Conyers Tells White House Iran Attack = Impeachment
By Nicole Belle Tuesday May 13, 2008 7:15pm
It appears that despite record disapproval ratings and two failed occupations under his belt already, George Bush and his various mouthpieces are determined to beat the war drums to attack Iran.
Rep. John Conyers isn't having it:
As we and others have continued to review troubling legal memoranda and other materials from your Administration asserting the power of the President to take unilateral action, moreover, our concerns have increased still further. For example, although federal law is clear that proceeding under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) "shall be the exclusive means by which electronic surveillance" can be conducted within the U.S. for foreign intelligence purposes, 18 U.S.C. 2511(2)(f), the Justice Department has asserted that the National Security Agency's warrantless wiretapping in violation of FISA is "supported by the President's well-recognized inherent constitutional authority as Commander in Chief and sole organ for the Nation in foreign affairs".6 As one legal expert has explained, your Administration's "preventive paradigm" has asserted "unchecked unilateral power" by the Executive Branch and violated "universal prohibitions on torture, disappearance, and the like."7
Late last year, Senator Joseph Biden stated unequivocally that "the president has no authority to unilaterally attack Iran, and if he does, as Foreign Relations Committee chairman, I will move to impeach" the president. 8
We agree with Senator Biden, and it is our view that if you do not obtain the constitutionally required congressional authorization before launching preemptive military strikes against Iran or any other nation, impeachment proceedings should be pursued. Because of these concerns, we request the opportunity to meet with you as soon as possible to discuss these matters. As we have recently marked the fifth year since the invasion of Iraq, and the grim milestone of 4,000 U.S. deaths in Iraq, your Administration should not unilaterally involve this country in yet another military conflict that promises high costs to American blood and treasure.
Please call your Congressperson at 202-224-3121 or e-mail them and ask them to sign on to this letter.
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It's JUST THAT EASY.
Good for him. Speaking truth to power works even better when you're already in power.
Why Wait?
Plenty of reasons right now.
SHOULD be pursued? Don't you mean WILL be ???
If Bush attacks a second country without a damn good reason he can expect every one of his generals to resign and he better pray they done take further actions.
Um...is it just me? If a preemptive strike in Iran warrants impeachment, why isn't he impeached for the exact same act in Iraq?
Better late than never Mr. Conyers, give 'em hell.
If Bu$hCo attacks Iran, the Dems won't do a goddamned thing about it but sign yet another war funding bill. Who does Conyers and Biden think they're kidding?
Impeach the bastard as a preemptive measure!!!
You already have monstrous abuse of power by Bush.
Impeach him now.
Alice we're all African @ 9:
best idea i've heard all day.
So if dear decider decides to attack Iran in October, will the dems give the excuse that it's too late to bother with impeachment?
Why wait for him to attack Iran? By then, it will be too late. The Corporate Media will rally around Bush and blame the Democrats for playing politics during a time of war. They should impeach now while the getting is good.
An attack on Iran would be a disaster. One meme that needs to spread among war opponents is that just maintaining Iraq is hemorrhaging money like there's no tomorrow. Iraq is mostly level. Now, picture occupying Iran, which is much larger, has three times the population, mountainous terrain, and a willingness to die that wasn't present to the same degree in Iraq (compare Iraqi tactics in the 80s war with Iranian tactics). Picture that occupying Iran for one year has a cost roughly equal to the entire military budget allotted for 2008. Tell all this to a wingnut, and ask if ruining the nation is worth invading Persia.
Dems impeach Bush regardless of what he does?
Bullshit. I'll believe it when I see it.
Traitors. Impeachment was obvious 5 years ago. These mouth piece motherfuckers threw the Constitution to the curb and promoted rule of man over Rule of Law.
Political calculations my ass, these pussies, Conyers included, screwed this country.
stop! or next time I'll use bolder fonts!
Don't make me have to use underscore and italics!
"....imeachment proceedings should be pursued." I'll bet George W. Bush is trembling.
Could've, would've, should've and DIDN'T!
Everytime one of these @ssholes says something like this and don't back it up with action, the other side smirks and pisses on them -- AND US!
"proceedings should be pursued"
Should.
Should.
Should?
Should?
How about WILL. WILL. WILL.
