Prosecute Bu$hCo, Cheney, And The Republican Enablers

Prosecute Bu$hCo, Cheney, And The Republican Enablers

For some time now, people have been wondering how the historical Presidential legacy of George W. Bush will read. That it will be terrible, is now almost universal in consensus. I'm now thinking how the legacy of the most authoritarian, abusive of power, secretive, Vice President in U.S. history should read also. I will never understand how so many questionable actions of Bush/Cheney went unchallenged for so long. I will never understand how the legality of so many of their actions weren't challenged by Congress, or in the courts, much sooner.

During the run up to the Iraq invasion, our nation and our news people must have been asleep or under the spell of post 9-11 induced opportunistic Patriotism. VP Cheney and his office were perhaps the biggest offenders in the cherry picking and manipulation of pre war intelligence, the exaggerated claims of dire threats, and the main authors of why Iraq posed such an imminent threat to the U.S. that a preemptive invasion was necessary for our National Security.

The sixteen words of yellow cake uranium from Niger, the bogus threat of the consequences coming back to us in the form of a mushroom cloud, and other phony exaggerated threats, were for the most part drafted by the VP and his office. In the end Bush/Cheney sold it to Congress and the American people and got their permission slip for the unnecessary invasion. Which brought nothing but death and destruction to a nation and people who had nothing to do with 9-11, and who never posed any real threat to the U.S.

Once the invasion started, VP Cheney then awarded hundreds of billions of dollars in no bid contracts to his old company (Halliburton) and its subsidiary Company KBR only. Talk about a vested interest in wanting to start the unnecessary war! Talk about a conflict of interest! Yet Congress, and sadly a good portion of the American public, didn't question this all very much. I still have a hard time wondering how this was legal. Five and a half years later we now see how it's cost us as a nation dearly. In troop deaths, in a record deficit, in a badly damaged image around the World....

If you examine the worst offenses of this Bush/Cheney administration ( exaggerated threats in the run up to the Iraq invasion ,Torture policies, Guantanamo Bay, exposure of an undercover CIA agents identity, NSA warrant less spying program, Military Commissions act, Patriot Act.... )they seem to have a common thread. Follow the trail back and they all lead to the same place. VP Cheney and his office. The man is a War Criminal, War Profiteer....yet received 5 different deferments during the Viet Nam War, when it was his turn to step up to the plate and serve his Country. A draft dodger, and perhaps the loudest voice in favor of sending yours and my kids, grand kids... off for a third, fourth... tour of duty in his unnecessary Iraq oil War.

On JFK's Inauguration in Jan. 1961, outgoing Pres Eisenhower gave a final speech. He warned us of a possible coming threat to the U.S. He called that threat "The Military Industrial Complex" When our Military and Corporate Giants march America, hand in hand, into an unnecessary War for Big Business and Corporate Profits. Sadly, 42 yr later Eisenhower's warning became fulfilled prophecy with the 2003 unnecessary invasion of Iraq.

Sometimes I think I know why the Republicans at the top picked Bush back in 2000 to be their Presidential nominee. They needed someone who's bulb was dim enough to wake up every morning, look himself in the mirror, and say "I'm the President Of The United States," the Decider. Dumb enough to never figure it out that he wasn't the one really calling the shots. Our real "shadow President" Darth Cheney called the shots, and got everything he wanted. Including hundreds of billions of dollars of taxpayer money siphoned from the U.S. Treasury and into the coffers of his old Company!

I tend to look at Dubya as a simpleton, a buffoon, a dullard, that in his first term listened to everything his "Uncle Dick" told him, including his advice to invade Iraq. I have no doubt that Cheney whispered in his ear that he would be doing something his daddy failed to do and that history would call him a hero for it. Dubya has always been a mommas boy, and has always had a strained relationship with his dad who has made no secret of his obvious preference for Jeb. Dubya saw this as a chance to both show his father up, and to make him notice and admire him instead of Jeb. For this thousands of human beings died.

As for Cheney's motivation to do that whispering, the motivation is obvious. War is very, very, profitable for the private War contractors and weapons suppliers that fight them and provide the equipment. Dick Cheney is a integral part of those industries. They needed a new War to relieve the pressure of over loaded military inventories and to create new demand. They succeeded, and it only cost us 4,200 plus lives of our young troops. I'm certain that is a price Cheney and his War contractor friends were more then willing to pay.100 years from now their great grandchildren will still be spending money soaked in our soldiers blood.

Halliburton, Blackwater and KBR embody the dreaded military industrial complex Eisenhower warned about. Under no-bid contracts approved by Republicans, Halliburton, KBR and their subsidiaries were paid billions for shoddy construction work that resulted in soldiers being seriously injured and electrocuted. Based on this fact alone, the Republican party of no compassion should be renamed the party of murderers. So, why are KBR officials not facing indictment? Answer: From 2002 to 2007, these scumbags funneled millions in payoffs to degenerate Republicans to look the other way. No wonder Republicans cringe whenever anyone mentions "Truth Commission." The Republican expectation is that unethical and criminal activities committed while in office should never be investigated, because to do so would somehow diminish America’s creditability, which is the exact same argument put forth by Republicans seeking to prevent Reagan from being indicted for Iran-Contra.

Whether Bush and Cheney fabricated and manipulated intelligence to justify war and funnel billions to republican cronies is relevant; whether Bush authorized torture in defiance of the Geneva Convention is relevant; whether Republican legislated deregulation led to America’s financial meltdown is relevant; and whether Republican fear mongers are concocting lies to scare Americans into blindly accepting an ineffectual, antiquated and elitist political agenda is also relevant. Under the Bush/Cheney Doctrine, John Bolton misled America, and North Korea became a nuclear power. Through unvetted no-bid defense contracts, Bush financed subversive right-wing groups whose sole purpose was to erode and weaken the Constitution.

In an effort to distract from genuine concerns surrounding the enduring political turmoil and tribal anarchy transfixing Afghanistan and Iraq, the GOP would now like to ban as terrorist propaganda photos taken at the infamous Abu Ghraib prison depicting Bush/Cheney sanctioned torture.The Republican capacity to suspend and simultaneously create reality is impressive, yet hypocritical and scary. In fact, the Bush/Cheney excursion into Iraq to spread capitalism under the guise of democracy continues to serve as a constantly evolving and effective recruitment tool for Islamic extremist. While it’s true that the release of additional Abu Ghraib photos would jeopardize the safety of American troops worldwide, and further contribute to the destabilization of a region deemed strategically necessary, few Republican leaders however spoke out to condemn the use of torture when it was actually occurring.

Instead, they backed away and, when pressed to respond, dismissively described the torturous acts as inconsequential, isolated and attributable to a few rogue soldiers acting with no official endorsement, which we now know is untrue. In fact, the decision to use torture originated deep within the murky recesses of the Bush/Cheney White House. So, at this juncture, Republicans are attempting to rewrite their epilogue, abdicate culpability, regain favor, and distance themselves from the atrocities attributable to the Bush/ Cheney years. A period in history when Republicans controlled both houses of Congress, succumbed to barbarism, abandoned integrity, and wrongly believed their power to be unassailable and without consequence. Let all Americans with a conscience hope and pray they were mistaken, for the future survival of our Democracy.

Jeff Morris-Saugerties, N.Y.- DeJaVu57

Views expressed on this page are those of the authors and not necessarily those of Campaign for America's Future or Institute for America's Future