Posted by CODEPINK Staff
War Criminal George W. Bush
by Nancy Mancias
America is a friend to the people of Iraq. Our demands are directed only at the regime that enslaves them and threatens us. When these demands are met, the first and greatest benefit will come to Iraqi men, women and children. -George W. Bush
For eight long years, George W. Bush steered America and the rest of the world down the path of destruction and endless war.
According to author Richard Clakre, Bush's disdain for the rule of law and accountability was best summed up on September 11, 2001, when he told his accomplice Donald Rumsfeld, "I don't care what the international lawyers say, we are going to kick some ass."
George W. Bush did kick some ass, but the wrong ones!
He sacked Baghdad in March 2003 under the false pretense that Saddam Hussein and Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, meanwhile paying little to no attention to U.N. weapon inspectors who said otherwise. Days leading up to the invasion, his legal team would fine tune the rule of law to their advantage, disappearing men and young boys who were suspected of being terrorists to Bagram prison in Afghanistan, then secretly flying them south to Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba to be held indefinitely. While this was happening, innocent Iraqis were wrongfully detained and tortured by U.S. soldiers and military security contractors at Abu Ghraib prison. Images of the late-night torture parties would broadcast live across the globe.
Eventually the U.S. military took over Saddam Hussein's palace claiming it as theirs and setting up a so-called "Green Zone." Millions of innocent Iraqis were displaced internally and externally. With the intense ground fighting and mistaken house raids, innocent Iraqis were killed by U.S. soldiers.
In the United States, taxpayers continue to pay for the invasion and occupation of Iraq. A desperate increase in military deployment and recruitment spikes across the country, resulting in a movement of war resisters fleeing to Canada, living underground or court martialed. Domestic programs are severely slashed and the war has bankrupted the country.
During these eight long years, a thriving anti-war/peace movement rises against George W. Bush’s war policies. In New York City, the Republican National Committee decides to hold their convention at Madison Square Garden, just a cab ride away from where the World Trade Center once stood.
Every day during the Republican National Convention, the women of CODEPINK managed to get onto the convention floor. June Brashares was one of those women. Taking the seat of former California Governor Gray Davis, Brashares sat down waiting for the president to speak. Just 40 minutes into Bush's speech, Brashares jumped on the chair, yelling "Bush lies," and holding up a banner. Brashares was hustled out and taken to jail.
The country has a new Democratic President filled with hope and change, but the wounds of the Bush administration are still fresh. Coloradans for Peace is organizing consecutive peaceful protests in Colorado Springs this week, to call for the arrests of Dick Cheney and George W. Bush. Cheney and Bush are scheduled to speak at a conference.
George W. Bush will release his new memoirs on November 9th and set out on a book tour. Will you be there to stand up for accountability?