My Senator is Feingold. Hell, like I even need to ask :D
Of course they don't care, but why on EARTH should the WH believe the Paper Tiger that are the Democrats?
it's like a parent telling a child who destroyed all his toys except one and you tell him "If you blow up one more toy...I'm going to take all your toys away!" it's too little to late after he starts up with Iran. how about Conyers brings impeachment charges for the past crimes instead of waiting for just one more?
Political calculations my ass, these pussies, Conyers included, screwed this country.
Fuckin' Amen. At least Bush has the excuse that he's delusional, doesn't have any morals,
and is too fucking stupid to articulate how amoral what he has inflicted on this country is.
What excuse does the Dem leadership have?
Bush ain't attacking shit!
Who would lend us the money??
Come on get real!
We as Americans need to demand real interpreters and translators instead of firing them all like this asshole in the Whitehouse did.
His excuse?...they were all gay.
All so HE can decide what the Iranian Pres is saying.
Maybe God tells Bush what Ahmadinejad is saying.
Thank god someone is finally speaking some kind of sense! If these people don't do something now, they are going to wake up one day to realize that they no longer have any power to do anything.
They should have reigned in this admin long ago, but at this stage, I will take anything, no matter how late it comes!
And while we're at it...send them out of the country so they can be tried. Since they have already been charged with war crimes, let's let the games begin, shall we?
I get all tingly at the thought of these criminals finally paying for their crimes!
Uh, Conyers, that was "Speak softly but carry a big stick". Do, don't threaten.
Well is it any surprise that King George is over in the land of milk and honey to celebrate Isreals 60th birthday, or is he there egging the Israelis on to do the dirty work of the US my instigating a war with Iran? Bush is insane and Conyers knows it.
I'm betting after hearing this, Bush and Cheney are sitting back and laughing their asses off. Unless they're impeached right now, this whole administration will walk out of this without a scratch.
StevePam @ 24:
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has no power in the Islamic Republic. The Ayatollah won't even let him play with sharp toys.
When Ali Khameini makes a threat, then worry. Armored Dinner Jacket is nothing but a real-life Internet troll.
John Conyers can tell me the sun comes up in the east. Then I'll have to wait and see.
General_Rennenkampf @ 29:
And a grossly misquoted troll at that. Its a joke what Whitehouse propaganda says Ahmadinejad says vs. what he REALLY says.
Impeachment hell!!! Immediate arrest and incarceration would be most appropriate first. If georgie and dick don't get shanked the first night THEN think about impeachment.
what a bunch of spineless cowards.
hey sonny....if you shoot your gun we'll start a long drawn out legal process that will be meaningless a few months after you leave office.
what a pathetic joke. when did americans become the most weak kneed bunch of cowards on the planet?
EWA @ 16:
You got it!
StevePam @ 31:
Yes. Another joke is that Armored Dinner Jacket is as popular in Iran as the Shrub is here. Ain't the Cosmic Joker grand?
Kay @ 6:
it's not just you.
Imagine what a different world it would be if Dems had super majorities. Whole different ball game. I hope the Bush/Cheney folks realise this ain't going away. Ever. They will not get away with these crimes. The people will not have it.
[Deleted, WAY Off Topic. Site Monitor]
I believe we will attack Iran. We invaded Iraq to create a powerbase to control the distribution of the last cheap, sweet crude oil reserves left in the world so that powers such as China don't.
Iran's regional power was to be broken, but unfortunately for the neocons, the opposite has occured. To restore the balance in our favor, Iran's military and political capability must be taken out.
It's a sick game of Risk folks. Iran either complies, or they will be attacked. Had Iraq been the easy war the neocons had wanted, they already would have been.
Of course that may change if Obama is elected. Then again, don't put it past these neocon fascist traitors to eliminate him and his entire cabinet ala Rwanda (that's what happened to there) to restart their effort to expand the empire.
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/05/14/conyers-tells-white-house-iran-...
Lol: )
FOX is State Sponsored TV @ 37:
We'll get the bastards eventually. There's too much evidence to just sweep these crimes under the rug. The American people can't take much more insecurity and fear. They have a breaking point.
However, there's great risk in going after these traitors. Expect violent resistance from the Right. We have a good chance of fighting yet another civil war in the coming decades.
Shock and Awe baby!
Sorry Conyers. You've cried wolf once too often.
