Cheney moves mountains with speech.
You know you’ve got the President by the balls when you schedule a speech on a given day, and the POTUS scrambles to speak atop you so that you can create a diversion.
Anyhow, I’m so tired of Obama’s sermons, he didn’t have a shot at my attention span this time. Dick Cheney, the former VP spent about 30 minutes completely eviscerating Obama’s petty, wrongheaded, and hurtful (to our security) position on “torture”, euphemisms for terror, waging a time war with the previous administration for political disagreement, and underhandedness in what he chose to release and redact in his quest to avert attention from the economy he’s failed to fix in any fashion.
Cheney’s even tone, matter-of-fact manner, and logic won applause from his audience, and this blogger. The fact is that Obama thought he could get the media to report whatever he gave them in whatever fashion it was supplied. He had no reason to believe it would be any different, to be honest. They even believed the 95% no taxes thing, although that ship sprung small leaks in November 2008. Anyhow, Obama forgot that the stalwarts who enacted the policies he seeks to lead witch-hunts against are still around, and they understand the debate far more than he. Obama also forgot that the American people may not side with Bush often, but they do side with our soldiers and operatives working for the flag.
Obama missed this, and he’s probably still confused by the ticking bomb that his own myopic mission has turned into. Not only has he got his own appointee, Leon Panetta, calling him out, but George Tenet, the CIA as a monolith, several editorial boards of major papers, and two men who wield the political machete as well as any: Karl Rove and Dick Cheney. Through editorials in the WSJ, and speeches or interviews on TV, these two men have made the case for EITs as well as you can. We didn’t feel safe, and we had captured high value terror assets. We waterboarded three men in all, and gained information which the Obama administration redacted to write their twisted narrative. Several high level sources have publicly said as much, although the President mysteriously won’t let that information out.
Lost in all this mess, but not to VP Cheney, is the fact that Obama made sure to retain the powers that Bush had to waterboard somebody if he had to. I agree with this policy, but it stands loudly skew to his stance on the Bush administration. He seeks to revile Bush and Co. for a policy he fought to maintain for himself. This revealing anecdote shows us that our President, even whilst recognizing a weapon he must have against terror, is willing to incite mobs against those who used it in the past. We can only hope you receive equal treatment, Barack.
Finally, our EITs were within the laws of the Constitution. In fact, they are techniques we use to train some of our own troops for combat, waterboarding included. In this light, revealing such non-lethal techniques to our enemies largely renders them useless going forward. It is entirely possible that in the next “Jack Bauer” scenario that befalls this great nation, Obama or another POTUS will have to order more severe methods to extract vital knowledge. I will be the first to admit that I am less squeamish about torture than most, but I’m going to have an inward laugh if Obama has to pull out fingernails next time because they don’t respond to waterboarding. I will not have an inward laugh if his faux-conscience gets in the way and some bomb detonates on our soil.
In summary, the former VP has dealt a major blow to Obama in this debate, regardless of his attempts to divert attention. I can only hope the MSM decides to report it at all.
Chris said,
May 21, 2009 at 11:54 am
Is this the same Cheney who was so sure that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction? He’s given us ample examples of his lies, and yet you still give him the time of day. You must be really desperate for someone who tells you what you want to hear, my friend.
regulusred said,
May 21, 2009 at 12:15 pm
Saddam not only had WMDs, but he used them in gassing the Kurds. They were shown literally in satellite images taken by our reconnaissance units on the backs of trucks.
Its unfortunate that you can look at the evidence and come up with the conclusions you have, but I can do nothing to help you.
Chris said,
May 21, 2009 at 3:45 pm
Sorry, but you know as well as I they were referring to nuclear weapons. Indeed, Cheney claimed the same about Saddam’s nuclear program… which didn’t exist.
Certainly, you’re not ill-informed enough to try and claim Cheney to be a harbinger of truth, are you? If so, you’re way further out there than I thought.
Chris said,
May 22, 2009 at 10:42 am
Let’s not forget, also, that Cheney used 9/11 some 24 times in his speech. It’s classic fear mongering at its best. You try hard to distinguish yourself from the Republicans, but you so readily buy into their bullshit that it’s extremely difficult to discern the two.
regulusred said,
May 22, 2009 at 4:03 pm
“Sorry, but you know as well as I they were referring to nuclear weapons. Indeed, Cheney claimed the same about Saddam’s nuclear program… which didn’t exist.”
This is not true. The Left’s charge was that it wasn’t active, not that it didn’t exist. As I’ve also told you before, I believe in the other reasons for invasion (chiefly, liberation). I always will, and I thought using WMDs as the reason was folly.
“Let’s not forget, also, that Cheney used 9/11 some 24 times in his speech. It’s classic fear mongering at its best.”
This is ridiculous. 9/11 was the defining moment of that entire Presidency, as you will likely admit. When discussing why they did things, referencing 9/11 is accurate and merited.
Calling it classic fear-mongering merely reminds one of your continual miscalculation of the driving need to not only remain vigilant against attack, but also the liberal ability to forget that freedom is won with the blood of our soldiers. You simply lack the mental clarity to realize that in this world, freedom is not the baseline, apparently. I apologize for the anger that seeps through here, but this is the most frustrating thing about the whole of liberalism.
Billions of people wake up each day under subjugation, and thousands plot to further their controlling grip. Its a dark taint on humanity. Our nation, through unending and sometimes unbelievable sacrifice, has created a society so just and strong that its possible to forget that fact. The Republicans have this one right, and I’m not afraid to stand with them on it.
9/11 references are not fear-mongering, but stern reminders of our need for strength in the face of evil. The war on terror must go on, whether you choose to acknowledge it or not.
Chris said,
May 22, 2009 at 6:54 pm
“This is ridiculous. 9/11 was the defining moment of that entire Presidency,”
…because they were FEAR MONGERS!!!!!!1 kthx.
A few 9/11 reminders are stern reminders. LOADS of 9/11 reminders are utilizing dead citizens for the gains of a fear mongering administration. I know you don’t see it, but it’s there.
“You simply lack the mental clarity to realize that in this world, freedom is not the baseline, apparently.”
And you lack the mental capacity to understand we weren’t attacked by Iraq. We avenged the blood of 3,000 citizens with the blood of 3,000 soldiers and 100,000 civilians. Huh? Who’s lacking clarity? Taking part in another country’s civil war = freedom?
There’s no logic on the Right. Period. But yes, freedom is not the baseline when you live in a country of war criminals and fear mongers. Luckily, we voted a lot of them out on Nov 4.