Cheney's MAD
By Jon Perr Thursday May 14, 2009 5:00pm
Dick Cheney's MAD, just not in the way you think. As Time, the AP and virtually every pundit across the political spectrum debate the meaning of Cheney's ubiquity on your television screen, it may be an old Cold War theory which best explains his strategy. The former vice president isn't merely trying to rewrite history or work the jury with his repeated claims that torture "saved thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands of lives" and that there was "nothing devious or deceitful or dishonest or illegal about what was done." With his brinksmanship, Dick Cheney is threatening the political equivalent of Mutual Assured Destruction to produce a stalemate he apparently believes he will win.
Cheney's escalating campaign against the Obama administration began within days of the election. His charge that President Obama will "raise the risk to the American people of another attack" has reached a crescendo with appearances on CBS and Fox News this week. And while Cheney Tuesday blasted Obama's approach on Iran as a "giant conspiracy" which is "bound to fail," next week at the American Enterprise Institute he will offer a full-throated defense of the Bush administration's national security policies, including its regime of detainee torture.
All of which begs the question: why would a wildly unpopular figure who has proclaimed he has no future political ambitions mount such an unprecedented public campaign to criticize his successors?
Over the Washington Monthly, Steve Benen ponders "is Dick running for something?" For its part, the AP explores the gamut of explanations, ranging from the sincere ("it could be that Cheney really sees a threat out there"), routine revisionist history ("He sees himself in a position where his legacy is called into question, and he wants to get his story out before history gels") to the Freudian:
"This is not the same level of control and discipline Cheney's exercised over the last 40 years," said John Baick, professor of history at Western New England College. "I think it grows out of a deep sense of hurt and betrayal."
Time's Michael Duffy joins in the burgeoning "meaning of Dick" cottage industry to explain why Angler is now "so chatty all of a sudden." Noting Cheney's belief that "in politics as well the best defense is often a good offense," Duffy rightly concludes Cheney is seeking to "refocus the question about waterboarding and other interrogation techniques from whether they were legal to whether they worked."
But lost in these analyses is Cheney's real objective and strategy is his twilight struggle against the Obama administration. For that, one need only look to Dick Cheney's Cold Warrior roots and the doctrine of Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD).
By raising the stakes over the torture issue with his repeated appearances, Dick Cheney isn't merely daring Democratic Congress and the Obama administration to investigate him and other members of the Bush torture team. Cheney's is a scorched earth game he believes he can win.
Cheney's MAD strategy goes something like this. If the DOJ or Congress proceeds with torture probes or prosecutions, Republican retaliation will be massive and total. Nominees will be blocked, legislation filibustered and the gridlock in Washington permanent. The blame for the carnage, the theory goes, will go to the side (in this case, Democrats) which launched the first strike. As Ronald Reagan was fond of saying, "a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought."
With the prospect of an atomic political conflict assured of leaving both parties devastated, stalemate is the only alternative. And in Dick Cheney's case, stalemate equals victory. By ratcheting up the public pressure, Cheney is forcing Obama's hand: act on torture, or back down. And by backing down, Obama would in essence codify the Bush administration's criminality. In the unsteady equilibrium which would endure, the Bush torture team would appear to be right, seemingly vindicated. Like the Soviet threat, the risk from torture prosecution would be successfully contained. In his eyes, Cheney's omnipresence isn't a nightmare for Republicans, but their path back.
As the Associated Press noted, "Cheney seemed even more exercised after Obama released memos detailing how 'enhanced interrogation' became a tactic used during the Bush administration."
Cheney's MAD, all right. Just not in the way most people think.
(This piece originally appeared at Perrspectives.)
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I have enough attorney friends to guaran-freakin' tee all of you that every single one of Cheney's lawyers have told him to "SHUT THE 'F' UP!!!"
Any good lawyer worth his salt NEVER allows a client to go out on a limb and TALK!
I'll bet you dollars to donuts that Cheney's left the Reservation without his lawyer and they are all tearing their hair out over not only his bullshit, but his daughter's as well.
Lizzie is an attorney - so, maybe she oughta' be telling him and herself to STFU. But, I hope not, as I'm enjoying the show!!!
If torture crimes are seriously investigated, 100 detainees died under torture, which make it a capital crime to be involved...so a death sentence is involved for the guilty to be clear...if it is ever investigated...so Cheneyburton is fighting to keep it from being investigated...
You got that right!!!!
or, maybe, a Russian sable. Cheney isn't mad; Cheney is the avatar of Joseph Stalin.
It could well be that he's challenging Obama to throw down or walk away. I wish I were convinced of Obama's reaction if that's what behind this, but I'm not. Why? For one, deciding to have the DoJ investigate, more insiders vs. insiders.
