On Impeachment
February 9th, 2007George W. Bush will be lucky to avoid impeachment. He can get away with NSA Wiretapping because the public will allow him; he can get away with being a poor President because the public doesn’t consider it a crime; he can’t get away from stories like this, perhaps the most damning evidence that Bush lied.
A “very damning” report by the Defense Department’s inspector general depicts a Pentagon that purposely manipulated intelligence in an effort to link Saddam Hussein to al-Qaida in the runup to the U.S. invasion of Iraq, says the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. “That was the argument that was used to make the sale to the American people about the need to go to war,” said Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich. He said the Pentagon’s work, “which was wrong, which was distorted, which was inappropriate … is something which is highly disturbing.”
The investigation by acting inspector general Thomas F. Gimble found that prewar intelligence work at the Pentagon, including a contention that the CIA had underplayed the likelihood of an al-Qaida connection, was inappropriate but not illegal. The report was to be presented to Levin’s panel at a hearing Friday. The report found that former Pentagon policy chief Douglas J. Feith had not engaged in illegal activities through the creation of special offices to review intelligence. Some Democrats also have contended that Feith misled Congress about the basis of the administration’s assertions on the threat posed by Iraq, but the Pentagon investigation did not support that. Two people familiar with the findings discussed the main points and some details Thursday on condition they not be identified.
It’s not a surprise, it’s never been a secret, really — but now it’s out and about. I will say this, about impeachment: Bush will be lucky to and by that I mean: it’s clear that he has engaged in dishonest and distorted practices that have led to the deaths of thousands, the sinking of American monies and the elimination of international credibility toward his regime. If he avoids impeachment, which he probably will, it’ll only be because people in his Administration refused to fully speak out, now, or because the Democrats decline the proceedings due to the proximity of the next elections.