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OK this one is gonna be a long one and if you're a right wing legislation of prayer in school proponent or opponent this is going to really rub you the wrong way. If you feel that the government has a right or necessity to be involved in any way in your personal decisions, please don't say I didn't warn you.
I was reading through one of the many alternative news sources that the internet has been generous enough to afford us, when I ran across a piece entitled Repudiation, Not Impeachment that I found particularly interesting. It was authored by Scott Ritter, one of the officials involved in the UN investigation in "pre-war" Iraq. Now I'm not trying to downplay the source. The quotes around the pre-war are mine. They are there because I believe the existing war in Iraq to be little more than an advancement of the crusades.
I am aware that Mr Ritter is the subject of a significant amount of controversy regarding perceived changes in position regarding the war. I am also well aware that it is alleged that Mr Ritter received funding from an Iraqi-American to the tune of $400K to commission a movie about the current state of affairs in Iraq. I guess if it were a campaign contribution I'd be concerned. I can't imagine though, where anyone by any stretch of the imagination ( given the billions of dollars spent on full length professional video productions these days ) could infer from such an amount that it was some manner of bribery rather than just payment for services rendered. I can tell you right now.. that it would have taken a lot more than $400K to convince me to go into "pre-war" Iraq as a civilian.
So let's leave that controversy to the people who spun it in an effort to discredit this former MARINE INTELLIGENCE ADVISOR TO GEN NORMAN SCHWARTZKOPF... because by all that I consider sacred this position, this fact, the character required to attain that station.. means a lot more to me as a former US Army Intelligence Corpman .. than any old smear campaign.
Mr Ritter, since he seems to prefer that title to his rank 'cause I can't find that anywhere beyond his pre-commissioned grade of Private, had a lot of things to say about the state of the American citizenry, and where we should strive to be. His concern that the impeachment of president Bush, although certainly more than justified, would be a small step toward correcting the problems that plague our country.
His basic premise for the extended article, was that impeachment was not enough, that replacing the president would do about as much good as killing Osama Bin Ladin would do in the way of stopping radical Islamic factions from waging attacks of terrorism. Now those were not his precise words, nor did even mention Osama personally in his article. If you go read the article you will find that Mr Ritter's theme was more along the lines of a lesson in constitutional law, with emphasis on the historical significance of the establishment a system of checks and balances.
He basically points out with some expanded eloquence and in an almost complementary manner, that politicians really ARE crooks.. and we really CAN NOT trust them. In closing he goes on to say ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The sad fact is, however, there are far too few Americans who are equipped and/or prepared to engage in a constitutional discussion, not to mention one of this magnitude. Having failed to read and comprehend this vital cornerstone of America, they are poorly positioned to come to its defense in this, the Constitution’s time of need. You cannot defend that which you remain ignorant of. Thomas Jefferson, in an 1802 letter to his friend and confidant, Joseph Priestly, noted that, “Though written constitutions may be violated in moments of passion or delusion, yet they furnish a text to which those who are watchful may again rally and recall the people. They fix, too, for the people the principles of their political creed.” Thus, an American people ignorant of their Constitution remain a people collectively void of principle or creed. Given the state of affairs that is the American body politic today, this is a harsh yet far too accurate indictment of the state of American citizenship.
Those who espouse the nobility of patriotism by extolling Article II, Section 4 of the Constitution, which addresses the issue of impeachment of the president and vice president, are all too mute about the remainder of that great document. Whether this silence is derived from negligence or ignorance, or a combination thereof, is not the point. What lies at the heart of this issue is that void of a solid foundation of “creed,” as Jefferson put it, to fall back on in times of constitutional crisis derived from the abuse of power and authority. The American people have only a bottomless pit as their support, and that is no support at all.
Impeach President Bush? Maybe, if due process dictates. Repudiate President Bush? Absolutely, especially if one aspires for an America that truly matches the visions and ideals set forth by the Founding Fathers.
Repudiate the notion of a “unitary executive.”
Repudiate presidential signing statements.
Repudiate executive violation of Article 6 of the Constitution, which binds municipal law in America with binding treaty obligations incurred when the Senate ratifies a treaty or agreement by a two-thirds majority or better.
Repudiate “faith-based initiatives” pushed by any branch of government.
Repudiate a weak Congress.
Repudiate weak senators or representatives, especially those with a track record of abrogating their constitutional mandate.
Repudiate ignorance, especially that of the American citizen who knows little or nothing about the Constitution which empowers him or her.
Repudiate consumerism, especially the virulent form it takes in the selfish framework of American-centric capitalism.
Repudiate pre-emptive wars of aggression.
Repudiate American Empire.
Instead, embrace the empowerment of education. Embrace active citizenship. Embrace the rule of law, as set forth by the Constitution. Do all of this and, in the end, if conditions and circumstance warrant, impeach President Bush and any of those in his administration so deserving.
Thomas Jefferson was prescient in his musings to another confidant, Moses Robinson, in 1801 when he wrote, “I sincerely wish ... we could see our government so secured as to depend less on the character of the person in whose hands it is trusted. Bad men will sometimes get in and with such an immense patronage may make great progress in corrupting the public mind and principles. This is a subject with which wisdom and patriotism should be occupied.”
That wise American patriots would be so occupied today is my wish and dream.
Scott Ritter was a Marine Corps intelligence officer from 1984 to 1991 and a United Nations weapons inspector in Iraq from 1991 to 1998. He is the author of numerous books. His latest is “Waging Peace: The Art of War for the Antiwar Movement” (Nation Books, April 2007).
