AIM : Impeaching Bush Over 9/11

Impeaching Bush Over 9/11

One bumper sticker for sale proclaimed that "The war on terror is a hoax."

By Cliff Kincaid | September 11, 2006

9/11 "truth" activist Bob Bowman could prove to be a major embarrassment to the Democratic Party. Bowman, you see, just won the Democratic Party's congressional primary election in Florida's 15th district. After getting a New York City crowd riled up on September 10, at a rally devoted to the idea that the 9/11 terrorist attacks were an inside job, Bowman was asked if the national Democratic Party had given him any support. "So far, no," he replied. But he said a more complete answer would have to wait until Tuesday night in Washington, D.C., where he will stage a "victory party" to which fellow Democrats and Democratic members of the Florida congressional delegation have been invited. The event is being held at the Florida House on Second Street Southeast on Tuesday night at 6 p.m.

On Monday, Bowman and fellow members of the 9/11 Truth movement were scheduled to hold a 9:30 a.m. news conference at the National Press Club in Washington. The co-chairs of the 9/11 Commission, Thomas Kean and Lee Hamilton, will speak to a press club luncheon.

Politically, Bowman's victory is a potential gift not only to Rep. Dave Weldon, his Republican opponent, but the Republicans as a whole. Bowman could be the new Cynthia McKinney, the Democrat who lost her primary election after an erratic performance that included suggesting that President Bush knew about 9/11 in advance, and fighting with U.S. Capitol police officers. Bowman's victory suggests that the Democratic Party constituency has moved beyond the far-left fringe into the realm of "the matrix." Indeed, someone running a table at the event where Bowman spoke operates a website called www.whatreallyisthematrix.com. If you thought that was only a science fiction movie, think again. We are all slaves, it advises, and you need to take a red pill to enter. No kidding.

Bowman, who got 55 percent of the vote, beat a fellow Democrat named John M. Kennedy. Leaving no doubt as to what he would try to do if he won in November, he declared that Bush and Vice President Cheney should be impeached and added that "we have the evidence to indict them for treason."

If this sounds extreme, it must be said, on the other hand, that a Bowman victory against Weldon cannot be ruled out, depending on what kind of political changes are in store this November. Republicans are so desperate that they are trying to salvage the Senate re-election bid of liberal Republican Lincoln Chafee, who just sabotaged John Bolton's confirmation as U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. This desperate move suggests the Republicans want to maintain nominal Republican control of the Senate to thwart an anticipated effort in the House, if the Democrats take control there, to start impeachment proceedings.

Preceding Bowman on the podium at the New York 9/11 "truth" event was Wayne Madsen, who became famous by serving as the only named source for a tabloid Globe cover story alleging that President Bush was having an affair with Condoleezza Rice. Madsen told the boisterous crowd of about 300 that the only difference between serial killer Ted Bundy and President Bush is that Bundy got better grades in college. This joke was made in response to Madsen asking a rhetorical question as to whether Bush sanctioned the deaths on 9/11. Asking another rhetorical question about what should be done with Bush and other members of his administration, one member of the audience shouted out, "lynch them."

Madsen himself didn't endorse that course of action. Instead, he saw hope in the November congressional elections, which he thought would go the Democrats' way. Political changes are coming in Washington, he confidently predicted. Then, he said, Rep. John Conyers, the new chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, would "begin the process of impeachment hearings" against the President. That would unravel the entire "fascist" administration, he hoped.

But it was the whole Bush family, including the President's father and grandfather, that came in for criticism. "The Bushes make the Sopranos look like Ozzie and Harriet Nelson," he said. He called it "the Bush crime syndicate."

Dr. William F. Pepper brought greetings from Ed Asner to the 9/11 "truth" crowd and distributed copies of four articles of impeachment that could be filed against Bush. He was introduced as a good friend of Venezuelan ruler Hugo Chavez, which got roars of approval from the crowd. He expressed the hope that impeachment proceedings would "develop a life of their own" and lead to hearings on Bush's use of alleged illegal surveillance and "secret prisons" in the war on terror.

But that's only if you believe the war on terror is real. One bumper sticker for sale proclaimed that "The war on terror is a hoax."

Pepper concluded his remarks by quoting Che Guevara and expressing solidarity with "the poor people of the earth."

The most popular speaker, Alex Jones, termed the U.S. Government comprised of "psychopathic criminals" and "real monsters." A talk-show host and filmmaker, he said his next production would examine how the powers that be "want to exterminate us" and reduce the U.S. population by 85-95 percent.

Outside of the Cooper Union, where the event took place, associates of Lyndon LaRouche were hawking their wares, including "Children of Satan," a book featuring Cheney on the cover. I was told this was the definitive account of neo-con influence in the Bush Administration.

All of this might be worth a laugh or two were it not for the fact that the 9/11 Truth movement has emerged, as the Bowman victory shows, to be a significant political force. One poll shows about one-third of the public buying into it. As such, it is not beyond the realm of possibility that next January, when a new Congress takes office, Rep. Conyers could be issuing subpoenas to administration witnesses to determine the degree of "inside knowledge" of the events leading up to 9/11. Of course, this "path to 9/11" would carefully ignore what happened on Bill Clinton's watch.

Cliff Kincaid is the Editor of the AIM Report and can be reached at cliff.kincaid@aim.org