A BuzzFlash Guest Contribution

CONTRIBUTOR ARCHIVES  

The President's Misuse of Power

A Few Highlights from the Book "Misuse of Power"

A BUZZFLASH GUEST CONTRIBUTION
by Ed Asner and Burt Hall

After using extreme measures designed to wreck the Clinton Administration, the far right took control of our government in 2001. They chose as their candidate a former president’s son whose election ultimately hinged on a controversial Supreme Court decision. For many months the new president failed to respond to unprecedented warnings of a major terrorist attack on this country. These warnings came from the highest levels of Government and from foreign countries. Some of them even specified the actual means of attack -- using commercial aircraft as weapons. Having done nothing to protect commercial aviation, Bush was caught completely off guard by 9/11. He went to great lengths to cover up his leadership failure and began an aggressive war on terrorism.

As part of that war, Bush quickly zeroed in on Iraq as a major threat, sidetracking our effort to put al-Qaeda out of business. One year before the invasion he sent CIA operatives and Director Tenet to northern Iraq to lay the groundwork. During the buildup to war the Administration disregarded (1) dissents of our own and foreign intelligence activities and (2) findings of onsite international inspectors. Currently, Bush is unable to extricate himself from this ill conceived war and our country is suffering greatly as a result.

The President’s misuse of power has extended to many other matters and endangers the future of our country. Chp. 1 contains a concise overview of the book. Additional highlights are:

• Chp. 2 shows how the far right, led by House leader Tom DeLay, crushed all attempts to censure Clinton for his personal mistake and instead, forced a highly disruptive and illegitimate impeachment. DeLay knew the Senate would not convict; his real purpose was to (1) force the President to resign and (2) have his own Party eventually take control of the White House. He used political blackmail to get the necessary votes for impeachment.
• Chp. 3 documents, in detail, how President Bush failed to take reasonable and prudent action before 9/11 when faced with the most urgent warnings in decades. After an extensive cover-up, he exploited the disaster to (1) gain unchecked executive power, (2) gain control of Congress, (3) gain authority for the Iraqi war and (4) gain support for his own reelection.
• Chp. 4 shows how Bush’s intense desire to invade Iraq put unnecessary pressure on our intelligence community. Findings of the international inspectors in Iraq challenged the accuracy of U.S. intelligence. All Bush had to do was to let these inspectors finish their work. Bush lied to the nation when he said war would be his “last resort”. You will also find in this chapter a military authorization submitted to several members of Congress before they voted. It shows how Congress could have responded to a President bent on war -- without giving him a blank check. The chapter suggests means that were available to advance freedom other than going to war.
• A Chp. 5 satire provides insight on what may have gone on within the inner sanctums of the White House before and after 9/11 and the war in Iraq.
• Chp. 6 shows that our country is in trouble across the board – on ever important issue of the day -- and that Bush’s approach to governing is anything but conservative. A conservative tends to preserve established institutions and methods and to resist or oppose any changes in them. Bush’s approach has been just the opposite. He has sought radical changes in foreign policy and Social Security and has left a staggering debt for future generations, severely weakened our National Security, made no attempt to break the stranglehold of our dependence on Mideast oil and has been called “the worst environmental president in history.”

The little country of Iceland has refused to be captive of Mideast oil or contribute to the earth’s destruction through climate change. It is moving toward a renewable energy of hydrogen fuel. This fuel depends on water, not oil. It does not emit pollution and does not contribute to the devastating and irreversible consequences of climate change.

A BUZZFLASH GUEST CONTRIBUTION

Ed Asner is a much admired actor best known for his television portrayal of journalist Lou Grant. He also has been an outspoken activist and advocate for human rights, political freedom, and on labor issues. With retired government analyst Burt Hall, he is coauthor of Misuse of Power, a hard-hitting view of the political far right.  BuzzFlash interviewed Ed Asner and offered Misuse of Power as a premium in October, 2005.