a campaign\r\nissue in a 2004 Graham for President campaign, Carson Chandler in Graham's\r\nSenate office had this response: \"That is something (Graham) has\r\ncontinually brought up regarding 9–11.\" However, Chandler said, until the\r\nsenator decides his political future, \"he is not talking about his agenda\r\nfor a campaign.\"<\/p>\r\n
Graham\r\nhas said he will announce whether he is running for the Democratic nomination in\r\n2004 in late January after Bush's state of the Union Address. News stories\r\nreport Graham is busy talking with Florida supporters.<\/p>\r\n
Activists\r\nhave questioned what Graham and his House counterpart on the Intelligence\r\nCommittee,, Rep. Porter Goss (R-Mich), were doing on the morning of 9–11 at a\r\nbreakfast meeting with the Pakistan ISI chief Lt. General Mahmoud Ahmad. In\r\nOctober 2001, the Pakistan intelligence head was accused of wiring $100,000 to\r\nMohammed Atta, the alleged mastermind of the 9–11 hijackers. Top officials in\r\nthe Bush administration also met with Ahmad in the days before and after 9–11.<\/p>\r\n
University\r\nof Illinois law professor Francis Boyle and former Attorney General Ramsey Clark\r\nhave drafted articles of impeachment against Bush for his Iraqi war policies.<\/p>\r\n
They\r\nwrote similar impeachment articles against George H.W. Bush for the Gulf War 12\r\nyears ago. Rep. Henry Gonzalez (D-Tx) introduced the articles of impeachment,\r\nwhich Boyle credits for halting Bush's march into Iraq.<\/p>\r\n
More\r\nQuestions<\/b> About 9–11<\/b><\/p>\r\n
Questioning\r\nthe administration's handling of 9–11, several noted figures have recently\r\nbroken the shroud of public silence about the administration's veracity and\r\nactions (or lack of) before, on, and after 9–11.<\/p>\r\n
During\r\na presentation to the Fairfax City Council in Marin County, California, which\r\nwas considering a resolution to oppose the USA PATRIOT Act, Daniel Ellsberg, on\r\nJanuary 7, raised the issue of what the administration knew.<\/p>\r\n
\"They\r\nwere waiting for such an incident to come,\" Ellsberg said. He said as a\r\nDefense Department analyst in the 1970s, he would have been instructed to write\r\nsuch legislation under similar circumstances.<\/p>\r\n
Following\r\nthe council meeting, Ellsberg said, \"They were warned there would be a\r\nmajor terrorist event. What did they do? Nothing. Bush was briefed in July and\r\nAugust. What did they do? I feel morally certain they drafted a Tonkin Gulf-like\r\nresolution for Afghanistan and polished up the PATRIOT Act before 9–11.\"<\/p>\r\n
The\r\nGulf of Tonkin Resolution gave President Lyndon Johnson powers to drastically\r\nexpand the U.S. war in Vietnam.<\/p>\r\n
Ellsberg\r\nsaid he is not convinced \"yet\" Bush knew \"precisely\" when\r\nthe events would happen. Afterwards, \"they wanted to avoid blame. What\r\ngovernment officials say after such events is almost never true. They always\r\ncover up afterwards.\"<\/p>\r\n
Helen\r\nThomas, a former UPI reporter and now a Hearst News columnist and dean of the\r\nWhite House Press Corps, is a lone voice among her colleagues in addressing\r\n9–11. Upon release of the committee's final report and a call by Shelby for\r\nCIA director George Tenet to \"take the fall,\" she asks if Bill Clinton\r\nand George W. Bush should be \"held responsible\" as well.<\/p>\r\n
The\r\ncorporate media has capitulated to fears of losing access to its news sources or\r\napproval of even more mergers and acquisition. The public broadcasting system\r\nfears losing its federal funding. Except for a few websites, even the\r\nindependent media avoid reporting on 9–11 as if it were the worst of the 10\r\nplagues.<\/p>\r\n
