Which Article of Impeachment Pushes You Over the Edge?

As I listened to Dennis Kucinich introduce the 35 Articles of Impeachment to Congress (http://www.progressive.org/mag_wx0601008), I was lulled by the constant repetition of “In his conduct while President of the United States, George W. Bush, in violation of his constitutional oath to faithfully execute the office of President of the United States...”

I began to dose as each article was explained until this statement snapped me out of it, “...authorized or permitted the arrest and detention of at least 2500 children under the age of 18 as "enemy combatants" in Iraq, Afghanistan, and at Guantanamo Bay Naval Station in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention relating to the treatment of "protected persons" and the Optional Protocol to the Geneva Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict, signed by the US in 2002.”

Article XX, Imprisoning Children is the article that pushed my buttons. I had no idea children as young as ten years old were being confined by the US in our Middle East war zones and at Guantanamo where a special children’s section is called Camp Iguana. Some of these young men have been in captivity for so long they are now over 18 years of age. I didn’t know that in November of 2004 as men and boys tried to flee Fallujah prior to the battle, they were turned back by Marines.

I suppose if I had thought about whether we were imprisoning children, I would have suspected that something like this could be happening. To be fair, I am a teacher and have worked with middle school students, so I am well aware of what a bother they can be. I’m just a petite little old lady in running shoes, so of course any big 14 year old boy or girl is going to love to take me on. But it is shameful that the U.S. government doesn’t know how to differentiate between children and men and it is not honoring international treaties regarding the treatment of children.

The killing, imprisonment, and mistreatment of children are reasons we, freedom loving people, hate oppressive regimes. To me, Article XX points out just how far this President has sullied our reputation and had involved the people of the United States in criminal actions. If for no other reason President Bush should be removed from office for allowing children to be held as “enemy combatants”.

The sole purpose of impeachment as outlined in the U.S. Constitution is to remove a president or vice president from office. Impeachment doesn’t provide for punishment of the people who have committed high crimes and misdemeanors.

Dennis Kucinich has outlined a comprehensive and detailed argument for why the U.S. Congress should be holding impeachment hearings. Unfortunately the media, members of the House of Representatives, and many political know-it-alls are slaying this messenger for his devastating message. Few are actually reading the 35 Articles of Impeachment and talking or writing about why those charges require immediate action.

My challenge to you is to find the Article of Impeachment that wakes you out of a dose or pushes your buttons. Explain why this article is so important that it needs immediate attention. Instead of falling into line and playing with the politics of impeachment, let’s use our brains to digest the information the Dennis Kucinich has given us and use it to push for impeachment hearings. Perhaps if more people heard Kucinich’s message, there would be a push for Congress to act.