September 9, 2003
Not too often, but every once in a while, I post a guest article. This came from a mailing that asked for wide circulation. I feel it deserves it.
Richard M. Mathews
-- please circulate widely --
Ramsey Clark, Former U.S. Attorney General, Responds to Bush's Television
Address
Dear VoteToImpeach Member:
Sunday night, September 7, President Bush told the American public and the
world to expect more of the same from his administration. More crimes against
peace
and humanity, more deaths and destruction, more debts and poverty. He wants
everyone to help.
President Bush has spent $79 billion attacking Afghanistan and Iraq and seeks
$87 billion more for another year of violence. What he calls "one of the
swiftest and most humane military campaigns in history" has taken more
than 30,000 Iraqi lives, destroyed "tens of billions" in facilities
essential to life, electricity, water supply, sewage disposal, according to
Paul Bremer,
and left the whole country destitute, in turmoil, growing violence and rage.
Thousands perished in Afghanistan where the destruction remains unrepaired,
the people disoriented and impoverished, the highway from Kabul to Kandahar
is impassable
and violence is mounting.
U.S. casualties in Iraq alone have reached 300 dead, 1200 with disabling injuries,
and a total of 6000 returned to the United States in body bags, on stretchers,
or sick in body or mind. U.S. soldiers are being killed at a growing rate,
now 1 or 2 a day.
In the meantime, 2 1/2 million jobs have been lost in the U.S., 1.3 million families
slid below the impossibly low poverty line of $17000 a year for a family of four.
U.S. government deficits have erased a surplus of $590 billion and created a
debt of $400 billion, a trillion dollar loss, with deficits of $400 billion plus
expected for the next several years at least.
Not content with his crimes against peace, wars of aggression, crimes against
humanity, assassination, summary execution, torture and illegal and secret
detentions, President Bush boasted "...and we have captured or killed
hundreds of Saddam loyalists and terrorists... seizing many caches of enemy
weapons and massive amounts of ammunition. We have
carried the fight to the enemy... the surest way to avoid attacks on our own
people is to engage the enemy where he lives and plans."
That means more
wars of aggression. More summary execution and assassinations. More arbitrary
arrests, more illegal detentions and disappearances. Guantanamo is a symbol
to the world of President Bush's contempt for human rights: torture, suicides,
secret
detention, military trials, an execution chamber waiting. Guantanamo should
be returned to Cuba now -- a century late.
U.S. forces must be withdrawn from Iraq and Afghanistan. These must be our
last foreign military interventions. U.S. companies must be barred from profiting
from contracts for "rebuilding Iraq" which the U.S. destroyed. Ten
percent of the U.S. military budget at the 2003 level should be paid into a
U.N. fund for the next decade to compensate Iraq and Afghanistan for U.S. crimes
against
them, to be used as they choose.
We are virtually guaranteed more of the same unless President Bush is impeached
for his high Crimes and Misdemeanors.
To take back the Constitution and save our country Vote to Impeach now. This
vote is an unmistakable message from the American people. The world and the present
Administration will understand this message. It means we do not accept the crimes
President Bush has committed in our name and will not permit their repetition.
Sincerely,
Ramsey Clark
Forward this message to your friends and colleagues who may have not yet cast their ballot for impeachment at www.VoteToImpeach.org, and invite them to visit VoteToImpeach.org and become active and vocal members of this important national movement to impeach George W. Bush.
At this critical time, please give your generous support to the movement to Impeach George W. Bush, Richard Cheney, John Ashcroft and Donald Rumsfeld. To make a contribution to the Impeachment Campaign online through our secure server, or for information on how to write a check, please visit the Impeach Bush online donation page.
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