I wish to commend Mary Jo Kenyon and Amy Phillips for their letter (July 28) detailing how far George W. Bush has wandered from a campaign pledge to "restore honor and integrity to the White House." My only critique of their letter is that they did not quite go far enough, that is, they should have logically developed one more paragraph calling for President Bush's impeachment. (By the way, he also told us that he was not much interested in foreign involvements.)
The president and his administration agitated our people into a frenzy -- for waging a "pre-emptive invasion" -- frightening them by confusing and tying together 9/11, al-Qaida, weapons of mass destruction, the evils of the barbarous Saddam Hussein, and his "definite" threat to our national security. Besides England, he was able to sign up only minor countries (who are greatly indebted to us) for the "coalition" forces. Thus, without legal authority or support from the United Nations, President Bush unleashed our technologically superior forces and our mighty war machine, like a macho Texan vigilante with guns a-blazing, quickly crushing the Iraqi resistance and declaring victory.
Now, however, there is a growing consensus that the president of the United States relied on faulty information; he certainly exaggerated and may have even fabricated evidence to justify his war. Did the president of the United States deliberately deceive the public? Did he deliberately disguise or conceal either the facts or his true motives? Did his administration deliberately and grossly underestimate the cost of both the war and peace? Did he lie to the nation and the international community about these serious matters of state and foreign affairs which led to the invasion and conquering of Iraq, the death of thousands of Iraqis and hundreds of our own soldiers?!
Where are all the righteous professional politicians and ordinary citizens who demanded the impeachment of President Clinton? Certainly, his lie about his involvement with an intern only hurt his family, the intern and her family, and himself.
Today, we have to decide if President Bush lied to us about national security issues and foreign affairs. If so, he has diminished our nation's standing in the world community, he has weakened the position of democracy in the world, and he has lost his ability to provide moral leadership here and abroad. I believe it is time to begin using the "I" word for impeachment.
ADVERTISEMENT
Richard A. DuBord
Dent, Minn.
