Harper's Latham: Why I Wrote My Essay Arguing For Impeachment

[Hissyspit]

http://www.alternet.org/story/33708/

Lapham's Case for Impeachment
By Terrence McNally, AlterNet
Posted on March 21, 2006, Printed on March 21, 2006
http://www.alternet.org/story/33708/

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LEWIS LAPHAM: In late December I came across a report that had been assembled by congressman John Conyers of Michigan which lays out much of this case. He had begun to assemble a report a year ago in May, before the discovery of the Bush administration's use of the NSA to impose electronic surveillance on American citizens.

TM: So before what seems most clearly to be a violation of federal law?

LL: Right. Conyers held a series of hearings last summer on what are known as the Downing Street Minutes, a series of memoranda that were exchanged back and forth within the British government in the spring and summer of 2002, between its officials in London and its representatives in Washington. It becomes very clear in the correspondence that the Bush administration is determined to go to war in Iraq no matter what the facts are. And it's clear that there are no weapons of mass destruction, that there is no connection between Saddam and Al Qaida, that Saddam is not in any kind of a position to pose a threat -- certainly to the United States or probably not even to any of the countries in the Middle East.

The British intelligence people are saying to each other that Washington is determined to invade, and they're going to fix the facts to fit their wish. There had been suspicions and rumors of this for two or three years, but here it was in print. The memoranda were not rejected or contradicted by the British government. Conyers held a hearing, and then sent a letter to the White House, the State Department and the Pentagon signed by 130 members of the House of Representatives.

TM: I'll bet most people think Conyers was out there alone. One hundred thirty people signed this letter?

LL: It could be 120 or 124, but it was a substantial number, and it was backed by signatures from 500,000 American citizens acquired over the internet. The petition to the administration sought answers to questions. This is what has been said -- what do you have to say about it? And of course there was a stonewall; there was no answer whatever.

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[Mnemosyne]

1. Good interview with Lapham. Thanks for posting it Hissy!

I like what he says in regards to branches of the gov. Most people do think it means repukes and dems. The ignorance is simply astounding.

How disgusting that we have to work so hard trying to force the reps. to do their damn jobs! It's a fulltime job in itself!:grr: