General Pace, You Can Save the US - by Arresting Bush for "Conduct Unbecoming"

General Peter Pace
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
400 Joint Staff Pentagon
Washington, D.C. 20318-0400

Dear General Pace,

I note with admiration your courage in making clear your private concerns about the safety of the US military and the longterm danger to US national security caused by the President's stubborn refusal to acknowledge the quagmire in Iraq.

Though you are Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the President's principal military advisor - President Bush has shown his disdain for your honesty and wisdom. Though you are a decorated Vietnam war hero - who has served his nation honorably for four decades - the President is dispensing with your services. You have one month left in your position before you are tossed out by the President.

President Bush is going to ignore your advice. Just as he has ignored the advice of other Generals who have had the courage to respectfully point out how terribly wrong he is in respect of the Iraq War and the safety of the US military he is sworn to protect. Highly-decorated colleagues of yours such as General Anthony Zinni (Commander in Chief of U.S. Central Command), General Eric Shinseki (Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army) and General John Abizaid (Commander of the U.S. Central Command).

General Pace - you have the power to fulfill your responsibility to protect the troops under your command. Indeed you have an obligation to do so.

You can relieve the President of his command.

Not of his Presidency. But of his military role as Commander-In-Chief.

You simply invoke the Uniform Code Of Military Justice.

The United States Code: Title 10, Subtitle A, Part II, Chapter 47, Subchapter X, Section 934.

Article 134 reads:

"Though not specifically mentioned in this chapter, all disorders and neglects to the prejudice of good order and discipline in the armed forces, all conduct of a nature to bring discredit upon the armed forces, and crimes and offenses not capital, of which persons subject to this chapter may be guilty, shall be taken cognizance of by a general, special, or summary court-martial, according to the nature and degree of the offense, and shall be punished at the discretion of that court."

Article 133 reads:

"Any commissioned officer, cadet, or midshipman who is convicted of conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman shall be punished as a court-martial may direct."

A gentleman is understood to have a duty to avoid dishonest acts, displays of indecency, lawlessness, dealing unfairly, indecorum, injustice, or acts of cruelty.

To be crystal clear - I am NOT advocating or inciting you to undertake any illegal act, insurrection, mutiny, putsch or military coup. You are an honorable patriotic man.

I am NOT advocating or inciting you to interfere with any of the civilian duties of the President. That would not be a legal action by you.

However you have the legal responsibility - under Article 134 of the Uniform Code Of Military Justice - to protect the troops under your command by relieving the President of his MILITARY command.

If you have reason to believe that the President is responsible for "disorders and neglects to the prejudice of good order and discipline in the armed forces" and for "conduct of a nature to bring discredit upon the armed forces, and crimes and offenses not capital" then you have the obligation to act.

In addition to relieving him of his command as Commander-In-Chief, you also have authority to place the President under MILITARY arrest.

Article 7 of the Uniform Code Of Military Justice specifically says:

(b) Any person authorized under regulations governing the armed forces to apprehend persons subject to this Code may do so upon reasonable belief that an offense has been committed and that the person apprehended committed it.

(c) All officers, warrant officers, petty officers, and noncommissioned officers shall have authority to quell all quarrels, frays, and disorders among persons subject to this Code and to apprehend persons subject to this Code who take part in the same.

I understand that it would not be an action to undertake lightly.

In all your 39 years of service you have shown total loyalty to the chain of command.

However, given the current imperilment of US troops, and the "Conduct Unbecoming Of An Officer And A Gentleman" of this President - you have a greater responsibility to your nation, your code of honor and to the US Constitution.

I wish you well as you prepare to undertake the most heroic action of your distinguished career.

General Pace - please save the US.

Respectfully yours,

Martin Lewis

MILITARY DECORATIONS & HONORS AWARDED TO GENERAL PETER PACE

Defense Distinguished Service Medal with two bronze oak leaf clusters (3 awards), Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of MeritBronze Star Medal with Valor device, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with gold award star (2 awards), Navy Commendation Medal with Valor device, Navy Achievement Medal with gold award star (2 awards), Combat Action Ribbon, Navy Presidential Unit Citation with bronze service star (2 awards), Joint Meritorious Unit Commendation with three bronze oak leaf clusters (4 awards), Navy Unit Commendation with bronze service star (2 awards), Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation with three bronze service stars (4 awards), National Defense Service Medal with two bronze service stars (3 awards), Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal with two bronze service stars (3 awards), Vietnam Service Medal with silver and bronze service stars, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Korea Defense Service Medal, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon with two bronze service stars (3 awards), Overseas Service Ribbon with three bronze service stars (4 awards), Recruiting Service Ribbon, United Nations Medal with bronze service star and the Congressional Medal of Honor Society Patriot Award.

