Editor,
We are now going through perhaps the saddest period in our nation's history since the Civil War. The Bush administration has plunged the United States into an unjust, unmotivated and unnecessary war that has divided our country.
The law-of-the-jungle rush to war has deeply offended those of us who believe that the highest priority for the United States is to live up to the principles on which this country rests: individual liberty, collective democracy and respect for the law and the views of others.
The arrogant, might-makes-right behavior of the Bush administration has alienated much of the rest of the world, including some of our staunchest traditional allies and our closest neighbors. This result comes so shortly following the Sept. 11 catastrophe when respect and sympathy were showered on the United States from around the globe. The bully tactics have only increased the hatred of those who already were our enemies. How did we allow ourselves to get into such a mess? How can we extricate ourselves from this morass?
At this point, with our young people in the military now horrifically engaged in killing and being killed, there appears to be only one clear option to restore some semblance of self-respect and dignity to our country. There appears to be only one quick option to begin to reverse the damage done to our reputation as a law-abiding, peace-loving nation. That singular option is to disavow our leadership's behavior by impeaching President George W. Bush.
A strong case for impeachment can be made on the grounds that Bush has willfully violated national and international law in carrying out this unprovoked and unauthorized war against another sovereign nation. I have asked that my representative in Washington, Heather Wilson, immediately take whatever steps are necessary to initiate impeachment proceedings in the House of Representatives.
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Once Bush is impeached and convicted, we must be prepared to honor any request from an international court of law that might wish to charge Bush and other senior members of this administration with crimes against humanity. The leadership of all nations must understand that they as individuals must behave lawfully and ethically or face serious consequences, just as all the rest of us are obligated to do.
May we all move forward with intelligence, true compassion and an unswerving devotion to the loftiest ideals of what it means to be a patriotic American.
Garland D. Bills
UNM professor emeritus
