International Consequences

Now that Democrats are beginning to voice their opinion about the Iraq war and the administration lies that lead us into that war, perhaps we will learn the real reason we are there. Of course, that information will not be supplied freely by those who know the answers. Instead, it will be uncovered by investigations such as that of independent prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald and possibly other congressional committees if the Republicans are finally prepared to allow an actual non-partisan action to take place.

For the American people, this information is gravely overdue and it is their right to be informed truthfully about the facts and determinations that propelled us into war. Nothing we were originally told turned out to be true, no WMD’s, no alliance between Iraq and Al Qaeda and no reconstituted nuclear program. Information uncovered since the start of the war is also very disturbing. The alleged torture of prisoners, imprisonment of supposed terrorists denied all legal rights and held without benefit of legal representation or even told the charges for their detention. Finally, the abuse of the system by well connected corporations like Haliburton and other war profiteers who also enjoy immune status granted by Congress.

The damage inflicted on our democracy by this irresponsible administration is incalculable but, we will need to determine the extent of it as best we can so that we can begin the task of correcting it. This includes the United States’ relations with the rest of the world. Bush’s cowboy policies have estranged us from other nations and taxed our friendship with traditional allies. If we are to mend these and other issues caused by Bush’s arrogance and unilateralism we must be willing to openly investigate all aspects of our government’s actions and be resolved to hold responsible all those who have violated U.S. and International laws.

However, America’s actions and their consequences are not confined to our country alone. We, as a country, attacked another sovereign nation for less than truthful reasons and solicited the participation of other nations in doing so. International intelligence agencies have been implicated for faulty information and falsified documents have been exchanged between certain countries which contributed to the decision to go to war. Because of the international involvement and the strife it has caused citizens of certain other countries it is only fitting that the findings of any investigations and the resultant charges, if any, should be tried in an international court of law.

To accomplish this, it is necessary to undo one of Bush’s first acts as president which was to withdraw from the United States from the International Criminal Court’s jurisdiction by cancelling an agreement signed by President Clinton. The reason for Bush’s action becomes clear now that his agenda has been exposed for the imperialistic power grab it has proven to be. Also disconcerting is the recent senate vote (49 to 42) to overturn the US Supreme Court’s 2004 ruling that permits Guantanamo detainees to challenge their detentions. This effectively removes the rule of habeas corpus which prevents the government from simply detaining its opponents. You can be damn sure no Republican would have voted for this if the Democrats were in the majority. However, it is not just the Republican Party that is in control of the executive and legislative branches of government but, it is a Republican majority led by a Neoconservative faction intent on keeping power and re-structuring government into a single party system with monarch style authority.

Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina sponsored this legislation that signals the death of civil liberties of Americans due to the demands of the “Global War on Terrorism”. In the Neoconservative view, what are civil liberties but legal tricks that allow criminals and terrorists to escape? Graham wants the power to imprison anyone the government considers dangerous, without explanation and for as long as they see fit. To give this authority to an administration that has already demonstrated its willingness to misinform the public by “news” clips produced by the government, to smear anyone that disagrees with their policies, and to heap one lie on top of another, all with amnesty assured through the criminal inactions of a complicit congress, is truly an act deserving of impeachment and conviction for violating his oath of office. If he has forgotten what that oath was, the salient points are “To protect and to defend the constitution of the United States of America”.