MILITARY DECORATIONS & HONORS AWARDED TO PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH

errrr... there aren't any.

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Comments

[Macker]

Martin, you do realize that if you didn't have a file over at the FBI prior to the publication of your article, you most certainly do now!

[oldhack]

Has it EVER occurred to any modern liberal that he/she is WRONG? Wait, no -- that would require an acknowledgement of imperfection, which is impermissible in this Post-Modern world. I withdraw the question.

[aaCharley]

How did it take so long for a blog at the PuffHo to finally conclude that the US should mimick thialand if forming governments? Will the totalitarian Lefties never cease to promote military action to subvert elected governments?

Finally, the lefties show their true face. Military control of government is their hopeful resolution when they disagree with the will of the public.

[sdw2is]

http://www.lies.com/wp/images/2004countymap3.gif
Do you really think states will have anything to do with this? Williamsburg residents in Brooklyn NY would open fire on your kind in a heart beat. Try voting districts instead of states. We won't leave suburban republicans in blue states. Our math is in disagreement. Also I forgot to remind you where all of those armaments, energy resources, refineries and nukes are located. -whoops Dick Cheney country.

This is what I'd like your side to keep doing.
1) Push major restrictions on any fire arms
2) Go back to the draft with drummed out volunteers and officer staus based upon affirmative action quotas.
3)Go to energy rationing
4) End domestic energy production
5)Raise taxes through the roof
6)A couple of larger scale wacos
7) The fairness doctrine
8) Open borders with full welfare for illegals
9)More epa restrictions on small towns
10)Strong affirmative action for non-whites (different standards for opportunity).
11) Belittle our religion
12)Continuous bussing
13)Keep labeling us as conspiracies and attack machines

People here are pushed up against a wall. The people here see you as a threat to their families. I have lived in the past in Blue country for 14 years and listened to how inferior we are from your kind. BTW-(Wyoming public schools just received the highest state rating-how did that happen?) We see you as invaders. And it won't take much more. I used to be appalled at locals that wanted to "get big city libs". I now understand. Just push your agenda real hard that's all it will take. That post that you wrote will come in handy when your first lady- Slick Willie the Pedophile goes into action.
Power to the People Man!

[sinderdj]

This is a succinct plea from the American People. General pace, you serve the people not this president. Do It!

[TheHawaiianGecko]

You wrote: "General pace, you serve the people not this president.­"

Technically you are wrong and if he were alive General Douglas MacArthur would be the first to tell you so.

But let's pretend that you're correct and General Pace agrees with you. The problem with your suggestion and I'm sure Peter Pace knows this, is that the President received over 62 million votes in 2004. That's 15 million more than his predecessor WJC.

In short, his current and continued support of the President is in full keeping with his serving the people.

[Justanothercoverup]

As a matter of curiosity, I have mentioned this matter is actionable under RICO more than one time, and each time have been greeted with silence. When you consider that Alberto Gonzales himself has been implicated in this "conspiracy", knowing that the Justice Department has been compromised by the White House should grant Congress the authority to choose an Independent Counsel, secretly, to investigate, indict, and prosecute this illegal criminal conspiracy that spans multiple states (voter fraud, caging, and many other crimes too numerous to mention) which is exactly why RICO was legislated into the law.

Granted, it's original intent was to combat organized crime, and many of us believe that's exactly what the Bush administration is, an organized attempt to subvert and bypass our system of checks and balances, plus the sheer audacity of this administration claiming "Executive Privilege" for the sole purpose of keeping evidence from Congressional investigators that could and would implicate this administration in a multitude of crimes that were perpetrated with the knowledge and help of others, which is the essence of a conspiracy. (It's also called obstruction of justice.) Please keep in mind that since RICO's inception, it has been used to address a multitude of criminal activities, many that are not associated with "organized crime" per se, and for all practical purposes, when you look at the definition of organized crime - the GOP and their henchmen have validated my argument several times over - yet nothing is being done with the one tool that Congress has that could bring this entire Coup attempt to a screeching halt!