When you floated the idea of impeachment before, looking for a public reaction - and we all shouted "yes!!" and then you did nothing... and over and over.
If Conyers were ever interested in upholding the law, looking for valid reasons to impeach, he would have found them easily years ago.
Conyers will never go there. Never.
yakfitguy @ 39:
If they really think that way, they're damn fools. The country most likely to benefit from taking Iranian oil out is Russia. Not just Europe will be held over the barrel by Russia, then, no sir! It'll be the rest of the fucking planet!!!
Oh, oh!
FOX is State Sponsored TV @ 37:
Super majorities are nothing without spines.
General_Rennenkampf @ 44:
Exellent point
"We’ll get the bastards eventually. There’s too much evidence to just sweep these crimes under the rug."
You're living in a fantasy world. The Bushites have been committing crimes throughout their entire term of office, and nothing has happened. Nothing is going to happen AFTER they leave office.
A Dem. president and congress are not going to risk ruining their chances to enact their agenda by spending their time on pursuing Bush crimes after they are out of office. There may be a little bit of lip service, there may be a few peons and low level people prosecuted, names we've never heard of... but Rove, Cheney, Bush, Rumsfeld, all of them - NOTHING is going to happen to them.
NOTHING.
They are going to live out their lives in luxury, with bloated estates full of blood money to leave behind to their offspring.
That's how it works. Even if we find a way to dismantle the corporate control of government (which is a long shot) it will come too late to do anything about these criminals.
Sorry to break it to you, but living in a fantasy world makes it impossible to see what must an can be done in the real world.
Hahahahahaa.........impeach? Hahahahahaa.........um.......ok......whatever you say.....if they had ANY itch to do this, it would have been done long long ago and the Shrub knows it.
When the Bush administration took over, I remember it being noted that the "adults" were finally in charge. Being adults, they would have had to remember the Iraq/Iran war in the 1980s and would have noted that Iraq under Saddam was Iran's number one national security problem.
Prior to the Iraq war, Bush had declared Iran, (as well as Iraq), as a part of an "axis of evil". So, given the neocon mindset, I see absolutely no chance that the neocons intended to neutralize Iran's security threat, and allow an expansion of Iran's influence in the area, primarily through an affinity with the majority Shiites in Iraq. I think they really believed in their cakewalk war, and thought they would have ground troops available to deal with Iran. So, while we all see this as a fiasco, I suspect privately, any real red blooded neocon sees the current situation as a real disaster, despite the public bluster. It must be really sticking in the neocon's craw that Iran is the number one beneficiary of the Iraq war so far. I don't know how the neocon thinks about leaving bin-Laden on the loose, because this boogeyman is useful for marketing defense appropriations. However, I am assuming that the neocon is chomping at the bit to attack Iran to negate the benefits of the Iraq war and set them back a bit.
Maybe it'll happen as soon as when Bush returns from the Middle East. If so, we'll be looking back at the current period, when gasoline is so cheap. ;-)
Now if we can just get Nancy off the table. If Nancy ain't happy, nobody happy. She says impeachment is off the table. So guess Conyers will have to go it alone.
Really? If Bush bombs another country, he'll be impeached? That's the bar for impeachment now? Abso-fuckin-lutely amazing. I wonder if Conyers thinks he's being a good watch dog for the liberties and rights of Americans with this rhetoric...
Kay @ 6:
I'm actually more concerned that violating our civil rights, taking away habeas corpus and torturing people doesn't merit impeachment. But hey, I'll take what i can get.
craig @ 48:
The government responds to pressure from it's citizens. If we put enough pressure on them, they will impeach. That's the bottom line. They didn't impeach Nixon because it was the right thing to do. They impeached Nixon because they were afraid of what would happen if they didn't.
..."should"?
craig @ 48:
Don't be so sure. I agree that corporate control is a reality and that the status quo will not allow such justice.
However, that's the variable...the status quo. The system as we know it is unsustainable. A world-wide economic collapse is coming and with that will come highly unpredictable, perhaps even violent political change. History tells us the overstretched empires with diseffected populations eventually implode.
I say we have a 50/50 chance of either restoring our democracy and rule of law (given that's relative), or scrapping it all together for a fascist state.
Either way, our current political reality won't last. It can't.
Similarily, justice will be dealt to these people. Either brought to trial ala Pinochet or something much more violent.
