December 24, 2006
by Steve Hammons

Now that the American people have expressed their strong concerns about the Iraq War and other improper conduct by those in power, the new Congress will be encouraged to investigate and uncover other activities that may be unethical and/or criminal.

The resignation of Donald Rumsfeld brings to mind several questions about the invasion and occupation of Iraq that must certainly be a focus of Congress.

These include, but are not limited to, the following areas of concern:

- Have deaths and injuries to our troops and innocent civilians been the result of criminal negligence by any government officials or former government officials?

- In addition to cases of war profiteering and corruption already investigated and documented, are there additional cases of fraud and corruption involved in the invasion and occupation of Iraq, as well in other areas of governmental activities?

- In the run-up to the invasion of Iraq, was false intelligence knowingly created to deceive the American people and Congress? If so, who in the executive branch or elsewhere was involved in creating false intelligence?

- Because the U.N. did not specifically authorize military action against Iraq, did the invasion and occupation of Iraq violate international law and constitute a "war of aggression?"

- Who in the executive branch or elsewhere developed plans for extreme interrogation techniques, near-torture and torture of prisoners of war and suspects? Who authorized the transfer of detained persons by U.S. personnel to countries where torture is conducted? Have these actions constituted war crimes under U.S. and international law?

RESPONSIBILITY, ACCOUNTABILITY, JUSTICE

The new Congress will probably be encouraged to conduct reasonable investigations into these important areas, because many serious questions have been raised about irregularities that have resulted in the deaths and injuries to thousands of American troops and tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqi civilians, including women and children.

The honor and reputation of the United States of America and the American people is at stake.

Accountability of government officials and former government officials is also an important aspect of any congressional inquiries.

Our belief in justice for those involved in wrongdoing will play a part in future investigations as well.

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Some U.S. government officials have correctly stated that "evil doers" must be brought to justice. Most Americans and people around the world would agree with this agenda. Of course, defining and identifying the evil doers is the difficult part of this mission, as this is frequently in the eyes of the beholder.

Yet, a consensus among Americans has been building and the results were evident in the mid-term elections.

There are concerns, grave concerns, about what has been going on in Washington for the last several years.

It has been pointed out that those in power may have believed that the American people are stupid, gullible, easily deceived and easily manipulated. Again, the elections demonstrated that this is not the case, at least for a solid majority of Americans.

PROCEED WITH STRENGTH AND HONOR

Regaining an image of honor for the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate will not be easy.

Many in the recent rubber-stamp Congress have allowed and assisted in the alleged false intelligence on Iraq, massive war profiteering, incredible waste of billions or trillions of dollars, deaths of and injuries to U.S. personnel and innocent Iraqis, intentional deception through manipulation of the news media and other actions that have seriously damaged our nation.

However, the new Congress, Democrats and Republicans alike, may find the courage and moral foundation to conduct necessary investigations to uncover unethical and criminal activities that should be brought to light and resolved.

If those in Congress have difficulty in summoning up the ethical strength to move forward with needed inquiries, American citizens will most likely provide strong encouragement and support for appropriate actions.

A probable scenario is that the American people and the new Congress will work together to responsibly investigate allegations of irregularities and criminal conduct, and then proceed with the logical consequences of any evidence discovered.

These kinds of inquiries will need to be conducted in conjunction with developing intelligent strategies in Iraq, Afghanistan and on other global issues.

Investigations will also be concurrent with efforts to deal with challenges at home, helping average Americans and taking our nation forward on a wide range of challenges.

If conducted properly, the necessary inquiries by the new Congress will not detract from dealing with the many important problems we face.

In fact, by acting with strength and honor in confronting wrongdoing, the new Congress can establish a foundation for responsible and effective leadership in all the other areas that are so important for the United States and the rest of the world.

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Steve Hammons [send him email] is the author of Mission into Light and Light's Hand, which are two novels about a U.S. Government and military joint-service research team investigating unusual phenomena. Click here to see Steve's homepage.