Why? Is there something I'm missing? Read the law and then take a look at the many crimes that Bush, Cheney, and so many of their political appointees and staff have been alleged to have committed and you will find it fits perfectly within the scope of RICO. Since all else has failed miserably to unseat these tyrants, why not fall-back on the one statute(s) that would put this entire issue to rest?

William Cormier

[towerclimber37]

No one is replying because your ideas are pretty dumb..we don't want to crush your fragile ego!
Dude...go get a job or something.

[TheHawaiianGecko]

1. UCMJ has no control over a civilian President, period the end.
2. If it did. What crime?. Liberal wet dreams don’t count.
3. Peter Pace is a remarkable soldier. The last thing on his mind is performing a seditious act at the whim of a humorist.
4. Psychologists tell us that people tend to believe what they read and hear on a second or even third hand basis. Television, radio and newspapers are second and third hand sources. Most of what people know isn’t based upon personal experience. In fact a modern civilization couldn’t survive without this trust. We believe it simply because it says something.
There’s no reason to assume what we read in the main stream media is true, and often it is not. It may be distorted, based upon author error or perverted for personal-political gain. But for some reason people tend to believe that everything they are told is 100% accurate, honest, the full story and researched with care.
With the proliferation of the internet, people are reading the media they choose, the media that support their belief. Manipulators use this to their benefit. They know something presented with "authority" and an attitude of "this is the way it is" will be accepted. The Bush Derangement Syndrome the author exhibits in this post is one example of this.
Global warming is another. I’m a highly educated professional and if one were to ask me why I believe the world is warming, I have no factual personal data or proof that it’s true. At one time I tended to believe it from what I’d read. However, when the Gore crowd started claiming it was settled science and there was not even room for discussion, well, that sounded remarkably like a presentation with “authority and an attitude of this is the way it is.”

I firmly believe the author believes what he has written. He’s simply misguided, a bit close minded and susceptible to believing what he reads in his favorite blogs.

[maha]

I agree with Scepticus and others; the code cited doesn't apply to the President, who is a civilian. The military has no lawful authority to arrest the President or strip him of any of his constitutional powers.

Congress, on the other hand ... oh, well.

[sdw2is]

Hey Martin Lewis,
Two moonbat comments in one day (you and o'donnell). This is a great recruiting day for our side.
Why not go for civil war (red vs. blue). There's a couple of thing s you haven;t factored in.
1) The voluntary military combat forces are 75% very conservative (check Gallop) red staters and hate your guts.
2)The red states control 7 times as many registered guns as you do.
3) Blue territory is easily cordonned off (you can eat each other)
4) We control water supplies and the bread basket, have huge mountain ranges and are many times more fit and pissed than you.

I am like you -I wish to engage militarily. A coup is more likely to occur the other way our side effectively seizing power. Many soldiers in the military have considered this as a viable solution to maintainning our way of life. Take a look at the map voting district by voting district- see a sea of red.
:-)

==========MARTIN RESPONDS=========

1) You are not remotely like me. Or (I am pleased to say) vice versa. Unlike you, i have not the slightest desire to engage militarily.

2) But thank you for showing us your true colors. It's "reds" like you who have put 70% of Americans 'in a blue state'...

==========­==========­======

[ASM826]

Martin,

You are just like him, except in one crucial area, you are too blind to see it. To suggest a military takeover of civilian rule is, well, "engaging militarily". Do you think that it would happen without use of force?

Red State Americans elected G. Bush, and to the extent that he has failed to deal decisively with the Islamic threat, we are disappointed in him. We will work within the legal framework of the republic to elect a smarter, more conservative President next year.

Your proposal to overthrow the Government of the United States of America amounts to treason. It would eliminate any election next year at the national level. It would very likely trigger an internal war that would result in the end of the United States. No Officer that understands anything of history would consider such an action.

