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<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=2 color=black face="Comic Sans MS"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";color:black;font-weight:
bold'>Wonderful article, Ivan! Thanks for posting this. I agree with everything
the authors say.<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=2 color=black face="Comic Sans MS"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";color:black;font-weight:
bold'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=2 color=black face="Comic Sans MS"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";color:black;font-weight:
bold'>Kris<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=2 color=black face="Comic Sans MS"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";color:black;font-weight:
bold'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=2 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'>From:</span></font></b><font size=2
face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'> Ivan Espinosa
[mailto:ie3456@yahoo.com] <br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Sent:</span></b> Wednesday, November 15, 2006
9:10 AM<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>To:</span></b> discuss@paa-tx.org<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Subject:</span></b> [PAA-Discuss] Voters Want
Accountability</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>I'm glad the Democrats won control of the House and
Senate. But, the Democrats are NOT getting a free pass from me. They better
take action and hold Bush and Cheney accountable for all of the catastrophic
things they have done for the past six years</span></font><font face=Verdana><span
style='font-family:Verdana'>. This is <b><span style='font-weight:bold'>NOT</span></b>
the time for spinelessness and inaction. This is <b><span style='font-weight:
bold'>NOT</span></b> the time for weak-willed leadership. <b><span
style='font-weight:bold'>The voters have spoken and they want change; they are
giving the Democrats a golden opportunity to do what is right for <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><u1:country-region><u1:place>America</st1:place></st1:country-region></u1:place></u1:country-region>
and stand up for principle.</span></b> The Democrats better not screw up this
once in a lifetime chance. The Democrats were NOT elected to Congress so
they could lie around and be complacent. The Democrats were elected to Congress
because the voters oppose the policies of the Bush administration and want NEW
policies. More importantly, <b><span style='font-weight:bold'>The Democrats
were elected to Congress because the voters want the Bush administration to be
held accountable.<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana;font-weight:bold'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
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<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>Working for justice,<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>Ivan Espinosa<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>Member - DFH & PAA<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>************************************************************************
<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><strong><b><font size=5 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:18.0pt'>Congress Must Investigate Bush Administration Crimes</span></font></b></strong>
<o:p></o:p></p>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>-- composed by Jeremy Brecher and Brendan Smith<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><strong><b><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>Few elections in history have provided so clear a
mandate. As the New York Times put it, Democrats were “largely elected on
the promise to act as a strong check on [Bush’s] administration.” </span></font></b></strong><a
href="http://www.commondreams.org/views06/1114-30.htm#1"><strong><b><font
face="Times New Roman">[1]</font></b></strong></a><strong><b><font
face="Times New Roman"> But the first response of the new Congressional
leadership has been to proclaim a new era of civility and seek accommodation
with the very people who need to be held accountable for war crimes and
subversion of the Constitution.</font></b></strong> <o:p></o:p></p>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><strong><b><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>Democratic strategists who argue for this kind of
bipartisanship maintain that the American people want their political leaders
to address the problems of the future, not pursue recriminations about the
past. They therefore oppose the kind of penetrating investigation that a White
House strategist told Time would lead to a “cataclysmic fight to the
death”</span></font></b></strong><a
href="http://www.commondreams.org/views06/1114-30.htm#2"><strong><b><font
face="Times New Roman">[2]</font></b></strong></a><strong><b><font
face="Times New Roman"> if Democrats start issuing subpoenas. If such
“peace at any price” Democrats prevail, the result will be a
catastrophe not only for the Democratic party but for American democracy.</font></b></strong><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><strong><b><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>Establishing accountability will require a thorough
investigation of the actions of the Bush administration and, if they have
included crimes or abuses, ensuring that these are properly addressed by
Congress and the courts. The purpose of such action is not to play
“gotcha” based on hearsay and newspaper clippings. Investigation,
exposure, and even prosecution or select committee proceedings, should they
become necessary, are primarily means for reestablishing the rule of law. But
such investigations may be blocked by the Democratic leadership unless American
citizens and progressive Democrats in particular demand them. Here are ten
reasons why they should: </span></font></b></strong><o:p></o:p></p>
<ol start=1 type=1>
<li class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><strong><b><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>The <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">US</st1:place></st1:country-region> faces a constitutional
crisis that goes far beyond either partisan politics or isolated acts of
wrongdoing. The Bush administration has tried to replace the
constitutional rule of law with the power of the Executive branch to
disregard both the laws established by the Legislative branch and the
judgments of the Judicial branch. It has cloaked this power grab with a
mantle of secrecy. Only by demonstrating the power of Congress to know
what the Executive branch does can even the possibility of constitutional
checks and balances be restored. The prerequisite for oversight is the right
to know. Unless Congress successfully asserts that right, the
Executive’s usurpation of power will be permanent and unlimited.</span></font></b></strong><o:p></o:p></li>
<li class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><strong><b><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>The Democrats are in danger of walking into a
death trap the Bush administration and the Republican leadership are
setting for them. The Democrats won the election on ending the <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Iraq</st1:place></st1:country-region> war
and holding the President accountable. In the current courtship they are
being invited to come up onto the bridge of the Titanic and share
responsibility for the catastrophe. If they do that, they will end up at
the 2008 election with a disillusioned public (especially their own base)
who give them equal blame for the war and its catastrophic consequences.
As the Nationl recently editorialized, “Democrats must not forget
the voters' message. If they collaborate in allowing continued
bloodletting in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Iraq</st1:place></st1:country-region>,
they will pay the price themselves in future elections.”</span></font></b></strong><a
href="http://www.commondreams.org/views06/1114-30.htm#3"><strong><b><font
face="Times New Roman">[3</font></b></strong></a><strong><b><font
face="Times New Roman">]</font></b></strong><o:p></o:p></li>
<li class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><strong><b><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>Defending the Constitution by investigating
breaches in the rule of law will allow Democrats to appeal to new bases of
support among independents and others concerned about the rule of law. It
provides a way of reaching out without selling out. The potential for such
a broad and powerful coalition is exemplified by a recent statement by the
Constitution Project -- which includes both liberals and conservatives
like David Keene, Chair of the American Conservative <st1:place w:st="on">Union</st1:place>
-- that hails the election result as "an opportunity to restore
checks and balances." It says, "The president has asserted that
he has virtually unrestrained authority and that Congress and the courts
have none. Congress must exercise, and the president must respect, its
constitutional obligation to legislate and conduct oversight on issues
like NSA wiretapping, military commissions, the detention and treatment of
'enemy combatants,' habeas corpus, and the power to declare war." If
the Republicans were able to win by running on the Bible, Democrats can do
far better by running on the Constitution and restoring the rule of law.</span></font></b></strong><o:p></o:p></li>
<li class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><strong><b><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>Bush still holds most of the institutional cards
on foreign policy, especially given his claims that the President can
exercise authority without Congressional constraint. Short of an unlikely
cutoff of funds, he can continue to conduct foreign policy and command the
military as he chooses. Congress has few direct levers to impose
Democratic proposals for new diplomatic initiatives or troop
redeployments. It does not even have effective institutional means to stop
further Bush administration adventures, such as an attack on <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Iran</st1:place></st1:country-region>. The
key to establishing power over foreign and military policy is to so
discredit the Administration in the eyes of the public that neither
Republican politicians nor the military, the intelligence agencies, the foreign
policy establishment, or the corporate elite will allow it to continue on
its catastrophic course. And that requires not friendly negotiations with
the White House to find a formula for bipartisan packaging of policy
decisions Bush has already made, but a devastating exposure of the
criminality, corruption, stupidity, and false premises of those who are
making the decisions.</span></font></b></strong><o:p></o:p></li>
<li class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><strong><b><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>A Democratic Congress that fails to assert its
prerogatives against the President will soon find itself losing the
initiative in the face of the President’s capacity to frame issues.
While investigations are sometime portrayed as purely negative acts, by
putting the Administration on the defensive they may actually lay the
groundwork for constructive Democratic proposals.</span></font></b></strong><o:p></o:p></li>
<li class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><strong><b><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>A majority of the American people and an
overwhelming proportion of grassroots Democrats want the President
impeached. A mobilization for impeachment was kicked off last weekend with
speeches by Elizabeth Holtzman, Cindy Sheehan, and others. Serious
investigation of Bush administration malfeasance is probably the only way
that Democratic leaders reluctant to pursue impeachment can avoid
themselves becoming the target of this constituency. Indeed, impeachment
advocates can be encouraged to direct some of their energy to supporting
such investigations on the grounds that exposure of high crimes and
misdemeanors might be the only way to put impeachment “on the
table.”</span></font></b></strong><o:p></o:p></li>
<li class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><strong><b><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>Exposing the truth about America’s actions
in the world over the past years, and holding those responsible for it
accountable, is the prerequisite to setting relations with the world on a
new, more constructive basis. As Philippe Sands, professor at <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">University</st1:PlaceType> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">College</st1:PlaceType>
<st1:City w:st="on">London</st1:City> and a leading international human
rights lawyer, puts it, “If the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">United States</st1:place></st1:country-region> is to re-engage
effectively with the rest of the world they have to resurrect
accountability for their high officials.”</span></font></b></strong><o:p></o:p></li>
<li class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><strong><b><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>The <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">US</st1:place></st1:country-region> government under the Bush
administration has systematically and flagrantly violated national and
international law. If the perpetrators of these crimes are given permanent
impunity with the collusion of Congress, future law-breakers will assume
that they can commit similar crimes with impunity. Whether or not Bush
administration officials can be subject to criminal prosecution or
impeachment, the exposure of their acts can subject them to the kind of
public repudiation they deserve. That can begin setting us back on a track
toward international law that restrains crimes by the leaders of all
nations, however great or small. For as Antoine Bernard, executive
director of the International Federation of Human Rights, has said,
“The key to peace and democracy building world-wide is
accountability for international crimes.”</span></font></b></strong><o:p></o:p></li>
<li class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><strong><b><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>Hearings and investigations are crucial means to
establishing institutional and cultural barriers to future crimes. At the
close of the Vietnam war, the Church Committee established significant
limits on executive authority, such as a strengthened Freedom of
Information Act and a ban on assassination of foreign leaders. These were
originally passed over the objection of then presidential aide Dick
Cheney, and he devoted his Vice-Presidency to dismantling them.
Investigation of such Executive abuses is the prerequisite for restoring
public access to government information and developing new oversight
mechanisms to enforce bans on torture, wiretapping, aggression, executive
secrecy, and other illegal and unconstitutional executive activity.</span></font></b></strong>
<o:p></o:p></li>
<li class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><strong><b><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>Setting the public record straight about what has
happened over the past six years is essential for reestablishing discourse
based on reality that can be tested by evidence and argument, rather than
on fantasy propagated by national leaders and amplified by their media
sycophants. A respect for truth pursued through honest dialogue based on
evidence and argument will be essential not only for beginning to heal the
wounds created by Bush’s illegal war of aggression, but for
addressing problems like global warming that a fantasy-based public
discourse has evaded.</span></font></b></strong><o:p></o:p></li>
</ol>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><strong><b><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>52% of Americans believe that investigating the
origins of the <st1:country-region w:st="on">Iraq</st1:country-region> war is a
high priority and 58% want Congress to pursue contracting fraud in <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Iraq</st1:place></st1:country-region>.</span></font></b></strong><a
href="http://www.commondreams.org/views06/1114-30.htm#4"><strong><b><font
face="Times New Roman">[4]</font></b></strong></a><strong><b><font
face="Times New Roman"> But that will not automatically translate into action by
Congress. Convincing the Democratic leadership to support investigations will
require sustained pressure from outside groups. This pressure needs to build
early—before the new legislative session begins—so the Leadership
perceives efforts to squash committee action as politically hazardous.</font></b></strong><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'> </span></font><font
size=2 color="#666666"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;color:#666666'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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color="#666666" face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
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</span></font></div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color="#666666" face="Times New Roman"><span
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