Putting it on the Table: Kucinich Says Bush Risking Impeachment

[helderheid]

By David Swanson

"The degree to which this President continues to take steps to go to war against Iran without consulting with the full Congress is the degree to which he is increasingly putting himself in jeopardy of an impeachment proceeding." - Dennis Kucinich

THANK DENNIS AND ENCOURAGE HIM

Here's the full press release from Kucinich's website:

Kucinich: The White House Is Up To Its Old Tricks; Is Preparing the United States for an Attack on Iran : President's Actions Could Lead to Impeachment

Washington, Jan 26 - WASHINGTON, D.C. (Jan. 26) - Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) accused the White House of mounting a media blitz to prepare the U.S. public for an eventual attack on Iran. Today The Washington Post reported the Bush administration has authorized the U.S. military to kill or capture Iranian operatives inside Iraq as part of an aggressive new strategy to weaken Tehran's influence across the Middle East.

"The White House is up to its old tricks again: Providing information by anonymous sources and portraying Iran as an aggressor in Iraq," Kucinich said.

"The President is mischaracterizing U.S. action vis à vis Iran. In fact, the U.S. is already engaged in offensive and provocative acts against Iran. The President's strategy, by portraying our involvement as only being on the defensive, is laying out the groundwork for him to attack Iran and bypass authorization by Congress," Kucinich said.

The Washington Post article stated:
"A senior intelligence officer was more wary of the ambitions of the strategy. 'This has little to do with Iraq. It's all about pushing Iran's buttons. It is purely political.' The official expressed similar views about other new efforts aimed at Iran, suggesting that the United States is escalating toward an unnecessary conflict to shift attention away from Iraq and to blame Iran for the United States' increasing inability to stanch the violence there."

Kucinich said, "The White House spin machine is at it again: this time providing justification for a new war - a war against Iran." Kucinich pointed out that while the term 'officials' is mentioned 21 times in the Post article - not once are the officials identified by name.

In his January 10 address to the nation, President Bush asserted that succeeding in Iraq begins with addressing Iran and Syria. "Iran is providing material support for attacks on American troops. We will disrupt the attacks on our forces. We'll interrupt the flow of support from Iran and Syria. And we will seek out and destroy the networks providing advanced weaponry and training to our enemies in Iraq," Bush said.

"The Washington Post is quoting strategically placed Administration sources who are providing justification for an attack against Iran," Kucinich said. "This new twist on Iran, a country this Administration refuses to have free and open diplomatic talks with, is stating the Administration's case for war."

"The degree to which this President continues to take steps to go to war against Iran without consulting with the full Congress is the degree to which he is increasingly putting himself in jeopardy of an impeachment proceeding," Kucinich said.



Authors Website: http://www.davidswanson.org

Authors Bio: DAVID SWANSON is a co-founder of After Downing Street, a writer and activist, and the Washington Director of Democrats.com. He is a board member of Progressive Democrats of America, and serves on the Executive Council of the Washington-Baltimore Newspaper Guild, TNG-CWA. He has worked as a newspaper reporter and as a communications director, with jobs including Press Secretary for Dennis Kucinich's 2004 presidential campaign, Media Coordinator for the International Labor Communications Association, and three years as Communications Coordinator for ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now. Swanson obtained a Master's degree in philosophy from the University of Virginia in 1997.

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. And for those who have studied Watergate

this will be VERY FAMILIAR... we first have "trial Balloons,"

Now it is time to WRITE LETTERS TO THE LEADERSHIP as and your personal congress critter,

Just saying, those who learn from history... well you know the rest and in this case we want to repeat it

[stevebreeze]

2. the parallels to watergate are really astounding in some ways

remember that Spiro T Agnew went down first in a scandal unrelated to Watergate, a kick back scheme dating form his governorship of Maryland. The Scooter Libby trial could well end Chaney's reign, and I do mean reign as vice criminal.

[nadinbrzezinski]

4. I know

we were talking about it tonight.

And to be honest, I'll take Spiro any day of the week and twice on Sunday... at least in his case nobody died.

;-)

[The Blue Flower]

7. We also need to write to WaPo

They're totally complicit in spreading the propaganda for the next illegal war.

[stevebreeze]

3. I love Dennis! I was a candidate of Dennis delegate in the last presidential primary

and may well be again. It's a shame we don't have real news on the news. The media has been so effective in branding him a tofu eating wacko, that he really stands no chance in the presidential primaries. It's such a shame that image is allowed to count more then content.

[spag68]

6. Nobody in Cleveland eats tofu

[stevebreeze]

9. I was not accusing anyone of actually eating tofu.

I am against torture of any kind.

[Sapphire Blue]

5. K&R!

[NotGivingUp]

8. My first thought was God, I wish this could be on tv.

We will never be able to have someone of substance as president if we don't get control over our airwaves and newspapers. Dennis is a man of substance. He would turn this country around. He's what we need.