"Writing in Sunday's Washington Post, Richard Clarke, the former counterrorism chief under Presidents Clinton and Bush, slammed Dick Cheney and Condoleezza Rice for invoking what he called "the White House 9/11 trauma defense" - namely, the shock of 9/11 was so great as to justify all and any actions taken in the name of national defense. Clarke called the decisions on interrogations, detentions, and Iraq were all "wrong," and the White House panic proved that Cheney and company had simply been ignoring the warning signs: Cheney's admission that 9/11 caused him to reassess the threats to the nation only underscores how, for months, top officials had ignored warnings from the CIA and the NSC staff that urgent action was needed to preempt a major al-Qaeda attack."
That Cheney is lying is easily verifiable fact and this article spells that out and the article exhibits that Cheney is adhering to that Rove/Cheney tactic of never apologizing, but always attacking as it states "Speaking at the National Press Club today, Cheney struck back at Clarke.
When asked about Clarke's argument, Cheney - once again - invoked the "burning ashes" of 9/11 and the victims who leaped to their deaths from the World Trade Center. Then, quite succinctly, Cheney pinned the entire blame for 9/11 on Clarke stating "You know, Dick Clarke. Dick Clarke, who was the head of the counterrorism program in the run-up to 9/11. He obviously missed it. The fact is that we did what we felt we had to do, and if I had to do it all over again, I would do exactly the same thing."
Everyone has had enough of the lies and as the article continues Cheney was grilled as "When the moderator reminded Cheney that Clarke had repeatedly warned the administration about al Qaeda's determination to attack the U.S., Cheney snarkily replied, "That's not my recollection, but I haven't read his book." In fact, it was Cheney who "missed" the warning signs, not Clarke."
The US public, just as this moderator, realizes that Cheney is lying to them and has had its fill of hypocrisy. Any lawyer would tell Cheney to clam up, but he can't. Why? Maybe Cheney really wants to atone for his crimes and wants to be re-educated to eradicate his "thoughtcrime" and his inability to keep quiet is a desperate plea for help.
The article "Waterboarding was 'well done,' Cheney says" at click here ironically shows that he can dish it out, but can he take it? If Obama lets the "Truth Commission" proceed Cheney will be thrown away with no access to the media to continue his propaganda campaign-a fate worse than death for this ghoul who seems to possess an obsessive need to gain support for his crimes as the article states
"Former Vice President Dick Cheney is usually very careful at choosing his words. Perhaps not so today. In a speech Monday at the National Press Club, continuing along familiar themes of terrorism, Guantanamo and his hatred for The New York Times, Cheney spoke defensively of the administration's practice of water-boarding detainees. "I don't believe we tortured," Cheney remarked, noting that the interrogation techniques approved by the Bush administration were vetted by White House lawyers.
They didn't cross a "red line," he said. And then he delivered the whopper: "There were three people who were water-boarded.... It was well-done."
The GOP is desperately thrashing about in an attempt to lay the blame for torture on the Democrats. They are abandoning the procedures that our law requires for preserving classified information revealing it for partisan gain.
This is weighing against US populace's opinion of the GOP. On Thursday Republicans started controversy by revealing some of what they had been told at a closed-door Intelligence Committee hearing on the interrogation of terrorism suspects. Democrats immediately blasted the GOP lawmakers for publicly discussing classified information, while Republicans said Democrats are trying to hide the truth that enhanced interrogation of detainees is effective.
The GOP has as much credibility as Cheney-none. "I am absolutely shocked that members of the Intelligence committee who attended a closed-door hearing... then walked out that hearing – early, by the way – and characterized anything that happened in that hearing," said Intelligence Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Chairwoman Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.).
"My understanding is that's a violation of the rules. It may be more than that."
Anybody who realizes just how vile the GOP has become due to Rove's influence would predict that they would violate any process for partisan gain. "I think they are playing a very dangerous game when it comes to the discussion of matters that were sensitive enough to be part of a closed hearing," Schakowsky said.
The Democrats want to investigate how this blight on our record could have occurred. Cheney's constant droning on of lies regarding torture emboldened other GOP members to attack Nancy Pelosi. Obama knows if it wasn't Pelosi it would be some other Democrat.
Let's just remember the McCain campaign against Obama. Obama hasn't betrayed the ideals he campaigned on and when he had an interactive town hall meeting the primary concern of US citizens was torture, but he is trying to work with the most vicious group of GOP ghouls ever. They would love to see Obama fail, as articulated by their spokesperson Rush Limbaugh, and if the country's economy, standing in the world and security has to falter for GOP partisan gain, so be it.
Cheney and his propaganda about war crimes is a situation that can't persist. Obama has the power. Someday Obama's advisors will convince him that they can't allow the crackpot Cheney to continue hurling salvos at the Democratic Party with impunity. Someday Obama will no longer see him as a troublesome crank, but as someone who must be silenced and then Obama will eagerly endorse the "Truth Commission" with prosecutions not ruled out.
When that occurs we'll consider that Obama has remained true to his campaign pledges.
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