Ramsey Clark, former attorney general under President Lyndon Johnson has called for President Bush to be impeached. The impeachment initiative is gaining steam, and has merit.

Bush told a succession of lies to justify the invasion into Iraq. I would argue that if we are to employ the same standards used as the basis for Bill Clinton’s impeachment, then there is sufficient evidence to impeach Bush for distortions and outright lies that have led to thousands of deaths.

The Constitution calls for impeachment of the president if he is accused of “high crimes and misdemeanors.” It is high time Bush is held accountable for the war. The logic that at least Saddam Hussein is out of power does not justify the massive campaign of deception and outright lies.

It is painfully clear the president and his cronies knew the war in Iraq had to be hyped or it would not have been tolerated.

The mendacity of this administration is only exceeded by its arrogance. Currently, individuals such as Richard Clarke, Paul O’Neil and David Kay are exposing the trail of deceit. Recently, Al Gore made a thunderous speech denouncing the lies and misrepresentations. We now know these speeches were not merely the ramblings of a bitter partisan, but actually factual comments.

Combining Iraq with 9/11 created a malevolent scenario in which an atmosphere of hysteria was encouraged and bred. Preying on genuine fears of terrorism, the president and his associates bandied the imminent threat scenario even though George Tenet, director of the CIA, admitted under oath recently that Saddam Hussein was not an imminent threat to the United States.

Bush lied to the American people and those lies produced deadly consequences. On Oct. 7, 2003, in Cincinnati, the president stated:”The evidence indicates that Iraq is reconstituting its nuclear weapons program … Iraq has attempted to purchase high-strength aluminum tubes and other equipment needed for gas centrifuges which are used to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons.”

Fact:Department of Energy officials told the New Republic “the tubes could not be used for enriching uranium.” On Jan. 28, during the State of the Union address, Bush said “The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa.”

This information was based on a forged document which the CIA knew was forged and informed the White House. Vice President Cheney said on Meet the Press March 16, 2003, “we believe (Saddam) has in fact reconstituted nuclear weapons,” but CIA reports showed no evidence of an Iraqi nuclear weapons program.

Bush said on Feb. 8, 2003 “we have seen intelligence over many months that they have chemical and biological weapons, and that they have dispersed them and they’re weaponized and that in one case at least the command and control arrangements have been established.”

There have been massive searches by the Americans and British and they have not found these weapons. George Tenet said “we have yet to find any biological weapon production.”

In May of 2003, a Polish television reporter interviewed Bush where he said “We found the weapons of mass destruction.” The president was speaking of two tractor trailers obtained by U.S. forces. However, no biological agents were found on either truck.

John Dean wrote an article in which he stated this (Iraq) and the lies might be worst than Watergate. According to Dean, “If Bush has taken Congress and the nation to war based on bogus information, he is cooked. Manipulation or deliberate misuse of national security intelligence data, if proven, could be a high crime.”

My response to Dean:Sir, this is a high crime, and those responsible should be prosecuted.

LeNie is a senior in history. Having my say appears every other Thursday. These views do not necessarily reflect those of the DAILY EGYPTIAN.