George W. Bush Belongs in Prison
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by Joel S. Hirschhorn / December 1st, 2008
Electing Barack Obama president was the first step in redeeming American
democracy. The second step must be indicting ex-president George W. Bush,
giving him a fair trial, finding him guilty of many criminal acts and
putting him in prison. Forget revenge. Think rule of law and justice.
I want President Obama soon after taking office to go on television and
announce the formation of a special group of outstanding jurists and
attorneys to make a recommendation whether or not the US Justice Department
should bring criminal charges against George W. Bush. Based on earlier
analyses, including work by the American Bar Association, I have no doubt
they will recommend indictment.
If moral honesty and courage have any meaning, then the nation must take
seriously the concept that no president can ever be allowed to be above the
law. How can President Obama not strongly support this? Surely no president
must be allowed to disrespect and dishonor the US Constitution. George W.
Bush broke his oath of office. His behavior was treasonous. Instead of
defending the Constitution he disgraced it. Instead of protecting
constitutional rights, including privacy, he sullied them. He asserted his
right to ignore or not enforce laws so he could break them. Respect for the
office of the presidency must never be allowed to trump truth and justice.
Millions and millions of Americans and people worldwide know that George W.
Bush made 9/11 the trigger for initiating an illegal war in Iraq that has
killed and maimed so many thousands of people. What Vincent Bugliosi, author
of The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder called "the most serious
crime ever committed in American history." I say convict Bush of myriad
counts of criminally negligent homicide related to both Iraq and the Katrina
disaster and put him in prison. A former president in prison would not
disgrace the presidency. It would restore honor to the office and the
Constitution.
Surely millions more people now understand that George W. Bush bears
responsibility for creating the conditions that encouraged greed-driven
capitalism to rape and murder the middle class and push us into the current
global economic meltdown. By removing government oversight and regulation he
committed the greatest acts of fraud in the history of mankind. After he
made American democracy delusional he made prosperity delusional.
We the people are paying the price for George W. Bush's criminal acts and so
must he. When George W. Bush is sent to prison everyone will see that
American democracy has earned the respect of the world. Everyone will better
understand that evil comes in many forms and that even an elected president
of the United States of America can and must be recognized as a perpetrator
of horrendous criminal acts.
Please President-elect Obama, make it so. Be the principled person we want
you to be. Make the USA the nation it is supposed to be. Have the courage to
do what Congress refused to do when it did not impeach George W. Bush.
Change history by showing the world that American justice applies as equally
to the president as it does to anyone else. Do not let George W. Bush escape
the justice and prison sentence he deserves. Do not let respect for the
presidency trump respect for justice. If we do not bring George W. Bush to
justice that probably only you can make happen, then surely we do not
restore respect for the office that you worked so hard to achieve.
To ensure that no future president behaves like George W. Bush we must
punish him. Not merely through the words of historians, but through the
physical punishment that he has inflicted on so many millions of people. In
previous eras citizens would have demanded "off with his head." Now we must
demand "lock him up." How poetic for a pro-torture ex-president. As summed
up at www.imprisonbush.com: "Bush must be made accountable to the law, to
serve as a lesson to all those who would attempt to destroy the American
system of laws and liberty for the sake of their own power." This is a test
for both President Obama and American democracy.
If there is any kind of God in the universe, then George W. Bush must go to
prison. When he does, then and only then should God bless America.
Joel S. Hirschhorn has a new book, Delusional Democracy: Fixing the Republic
Without Overthrowing the Government, which supports constitutional
conventions and other peaceful ways to restore American democracy. Read
other articles by Joel, or visit Joel's website.
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