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Crimes Without Punishment
This weekend, thanks to Arianna Huffington, I had the opportunity to attend a screening of No End in Sight, Charles Ferguson's brilliant documentary about the Iraq war, the buildup, the fuck-up and the slide into chaos. See it now at whatever theatre has the guts to show it. Don't wait until it comes to Netflix because this is one film that must be seen in a theatre with a full sized theatre screen, not on a television set, no matter how large the set. This isn't about watching football, it's about watching history, really bad, tragic history. Only in the theatre will you see the true dimensions of the horror and the chaos that Bush brought down on the Iraqi people, and the criminal ignorance of the Bush administration that brought us to where we are today. It's Halloween -- a horror film in the shape of a fine documentary, one that lets events do the talking, the very best way to review history.
There is a point where incompetence and willed ignorance, infused with constant lying, becomes a criminal act. And this has happened to the Bush administration, where their mistakes have become crimes. This film is a stunning indictment of our President and his cohorts and the hell that they brought down on the Iraqi people, and its consequences for all Americans, beyond the insurgency -- the hatred that makes us so vulnerable today from any terrorists that our president created. It is hard to look at this film and not believe that Bush was a mole, a secret agent of Al Qaeda, for nothing those terrorist criminals might have done could have wreaked such havoc on the world and America as the acts of George Bush and company.
Just today the news reported the accidental killing of a group of adult Iraqis and a small child by our soldiers who were seeking insurgents and killed the innocents in error. Each of these incidents adds to the crimes that this administration has brought to the world, and the hatred for America. I love this country, and it hurts me and many like me to discover that we are regarded as enemies of peace. Here is the big questions raised in my mind. Will these crimes go unpunished? Will an Obama or a Hillary, if elected, advise us that we must look ahead, not backwards to the recent past? I long for the bad-old days, the really bad old days when a Napolean was exiled to Elba and St. Helena to spend his last days in exile after being responsible for the deaths of millions, cut off from the company of mankind. Chances are Bush will return to Crawford, start work on his library, and attempt to revise history so that his crimes are made to appear bold actions, not the murderously stupid, irresponsible acts that they were. If ever there was an argument for keeping our base at Guantanamo it would be that Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, and Wolfowitz, together with Condoleeza Rice would be sent there into permanent exile. This won't happen, of course, but one can dream.
In every other aspect of life we seek justice and accountability, but in the case of the rogue Bush government, many feel that getting these bozos out of Washington this year will be enough. Not me and many like me. If it's not actually murder they committed, it is most assuredly manslaughter (particularly in the case of Rumsfeld who told our soldiers who complained of being sent into battle with Humvees lacking armor-plate that you go to battle with the army you have, smiling at his own wit, surrounded by the smug, the dishonest, and the dishonorable, of which he was and is a charter member.
No matter who gets elected (and this leaves out Uncle Daffy, Mr. Surge McCain) there will be great difficulties in extricating ourselves from Iraq. We cannot turn our backs on those Iraqis who helped us or those who fled into exile and dire poverty. But a band-aid of alms for the Iraqi poor won't cut it, not after leaving guns about for the insurgency, and tossing them to the mercy of their old enemy Iran. There is no way that we can leave Iraq in the short period of time proposed by Obama or Hillary with any moral authority, and someone should tell the truth to the American people about our obligation to the Iraqis. First, however, we must be assured that the Congress investigates the various crimes of the Bush administration. Henry Waxman may help there by investigating the corruption of those unbid contracts of Blackwater, and it may be such corruption -- like the tax conviction of Al Capone that brought him down, that brings down Cheney and others -- but Waxman lacks the support of too many cautious Democratic representatives who want to push the Bush years out of sight.
Nancy Pelosi believed that she was making a smart tactical move by refusing to consider an impeachment of Bush, but it was a great mistake because without clearing the rubble and assigning blame where it belongs, we leave behind us a history of crimes without punishment, a blow to any sane notion of justice. And far worse, this country cannot truly move ahead without a full hearing and an assignment of blame for this disastrous war. Call me vindictive. I can live with that. But I can't live with the idea that all these villains, and that's what they are, will walk away into their new lives in academia, business, or just their corrupt and comfortable billionaire-dom, and pay nothing but in reputation for their crimes. Government leaders went to prison for far less in the Teapot Dome scandal of the '20s, and for Watergate in the '70s. The crimes of the Bush administration dwarf any committed by their predecessors. See No End in Sight, and I believe that you will agree.
Sherman Yellen is a screenwriter, playwright, and lyricist.
Copyright © 2008 HuffingtonPost.com, Inc.
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15 Comments so far
Show All"We cannot turn our backs on those Iraqis who helped us or those who fled into exile and dire poverty."
Wanna bet? Just watch. How may Iraq War refugees have we allowed into the US so far? A couple hundred? It won't matter whether it's a Dem or Repub who gets elected president. Either way, Iraqis will be considered expendable. It was always thus.
After spending over 30 years engineering the takeover of America, is there any sane person that believes that they are just going to go quietly into that good night? Ain't gonna happen.
The Rebel is right. There might not even be an election. And sadly all the 'Good Americans', wearing their 'Brown Shirts' will accept.
Hoa binh
"Nancy Pelosi believed that she was making a smart tactical move by refusing to consider an impeachment of Bush, but it was a great mistake because without clearing the rubble and assigning blame where it belongs, we leave behind us a history of crimes without punishment, a blow to any sane notion of justice. And far worse, this country cannot truly move ahead without a full hearing and an assignment of blame for this disastrous war. Call me vindictive. I can live with that. But I can't live with the idea that all these villains, and that's what they are, will walk away into their new lives in academia, business, or just their corrupt and comfortable billionaire-dom, and pay nothing but in reputation for their crimes."
