What the hell?

Among the disclosures made by Feith in “War and Decision,” scheduled for release next month by HarperCollins, is Bush’s declaration, at a Dec. 18, 2002, National Security Council meeting, that “war is inevitable.” The statement came weeks before U.N. weapons inspectors reported their initial findings on Iraq and months before Bush delivered an ultimatum to Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. Feith, who says he took notes at the meeting, registered it as a “momentous comment.”

A refresher for those with short memories: the UNMOVIC inspectors issued a January 2003 report in part critical of the Iraqi government, but indicating progress and asking the Security Council for more time. The U.S. invaded without U.N. authorization (ie. in violation of the U.N. Charter) on the 20th of March, 2003. I wasn’t blogging back then, but I was crazy enough to camp out on Polk Place to demonstrate my opposition to the war.

ITMFA. Via.

Ouch.

I suggest jumping to the last minute. It gets pretty good. Also good is an exchange at about 2:45 in.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, what is a youtube video showing that Bush hasn’t actually managed to do anything about extra-legal private contractors in a year worth?

I already tagged a link to an educational short on why the Iraq War is illegal, but I’m afraid I didn’t do it justice with just a simple link. I’m not sure if there was a straw that broke the camel’s back, but I feel I have to make a clear public statement and call to action here.

First let us start with Two theses:

Thesis 1
If the invasion of Iraq by the US was a violation of the UN Charter
AND the UN Charter is a legally binding document
(under both US and International law)
Then the current US military involvement in Iraq is an Illegal War.

Thesis 2
If the US invasion and ongoing occupation of Iraq is an Illegal War,
Then the architects of that invasion
(including but not limited to President Bush and Vice President Cheney)
are War Criminals. Furthermore, US troops actively participating in the occupation of Iraq are (perhaps unwitting) War Criminals.

If you accept that the above Theses are true and correct, then you need to jump directly to my call to action: Impeachment of President Bush and Vice President Cheney for War Crimes. Fortunately that’s not pie-in-the-sky. Here’s a local group that’s actively working to bring that about. Please do sign up. If you’re interested in taking action at UNC, talk to me and we can get something else going. If you have doubts about the wisdom of pursuing Impeachment, please read this article before expressing your doubts to me, and I do encourage you to talk to me.

Please note that I am not trying to be insulting or disparaging of anyone. I particularly wish to express my respect and admiration for individuals serving in our armed forces.

If you’re not convinced that the Theses are valid, read on. Let’s look at Thesis 1 first.

1. Article VI of of our constitution states in part: “This Constitution [...] and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land.”
2. The US is one of the original signatories to the UN charter, which is a document that is clearly a treaty as per Article VI above. Furthermore, participation in and support of the UN by the US is ongoing.
3. intermediate conclusion A: The US is bound by law to uphold the UN Charter. Stated another way, the UN Charter is part of the “supreme law of the land” of the US.
4. Article 2 of the UN Charter, specifically through the third and fourth principles therein, demands that member states resolve conflicts peacefully and without the threat or use of force. There are two exceptions to this rule.
5. The second but more obvious exception is in Article 51 of the UN Charter, which states in part, “Nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence if an armed attack occurs against a Member of the United Nations.”
6. The second exception is spread across various Articles in Chapter 7 of the Charter, notably 43-45, and it is essentially that member states may use force if authorized to do so by the UN Security Council.
7. intermediate conclusion B: Member states using force without Security Council authorization and while not acting in self defense are acting in violation of the UN Charter.
8. There was never a Security Council resolution authorizing the use of force in Iraq.
9. At no point between 2001 and the invasion and occupation of Iraq in 2003 by the US did Iraq or anyone acting on orders from the Iraqi government attack the US in such a manner as to warrant use of force for self defense.
10. UPDATED WITH LINK: At no point between 2001 and the invasion and occupation of Iraq in 2003 by the US did President Bush or Vice President Cheney legitimately believe that the sovereign nation of Iraq posed an imminent, serious threat to the US, and furthermore, even if they had held such beliefs, it would not have been sufficient to warrant use of force for self defense under the UN Charter
11. Then Secretary General of the UN Kofi Annan clearly expressed his belief that the US invasion and occupation of Iraq was in violation of the UN Charter.
12. intermediate conclusion C: The US invasion and ongoing occupation of Iraq is in violation of the UN Charter.
13. conclusion: The ongoing occupation of Iraq by the US is an Illegal War.

Now Thesis 2 is rather Trivial:

1. Thesis 1 above has been demonstrated to be true.
2. conclusion: Bush and Cheney are War Criminals

Good night… and good luck.

After reading this bit on the Executive order mentioned earlier, I can’t decide if it’s as bad as I thought or not.

By executive order, the Fifth Amendment guarantee of due process is suspended for persons (Including U.S. Citizens in the United States) thought to be “undermining efforts to promote economic reconstruction and political reform in Iraq.”

Check it out: Bush commuted the prison sentence for Libby, but he left the “supervised release” portion of the sentence in place, something that’s apparently not legally possible.

I just called Elizabeth Dole’s Raleigh office to ask what her official response to the Libby commutation is. The lady who answered the phone bounced me to the DC office, where I left a voicemail. We’ll see if I get a response. If you want to call Dole’s DC office, the number there is: (202) 224-6342.

I’ve blogged a link to a Keith Olbermann piece that called for Bush and Cheney to resign. I’ve joined a few facebook groups. I’ve emailed some friends. I signed a MoveOn petition… I still feel like I haven’t done anything terribly meaningful to advance the cause of Justice. Please talk to me about this, if you get the chance. I want to know what people are doing or hope to do locally about our maniacal President or other problems.

The cardboard box for the T60p still hasn’t reappeared, and despite Bruce’s admonition not to worry about it until Thursday, It’s been very much on my mind. I’m not sure what Bruce will have to say when I talk to him, but I’m hoping there’s something I can do to make up for the loss. Still, I’m totally baffled about the whole thing. Who would’ve moved that box from beside my desk, and why the heck would that person have done so? Le sigh.

About the CCI laptop more generally… I’m still really frustrated with the T60p that CCI is going with. I know there are lenovo thinkpads that positively shine with Ubuntu (good integrated intel graphics, wireless), and Dell has been able to throw together a fairly impressive offering with Ubuntu. Why the ATI graphics and the Atheros wireless on the T60p? It’s a real pain to have to work with closed drivers. That pain was a monumental time suck for me between last Thursday and when I turned the laptop back in on Tuesday. Ubuntu on a thinkpad shouldn’t be that painful. Seriously… how’d they manage that?

In other news, I got my bill from UNC today…. Wheeee!

Calling Out Idiot America

From the article:

The task of holding Congress to account is a daunting one, and can be accomplished only if the citizenry that forms the respective constituencies of our ignorant congressional representatives are themselves able to operate at an intellectual capacity above that of those they are holding to account. So rather than issue “pop quizzes” to our elected representatives, I’ve designed one for us, the people. If the reader can fully answer the question raised, then he or she qualifies as one capable of pointing an accusatory finger at Congress as its members dither over what to do in Iraq. If the reader fails the quiz, then there should be an honest appraisal of the reality that we are in way over our heads regarding this war, and that it is irresponsible for anyone to make sweeping judgments about the ramifications of policy courses of action yet to be agreed upon. Claiming to be able to divine a solution to a problem improperly defined is not only ignorant but dangerously delusional.

So here is the quiz: Explain the relationship between the Iraqi cities of Karbala and Baghdad as they impact the coexistence of Iraq’s Shiite and Sunni populations.

Think you know the answer? I certainly didn’t pass the quiz, and I thought I knew the difference between Sunni and Shia.