This country is doomed, a nation formed with stolen land, slave labor, and killing of millions around the world for riches is doomed. Rev. Wright is absolutely right.
Dugg it
Bull Shit they will Impeach this SOB if he starts another WAR, these stinking Pussies will sit down and shut the F up like their told. Conyers is a lap dog for these ass holes and it's getting old.
Forgive me for being a little cynical here, and as good as the words sound, they are after all "just words".
Besides, they won't have a leg to stand on since Congress already passed Kyl-LIEberman which paves the way for a pre-emtive attack,and for which Hillary voted.
Seriously, how many Democrats will get on board with this impeachment thing?
Hillary has already said she would obliterate Iran, which in and of itself is against international law.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ben-cohen/hillary-should-be-dismiss_b_1000...
What a joke Conyers has become.
s/b 'preemptive' - not 'emtive'
Given the administration's disapproval level and the country's distaste for the wars we're already in, any attack on Iran would require a massive "attitude-adjusting" event here, blamed on Iran (as Brzezinski warned over a year ago), and you can bet the administration knows this. Were this to happen, Conyers & Co. would be silenced instantly and America would buy the whole lie just like it did 6-1/2 years ago.
E in MD @ 54:
Only if it's a voting year, will they SAY that. Actually going through with it? Well, I'm not holding my breath.
Didn't the Senate win back a majority based on the promise of ending the occupation in Iraq? How long ago was that? How many casualties since then? How many more BILLIONS since then?
Perhaps the reason Dumbya wants to keep adding to the National Petroleum Reserve is to be sure the military has fuel once the oil markets go nuts due to his attack on Iran?
Just wondering. But I think immediate impeachment would be the only way to stop them, and impeachment takes too much time (and the GOP won't cooperate anyway) but it should be done.
first you have to find a REAL democrat in the senate , then , oh hell thier cant be over two democrats in the senate never mind!!!!!!!!!!!!
conyers talks the talk, too bad he can't walk.
One of the things the Bush admin has been able to do effectively is get the media and even anti-war folks to use the term preemptive.
There was nothing preemptive about Iraq. It was "preventive." preemptive is a just response to an immediate threat. Preventive is a war crime.
Preventive and Preemptive
DoD Dictionary of Military Terms
preventive war - (DOD) A war initiated in the belief that military conflict, while not imminent, is inevitable, and that to delay would involve greater risk
http://www.au.af.mil/ au/ awc/ awcgate/ awc-law.htm#preventive
Calling the invasion and occupation of Iraq preemptive one is buying into Bushco's doublespeak. Preventive war was what Germany did in WWI and WWII, and what the US did in Iraq.
yeah right. . .
What good will Impeachment do after Bush fakes a terrorist attack (on American soil) blaming it on Iran, declares martial law, nukes Iran (starting WW3 , nuclear holocaust) and throws every Democrat (except Lieberman) in jail?
We know the evil, treacherous Bushies want it, how can we stop them before the catastrophic blunder?
ezpz @ 60:
I have to agree with that. There is, however one wildcard I haven't figured out yet, and that is China. I believe China has some kind of relationship with Iran. And, I think I've heard that China has privately threatened to dump dollars if Iran is attacked. Republican borrow and spend economics have given a communist potential adversary leverage over our economy. They have about $1.2 trillion in cash and $400 Billion in U.S. debt. (Yep, free trade works really well, so long as you're not American). We'll see. Then again maybe the attack won't happen.
If Bush was successfully impeached wouldn't v.p. Cheney do the same thing that v.p. Ford did when Nixon resigned in disgrace? Yes he would PARDON BUSH and there goes the head chimp, pardoned for ALL his crimes, FOREVER free and clear !! Maybe that's the way Reid & Polosi see it and aren't doing anything about impeachment right now?
I'm sure Reid and Pelosi will send off their stern letters.
crap, busted link fixed:
justabill @ 68:
Calling the invasion and occupation of Iraq preemptive one is buying into Bushco's doublespeak. Preventive war was what Germany did in WWI and WWII, and what the US did in Iraq. ...
Please do not use the term preemptive when talking about Iraq or another preventive attack on Iran.