REALLY? Imagine that! Sherman Yellen is still in denial of the American Holocaust. One Hundred Million American Indians were killed for land and resources. The killing quietly continues to this very day. THE GREATEST GENOCIDE IN THE LAST FIVE HUNDRED YEARS HAS GONE "WITHOUT PUNISHMENT." In fact the villains have walked away into their new lives in academia, business, and their corrupt confortable lives. The villains include you Mr. Yellen.
"There is no way that we can leave Iraq in the short period of time proposed by Obama or Hillary with any moral authority"
Leaving is the only way we can regain whatever moral authority remains available. Staying is worse.
Thanks for the well-written film recommendation and assessment of the damage done by these war criminals!!
I have long said that the only way Bush will leave office is in a straitjacket. We have to reclaim our democracy and defeating the election fraud that the Neocons have perfected all over the world, and jailing Bush, Cheney, et.al. will be the first step in a long recovery.
New protest sign..."BUSH IMPEACHMENT HEARINGS - MUST-SEE TV!!"
"crimes without punishment"---seems to go hand in hand with "representation without taxation" as enjoyed by our corporate overlords.
What was the question? Will these crimes go unpunished?
Depends on your definition of "punished":
"Karl Rove, the strategist behind President George W. Bush's ascendancy to the White House, will join Rupert Murdoch's Fox News Channel as a contributor starting with Super Tuesday..."
"In July 2005, Colin Powell joined Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers, a well-known Silicon Valley venture capital firm, with the title of "strategic limited partner... Also in 2006, Powell began appearing as a speaker at a series of motivational events called Get Motivated".
"In September 2007, Rumsfeld received a one year appointment as a fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University... He will participate in the institution's new task force studying post-September 11 ideology and terror."
What was the question again?
"Ari Fleischer, the former White House press secretary who now works with a right-wing activist group called Freedom's Watch..."
"L. Paul Bremer was awarded on December 14, 2004 the Presidential Medal of Freedom,[5] America's highest civil award for "especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors."
Had enough?
A stunning indictment is exactly what every member of the Bush Crime Family needs to be served with. They have all been awarded with cushy jobs and million dollar bonuses so far. Hopefully when the Bush regime has breathed its last, the cry for accountability will be heard beyond a few liberal blogs and will be repeated by the sycophantic MSM at last. I would be in favor of holding the cheer leading MSM rock stars accountable for treason as well. All that stuff about not shooting the messenger does not apply to those who French kissed GWB while he was committing genocide in Iraq. You know who you are- Faux News et al. (All the other Main Stream Networks as well.)
Let's get serious now. No election? Please... I don't think the anti-government, inhumane neocons even want to go there. So much of what we are depends on myth. The myth that we are free and live in a democracy. I don't think even they want to find out what will happpen if that myth is dissolved.
More likely we will have an election echoing with the full throated rhetoric of change and come January 2009 we'll remember the lyrics to that old WHO tune, "Won't Get Fooled Again."
Absolutely.
Impeach.
I'm not even that optimistic. Everyone seems so bowled over by Hillary's spin that an amnesia has set in; her vote for the wars, her retailing the same big lies about Saddam's WMD and links to al Qaeda, her steadfast refusal to admit she was wrong and her current vagueness and obfuscation about when and how she would get out. If it comes down to Hillary vs. McCain, it'll just be a choice between the he-hawk and the she-hawk. Sure, on social issues she sounds more progressive, but she's running on Bill's record, and on that score we can't hope for much. Bill did precious little to protect abortion and sold out the gays to the hard right by making things worse in the military and signing the Defense of Marriage Act.
I know, that's the thing, Rebel (and since1492), I dont see them walking out quietly into that dark night.. where they belong (or really to the Netherlands being tried: Nuremburg style. YaRight, they did all this so someone can come in and change it all. These people are Dr. Strangelove riding a mad rocket. For another good read today, Gore Vidal:
http://www.truthdig.com/dig/item/20060207_president_jonah_redux/
And I agree, Impeach Now. Dammit.
and .. No End in Sight, Charles Ferguson's brilliant documentary is the thing to watch.
I mean what are we waiting for?..
"..in July 2004 (reported in Newsweek), that for several months the White House and the Department of Justice had been discussing the feasibility of canceling the upcoming presidential election in the event of a possible terrorist attack." I suspect that the technologically inclined prevailed against that extreme measure on the ground that the newly installed electronic ballot machines could be so calibrated that Bush's heirs would win handily no matter what (read Rep. Conyers' report (.pdf file) on the rigging of Ohio's vote)". G.Vidal
Hmm what do they have up their sleeves? Osama was just another CIA employee.
Impeachment. Now.
Impeach!
Saw a trailer for a new independent movie that's coming out called Blue State. It's about a guy that moves to Canada to make a statement after GW won again in '04... Seemed kind of contrived at first, but then you hear about blatantly lying to the public... It starts to sound enticing! The blatant disregard for the law that the executive branch has demonstrated over and over again is revolting!
If the GOP retakes capital hill, I'm outta here! All I wanna know, is who's coming with me! Hahaha!
Anyways, the movie looked pretty good. You can check out the trailer @ www.bluestatemovie.com