Warrior-King: The Case for Impeaching George W. Bush

What happens when a president violates the U.S. Constitution, resulting in the deaths of thousands? In Warrior-King, public interest lawyer John Bonifaz argues passionately that Bush did just that when he launched a first-strike invasion of Iraq without a congressional declaration of war. The framers of the Constitution, he argues, wanted to ensure that our presidents would not be like European kings of old who could decide, on their own volition, to send their subjects into battle. Only the Congress can send this nation into war—George Bush is not a king. In February 2003 Bonifaz and a coalition of U.S. citizens, soldiers, and members of Congress sued the president and Defense Secretary Rumsfeld, seeking to prevent an undeclared and illegal war. The courts heard the case on an expedited basis, but ruled that they were barred from deciding it on the grounds that it raised a "political question" to be addressed only by the political branches. It didn't matter that the president might trample on the Constitution—the judiciary would only stand on the sidelines and watch. Bonifaz argues that if we are to preserve our Constitution, we must now act: We must call for George Bush's impeachment.