[Justanothercoverup]

I think it's worth mentioning that we have so many "military right-wingers" because Bush has systematically purged the military of many of our top Generals who do respect the constitution and the rule of law simply because they have voiced their honest and correct opposition to an administration that is breaking our military and leaving us vulnerable to attack in areas other then the Middle-east; the military is stretched so thin that we can barely keep enough troops on the ground for the "surge" - and those troops' morale is plummeting with each passing day, and they are literally exhausted; an alarming percentage of them are also suffering from battle-fatigue and PTSD.

It is the mandated duty of military officers to voice their concern and opposition when they can see the troops under their command are being subjected to extended tours of duty that severely compromise their ability to operate effectively, especially when such fatigue may contribute to their safety and the safety of the rest of those in the same platoon, squad, etc.

William Cormier

[Doofus]

As many here know, perhaps not M.L., the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs is not a 'commander' in the usual sense. The Joint Chiefs as a group are an advisory body to the President & the Secretary of Defense. Actual command is from the President thru the Sec/Def thru the Secretary of the Army/Navy/AF to the general officer who is the respective service Chief, entirely bypassing the Joint Chiefs chairman. That's in part why he doesn't have the legal authority to do what was suggested.

However, 'doing a coup' is all explained in '7 Days in May' & various other works of fiction.

[Happy4LA]

How many medals do you have? And your numerous "buts" do not hide what you are really advocating. This is not a banana republic and the stability of the U.S. would forever be compromised. And just think of all those military "right wingers" that would then control the government, brilliant.

[section9]

Understand that Martin would be in favor of a coup against Bush, but opposed to a coup against Hillary.

Instead of situational ethics, we now have situational fascism. Great going, liberals!

=========MARTIN RESPONDS=========

Bill & Hillary Clinton survived and beat back the attempted coup (promulgated under guise of legal actions) against the Clinton presidency. I am against all coups.

==========­==========­==========

[diamndpeace]

Adultery is a violation of Article 134. Following your logic, Pres. Clinton should have answered to a court-martial for the Lewinski affair. Punishment could have included discharge and/or confinement. Which is as ridiculous notion as your original post.

Seriously why make jokes like this?

[Justanothercoverup]

Please read:

Alberto Gonzales – Protecting Bush from Impeachment! http://justanothercoverup.com/?p=241

In this article, I detail why the RICO Act is applicable and provide excerpts of the RICO Act which would allow Congress to begin a secret investigation, secretly indict, and subsequently arrest Bush, Cheney, and their co-conspirators.

It is this author's opinion that RICO is the only legal method for their abrupt removal from office, and since their criminal enterprise has traversed state lines and international boundaries, RICO is applicable and appropriate to prosecute the Bush Crime Family.

William Cormier

[huffnpuffn]

So. Let me get this straight. You're proposing that General Pace send armed soldiers to the White House and forcibly arrest the president ... but somehow you imagine this is not a military coup?

This is too stupid for words. It's like asserting that a group of armed criminals can enter a bank and demand money at gunpoint - but somehow without participating in a "bank robbery."

==========MARTIN RESPONDS==========

Hmmm.... If you read my open letter carefully (or even with the lack of care of the average Bush-defender) you will see that I make crystal clear that I do NOT call for any form of mutinous or seditious act and that I utterly reject any such action. Not only is there no reference to soldiers (armed or otherwise) or force - but I stress that General Pace should not break any laws. My letter is adamant that he should not.

So thank you for trying to put words that I didn't say, write or think into my mouth. Perhaps that's why you are having a problem getting it straight..­.

==========­==========­==========

[towerclimber37]

I make crystal clear that I do NOT call for any form of mutinous or seditious act

Umm no, you DID call for a sedition act.

calling a chicken a cow doesn't automatically make it a cow, no matter how loudly you proclaim it.

[peter jackson]

"However, given the current imperilment of US troops, and the "Conduct Unbecoming Of An Officer And A Gentleman" of this President - you have a greater responsibility to your nation, your code of honor and to the US Constituti­on."

So you're suggesting Pace save the Constitution by violating it? Is that sort of like burning a village in order to save it?

=========MARTIN RESPONDS===========

No.

==========­==========­==========­=

And I'm sure Pace is aware, as you apparently aren't, that he swore an oath to uphold the Constitution, not the UCMJ.

Thanks for the demonstration of why nations which succumb to your ends-justi­fy-the-mea­ns ilk always quickly devolve into military dictatorships.

yours/
peter.