An Open Letter to Congresswoman Pelosi By Walter Uhler

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OpEdNews.com

Original Content at http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_walter_c_061029_an_open_letter_to_co.htm


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October 29, 2006

An Open Letter to Congresswoman Pelosi: Please Reconsider Your Pledge to Take Impeachment "off the Table"

By Walter Uhler

Dear Honorable Congresswoman Pelosi:

Congresswoman Pelosi, in your recent 60 Minutes interview with Lesley Stahl you assured her that, if the Democrats win a majority in the House of Representatives and you become Speaker of the House, "impeachment is off the table" because making the Bush administration "lame ducks" was good enough for you. You made a similar pledge earlier this year. Unfortunately, the definitions provided by Lewis Black notwithstanding, I can only marvel at your "bad idea." Please, you must reconsider. It is ill conceived and will prove to be counterproductive.


As you undoubtedly know, in Chapter 1 of the Charter of the United Nations, "Article 2.4, expressly prohibits Member States from using or threatening force against each other, allowing only two exceptions: self-defense under Article 51, and military measures authorized by the Security Council under Chapter VII."
Moreover, when discussing self-defense under Article 51, that report notes that nothing in the U.N. Charter "shall impair the inherent right of individual or collective self-defense...until the Security Council has taken measures to maintain international peace and security." But it adds: "A threatened State, according to long established international law, can take military action as long as the threatened attack is imminent, no other means would deflect it and the action is proportionate." {W}hen the Bush administration failed to secure a second Security Council resolution authorizing the use of force, it gave fallback justifications for invading Iraq that met none of the criteria specified under Article 51. Which is why, U.N Secretary-General Kofi Annan publicly asserted that Bush's war was "not in conformity with the UN Charter," and thus was "illegal."

As you probably know, Congresswoman Pelosi, Article VI of our Constitution states: "The Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding. Thus, the Charter of the United Nations is the supreme law of the land. And, thus, the Bush administration's violation of the UN Charter constitutes an impeachable offense under our Constitution.
....

"Justice," for the crime of invading Iraq, already has been splendidly stipulated by the renowned conservative military historian, Martin van Creveld: "For misleading the American people, and launching the most foolish war since Emperor Augustus in 9 B.C. sent his legions into Germany and lost them, Bush deserves to be impeached and, once removed from office, put on trial along with the rest of the president's men. If convicted, they'll have plenty of time to mull over their sins."
But, in order to thwart justice, the Bush administration's "Plan A," is to win at least one house of Congress in November and, thus, stymie and delay investigations and impeachment proceedings. If "Plan A" fails, "Plan B" is to invade Iran. Thus, the percentages offered by Middle East expert, William R. Polk, seem correct -- "at least a 10% chance of an American attack on Iran before the November 7 Congressional elections and about a 90% chance before the administration's end on 2008" -- even if scaring Americans in order to ward off impeachment doesn't figure among his reasons.

And, thus, Congresswoman Pelosi, by taking impeachment off the table, you will have given the Bush administration an adequate substitute for "Plan A" while effectively removing any penalty for pursuing "Plan B." Please, scrap your bad idea of taking impeachment off the table. Although making the Bush administration lame ducks may be good enough for you, America's lost self-esteem and its lost honor around the world require much more - as does the need to prevent additional Bush administration crimes against the peace. It requires that we Americans "repair" to the standard to which we seek to hold everyone else.



Authors Website: Walter C. Uhler.com

Authors Bio: Walter C. Uhler is an independent scholar and freelance writer whose work has been published in numerous publications, including The Nation, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, the Journal of Military History, the Moscow Times and the San Francisco Chronicle. He also is President of the Russian-American International Studies Association (RAISA).

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