The Nation The White House Criminal Conspiracy By Elizabeth de la Vega

Legally, there are no significant differences between the investor
fraud perpetrated by Enron CEO Ken Lay and the prewar intelligence fraud
perpetrated by George W. Bush. Both involved persons in authority who
used half-truths and recklessly false statements to manipulate people who
trusted them. There is, however, a practical difference: The
presidential fraud is wider in scope and far graver in its consequences than the
Enron fraud. Yet thus far the public seems paralyzed.

In response to the outcry raised by Enron and other scandals, Congress
passed the Corporate Corruption Bill, which President Bush signed on
July 30, 2002, amid great fanfare. Bush declared that he was signing the
bill because of his strong belief that corporate officers must be
straightforward and honest. If they were not, he said, they would be held
accountable.

Ironically, the day Bush signed the Corporate Corruption Bill, he and
his aides were enmeshed in an orchestrated campaign to trick the country
into taking the biggest risk imaginable -- a war. Indeed, plans to
attack Iraq were already in motion. In June, Bush announced his "new"
pre-emptive strike strategy. On July 23, 2002, the head of British
intelligence advised Prime Minister Tony Blair, in the then-secret Downing
Street Memo, that "military action was now seen as inevitable" and that
"intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy." Bush had also
authorized the transfer of $700 million from Afghanistan war funds to
prepare for an invasion of Iraq. Yet all the while, with the sincerity
of Marc Antony protesting that "Brutus is an honorable man," Bush
insisted he wanted peace.

Americans may have been unaware of this deceit then, but they have
since learned the truth. According to a Washington Post/ABC News poll
conducted in June, 52% of Americans now believe the President deliberately
distorted intelligence to make a case for war. In an Ipsos Public
Affairs poll, commissioned by AfterDowningStreet.org and completed October 9,
50% said that if Bush lied about his reasons for going to war Congress
should consider impeaching him. The President's deceit is not only an
abuse of power; it is a federal crime. Specifically, it is a violation
of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371, which prohibits
conspiracies to defraud the United States.

Much more:
http://www.tomdispatch.com/