We absolutely need to put Bush and Cheney and especially LIEberman and friends on notice that any such act will mean impeachment proceedings. That said, after such an attack, we would then be involved in a fight that would take real involvement and sacrifice. Many Americans, see West Virginia, see Pennsylvania, don't have a clue what this would mean. Given the current state of affairs, China and Saudi Arabia would pull their financial rugs out from under us. We are now realistically looking at $5 a gallon gas by election day. War with Iran could easily mean NO gas at $20 a gallon plus major attacks on our allies in Europe and even America. For every action there is a reaction. Be careful what you wish for.
And Lieberman seems to be totally on another planet. He needs to be shut up big time. He cannot keep playing both sides against the middle. He is a very small, stupid man. And John Hagee and Rod Parsley and John McCain need to be exposed for the end times worshipers they really are.
Bravo, Chairman Conyers.
NoBuddy @ 71:
That makes sense. China basically owns us and I don't see how it would behoove anyone to attack Iran, but then again, Iraq is far from the success it was touted to be BEFORE the fact.
Similarily, justice will be dealt to these people. Either brought to trial ala Pinochet or something much more violent.
That is utter fantasy. Even if your 50/50 ends up on the happier side of the coin (regaining control of our democracy versus fascism) it is NOT going to happen in one swift movement, and it is not going to be finished in the next couple of years.
If, and its a very big if, we get our country back, it will take years of hard work. And there are going to be no impeachment proceedings and no trials of these people if it doesn't happen in the next year. Even Democrats in complete control won't do it. Because they know one thing - people get tired of hearing bad news all of the time. And if there are lengthy trials, people will get tired of hearing about it and will blame the government in power at the time, in a general sense of "all this bad news - all politicians are crooks" etc.
And the corporate media will spend the entire time making the Dems look bad for their constant "divisiveness," there will be constant calls for "bipartisanship," people will demand we "look to the future and not at the past," etc.
And even with all of that if there still persisted an investigation and trial, only underlings would be convicted. GOP loyalists would take the fall, and the ones at the top would get off scott-free. Even a Dem president would pardon them for the sake of "national unity" rather than be a target and a flashpoint for future conservative claims of being "stabbed in the back." (look to history to see what that claim is about)
Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rove and the rest of them will NOT see justice. To think that they will is simply delusional.
The best we can hope for is that we can perhaps prevent this from happening again. And even that is no gimmee.
The Big Question everyone should be asking: Will the Mossad disguise itself as Iran and attack America? If that happens -- a big if --Bush can claim he has to "protect" us and cancel elkections.
additionally::
...And we'd have no other alternative than to bomb Iran.
You closed the comments:
http://img413.imageshack.us/my.php?image=rncfucknobxx9.png
why aren't we invading myanmar?
Why does Conyers remind me of "Peter And The Wolf"?
Conyers is grandstanding. The chances that Bush will preemptively attack Iran before January 09 are practically nil. He might as well say he'll impeach if Bush runs over Cindy Sheehan with his Segway.
Will Conyers impeach McCain? An attack by McCain is conceivable. But then he'd be impeaching a guy who just got on the job. Impeachment is off the table for the honeymoon period, which is all the time McCain needs to start his Big Fist For Oil campaign.
You don't have to impeach anybody if it's a false flag. Clever.
That's how it'll be done.
With all due respect to Rep. Conyers, why wasn't Bush impeached a long time ago?!? With less than six months to go before the election, it seems virtually pointless to talk about impeachment at this point since the odds are good that Bush will have left office at the end of his second term before any hearings are completed -- making impeachment about as effective as locking the barn doors only after the cattle have already been rustled and turned into ground round.
And for those who believe that Bush will get his comeuppance in the end...has it occurred to any of you that perhaps the reason why the Bush family purchased that 90,000+ acre property in Paraguay (in cash, yet!) is because Bush is planning to make a run for the border as soon as he leaves office? (One thing is certain...it seems highly unlikely that he's going down there for the beaches, since Paraguay happens to be landlocked.) If that is indeed what he's planning, I think it's safe to assume that he never would have made the purchase without making certain beforehand that any efforts to extradite him back to the United States would at the very least be met with resistance if not impeded outright. After all, if memory serves, that's how several Nazi war criminals managed to escape facing the punishment for their crimes (or at least for a time).
Once the Shrub attacks Iran...
Conyers:
So the Shrub attacks North Korea...
Conyers:
etc.
NoBuddy @ 71: