Forget Impeachment: Grab The Tar And Feathers
by CHUCK BALDWIN

March 13, 2007—In this column last week, I asked the question, Should President George W. Bush be impeached? The specific precursor for that question was the guilty verdict of former White House insider Lewis "Scooter" Libby. In my mind, that trial and subsequent conviction demonstrated that there is more than enough circumstantial evidence to warrant a thorough investigation into whether President Bush willfully manipulated evidence regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) in Iraq and whether he deliberately lied to the American people in order to justify a pre-determined plan to launch a preemptive attack on that country.

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...What do you think George Bush would do if a group of people violently tried to oust him from power? I seem to recall a President and Attorney General sending tanks and helicopter gun ships against mostly old men, women, and children outside Waco, Texas, a few years back. And those poor folks had no intention of overthrowing the Texas capital, much less Washington, D.C.

The relevant question is not, Did Iraq have WMD, but Did they have WMD capable of threatening the United States? Everyone now knows the answer to that question is, no, it did not. But what we don't know is, When did President Bush know the answer to that question?


If our President knew that Iraq did not pose a "clear and present danger" to the security of the United States...the man is certainly guilty of "high crimes" and should be impeached...If our President knew that Iraq did not pose a "clear and present danger" to the security of the United States, and if he deliberately deceived the American people and sent more than 3,000 of America's finest to their deaths for ulterior motives (whatever they were), the man is certainly guilty of "high crimes" and should be impeached, at the very least.

What did Bush know, and when did he know it? Regardless of where each of us stands politically, we should want to know the answer to that question. Unless we are afraid of the truth, of course.Frankly, I don't know the answer to that question, and I don't know anyone who does (outside Bush and his inner circle). Therefore, I stand behind my initial statement that we need a thorough investigation to find out the truth. It would seem to me that, regardless of where each of us stands politically, we should want to know the answer to that question. Unless we are afraid of the truth, of course. ...

Mr Baldwin's column is here.