One encouraging thing about Gates -- he's reputed to have been negative on the impending Iran adventure. Obviously a bit more grounded in reality than Rummy et al.
MH

An Open Letter to the Democratic Leadership

What Would Senator McCain Do?

Let’s start with what Senator McCain did:

On February 12, 1999, Senator John McCain, AZ, voted twice to convict President Bill Clinton—once on the count of perjury and again on obstruction of justice.

After the House of Representatives voted 228-206 on the perjury charge and 221-212 on obstruction of justice (largely along party lines) to impeach, it was the duty of the United States Senate to determine Bill Clinton’s guilt.

And moderate John McCain went along with the Republican right-wing zealots to remove from office lame duck President Bill Clinton.

Clinton’s extramarital sexual behavior was no doubt shameful, but Congress’s actions were much more shameful—using the serious Constitutional mechanism of impeachment (which is supposed to be reserved for dealing with bribery, acts of treason, and high crimes and misdemeanors) to remove a popular President solely because he tried to cover up an inappropriate sexual liaison.

At no point was the U.S. government, its military personnel, its laws, its international treaties, or the safety of its people harmed or put in jeopardy by Clinton’s lying about his sexual affair with Monica Lewinsky. Neither the country nor the Constitution was undermined by his lying about inappropriate personal behavior. Yet, moderate Senator John McCain voted to remove Bill Clinton from the office of the Presidency.

Now power has shifted away from the Republican Party, toward the Democratic Party in the House and Senate. Should the House impeach and then the Senate remove from office a lame duck President and Vice President?

Many Democrats and Independents (and perhaps some Republicans too) have been outraged by the actions of Bush, Cheney, and other civil officials of the Executive—and are calling on Congress to protect the Constitution and the integrity of the United States government by impeaching Bush and Cheney.

But aren’t Democrats, Independents, and Libertarians being vindictive just as the Republicans had been by impeaching and trying Bill Clinton during late 1998 and early 1999?

No. Clinton’s alleged perjury and obstruction of justice did not harm America’s national interests—and in the end, the Senate acquitted him because his crimes related to reprehensible private behavior—not appalling governance, widespread bribery, or the undermining of the Constitution. They were not high crimes and misdemeanors as understood by the framers of the Constitution.

President Bush and Vice President Cheney (along with cabinet members and others) violated at least several international and federal laws, including Geneva Accords and the U.S. War Crimes Act. Against Iraq, they unnecessarily launched an aggressive war before exhausting reasonable alternatives, causing the deaths of civilians and U.S. troops. They illegally authorized wiretapping American citizens without obtaining warrants (even within the 72-hour FISA grace period), essentially bypassing the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. Detainees (declared “enemy combatants”) were denied basic human rights, such as access to attorneys, courts, and the Red Cross. Those captured or abducted were often rendered to secret prisons and tortured without the opportunity to challenge their accusers or dispute the charges against them. Suspension of the Writ of Habeas Corpus was done illegally and then signed into law by President Bush in the name of national security.

Whether enumerated by John Conyers or John Dean or others, the various lists of impeachable crimes are both serious and extensive. The Democratic leadership in the House and the Senate cannot just ignore these charges in some “forgive and forget” gesture. Our future as a democratic republic depends on enforcing federal and international laws covering war crimes and human rights violations. Americans cannot just allow these horrific crimes, involving the deaths of American troops, the deaths of hundreds of thousands of civilians, and the torture of perhaps thousands of both innocent and guilty detainees, to go unpunished and unacknowledged.

It is the duty of Congress to investigate and prosecute perpetrators of such serious crimes and violations.

And it is John McCain’s duty as a United States Senator to vote for conviction and removal from office of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney when extensive evidence (a good deal of it now public) almost certainly demonstrates their guilt.

If the Democratic majority of the Congress will not enforce the Constitution and federal statues, such as the U.S. War Crimes Act, against a blatantly unchecked Executive, who will?

--Vincent Miskell
Pembroke Pines, FL

Geee...can we trust what these guys say?

The end game is what it always was: only the cronies of BUSH got plenty rich off this bad western goes New Deal for Neo-cons & friends. And best of all Wolfiwietz got a bank so he can dole out money to REPUBLICANS forever!

I'm concerned Gates will need to compromise between conflicting Bush and Democrat policies to such an extent that he may make little discernable impression.

Pete