Last\r\nfall, former Vice President Al Gore accused the administration of ignoring signs\r\nal Qaeda and Osama bin Laden planned to attack the United States on September\r\n11. \"The warnings were there before the attacks,\" he said. Gore also\r\nsaid Bush's Justice Department and the FBI had spent more time and money\r\ninvestigating a suspected New Orleans brothel than monitoring bin Laden and his\r\nterrorist network.<\/p>\r\n
Yet,\r\nno U.S. government official has been held accountable. Instead, Bush has\r\npromoted and rewarded military and intelligence agency heads under whose watch\r\n9–11 occurred. Members of Congress knew of the warnings and yet handed Bush,\r\nunder whose watch 9–11 occurred, powers to invade Iraq.<\/p>\r\n
Excerpts\r\nFrom Joint Inquiry Staff Statement<\/b> of Eleanor Hill, Staff Director, Joint\r\nInquiry Staff, September<\/b> 18, 2002<\/b><\/p>\r\n
From\r\nthe Foreward: \"According to the DCI (Director of Central Intelligence,\r\nGeorge Tenet), the President's [sic] knowledge of intelligence information\r\nrelevant to this Inquiry remains classified even when the substance of that\r\nintelligence information has been declassified. . . . (on two matters)<\/p>\r\n
\"The\r\nJoint Inquiry staff disagrees with the DCI's position on both issues. We believe\r\nthe America public has a compelling interest in the information and that public\r\ndisclosure would not harm national security. However, we do not have independent\r\nauthority to declassify intelligence information short of a lengthy procedure in\r\nthe U.S. Congress . . .\"<\/p>\r\n
The\r\nstatement contained at least 11 references to terrorists using planes as\r\nweapons. Here are a few of those and other findings:<\/p>\r\n
Joyce\r\nLynn is a journalist and was a political reporter for eight years in Washington,\r\nDC. She is editor of the <\/i>Political\r\nDiary.\r\nShe can be reached at <\/i>politicaldiary@hotmail.com.<\/i><\/p>\r\n
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(FAIR USE ONLY; In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this\r\nmaterial is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior\r\ninterest in receiving the included information for research and educational\r\npurposes.)<\/i><\/p>\r\n
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FOR\r\nADDITIONAL INFORMATION, SEE:<\/p>\r\n
<\/p>\r\n\n","contact":"","link":"","address":"","phone":"","parent_id":0,"mime_type":"text\/html","summary":"update on activisim re. impeachment ","numcomment":3,"fileurl":"\/uploads\/","filesize":null,"article_url":"\/news\/2003\/01\/27315.php"},"attachments":[],"comments":[{"id":27318,"heading":"WHO BENEFITS FROM ISLAMIST TERRORISM ?","article":"\r\n\r\nYou can read this : \r\n\r\nhttp:\/\/perso.cs3i.fr\/do\/ag\/316.en.htm \r\n\r\nAnd the text of Steve Grey : \r\n\r\nhttp:\/\/perso.cs3i.fr\/do\/ag\/383.en.htm \r\n\r\nIt is time for impeachment ! \r\n\r\ndo \r\nhttp:\/\/mai68.org \r\n","author":"do","parent_id":27315,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2003-01-26 09:53:16","modified":"2003-01-26 09:53:16","fileurl":""},{"id":27335,"heading":"more debate about the original message above","article":"\r\n\r\nThe original message above was posted here too \r\n\r\nhttp:\/\/portland.indymedia.org\/front.php3?article_id=42228&group=webcast \r\n\r\nFeel free to check out Portland Indymedia for more extensive debate","author":"x","parent_id":27315,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2003-01-27 21:12:03","modified":"2003-01-27 21:12:03","fileurl":""},{"id":27642,"heading":"Ramsey Clark's site:","article":"http:\/\/votetoimpeach.org\/","author":"c71898","parent_id":27315,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2003-01-31 23:03:27","modified":"2003-01-31 23:03:27","fileurl":""}]}