We'll see, I'm getting less hopeful by the day. I still don't hear talking heads, even on radio, say "torture." It's still some euphemism or other. That's not a positive sign either...
Though my hopes wane by the day, there is one possibility that may lead to the right outcome.
Obama has proven to me several times that he had a longer-term plan than I had seen. It does seem possible that these memo releases are evidence of a strategy to show the nation enough evidence to truly make them aware of the evil ... and truly anger them. If that slow drip of damning evidence produces real anger, then making the first move (investigations) will benefit Dems.
I hope that's the plan ... still, my concern grows daily.
If Obama is waiting till we see the economy start to climb back up, and he drops the hammer on Tricky Dick Jr. and his cohorts as Obama's popularity rises with the economy, it would be an even heavier blow on the GOP. Might even be a deathblow.
so when does it become treason? I'm curious...
members of Congress.
Obama's flinched first by pulling the latest round of torture photos. I'm sure Cheney has another move on the chess board and forced Obama's hand.
had power, a lot of power, he was the most powerful man in the world (I'm sure He thought so anyway).
Now He's a nobody. Just another former VP. Except with blood dripping from his hands, which he's trying frantically to explain away.
"Its not really blood, its ketchup! No its strawberry jam! Well, maybe its ketchup, but I thrust my arms elbow-deep in ketchup to save thousand of lives, the nation, maybe even the World!"
" AaaaOOOOuuuuuu! "
does and I hope it's not another "terrorist" attack on U.S. soil.
With the Democratic Party still behaving like it's 2002 for some unexplainable reason Cheney will win this game. There is no political will from the WH to prosecute war criminals, none. Sad.
Speaking of sad the SEC is completely a shell of a regulatory agency. Insider trading galore:
http://yellingatthemoon.com/2009/05/14/sec-em...
It's difficult to find fault with your perspective because neither I nor anyone else can find an action that the Democrats have undertaken which proves otherwise. There will be no prosecutions and the US will not repudiate torture as an acceptable "wartime" tactic. They'll pay lip service, as Obama and Holder already have, but they won't walk the walk.
Eight years from now, we'll still be hanging our heads in shame.
Eight years from now, the percentage of those who vote in the general election will drop by at least 20%. We'll be saying that Obama brought us hope, until he was sworn in. Then he became a corporatist.
At this rate, BO will be lucky to make it to 2012.
More than once, anyway. As the song has it... I won't get fooled again.
Cheney didn't just torture, he is a neocon. He was the brain behind Bush's illegal invasion. He is someone who believes he is above the law, a "nobleman" who can lie without guilt to stupid average Americans and soldiers he used to make a fortune. Not to mention he's a deeply fearful chickenhawk and a coward. Average people need to get real about who he really is.
Claro
Yes, it's a chess move! Cheney will get checked and then check-mated. The guys a thief. Not a genius! A bully. Just a whack! Bad things happen to bad people.....the Instant Karma is coming...And Cheney "had" help.....but not no more......Book him Danko.
Columbo
My money is on Obama. Cheney learned at the feet of the most reprehensible bastards in the Nixon administration. He's crafty and clever and very much the thug, but Obama is smarter. Oh, and all of you that think that in the past 100 days Obama should have: completely solved the financial crisis, removed troops from both Iraq and Afghanistan, implemented nationalized healthcare/insurance, prosecuted all these traitors from the previous administration, started stem cell research, cleaned up Wall Street, etc., you need to get over your drive-through impatience. Nothing was fucked up over night and it won't be solved in five minutes.
With regards to the torture issue, sooner or later, the Attorney General will have to appoint a special investigator. Then a Special Prosecutor
Then we'll see how this plays out.
Should they be prosecuted? Absolutely.
But I'm with you on this.
............yeh, like Fitzgerald did such a great job. Only got 'Scooter'?????? Sure
But what has he done?
Let's see: Continue the war in Iraq; escalate the war in Afghanistan; keep Guantanamo prison operational; give hundreds of billions to the crooks that engineered the financial "crisis"; met with Big Pharma/Health Insurance/Medical while keeping single-payer away from the table; repeatedly protected
traitorswar criminals from the previous administration through spurious national security claims and a desire to "look forward"; and put the Wall Street crooks in charge of the "recovery."I promise to get over my "drive-through impatience" if others will take off the rose colored blinders of hero-worship.
And I actually agree with you on a number of these issues.
1, Iraq. There's a date set for withdrawl in 2011.
Actually, the Iraqi govt passed a resolution requiring that the US be out of the cities by this summer. I have my doubts about that.ugh.
2, Afghanistan. Id like to see us out of there.
But there is a growing presence of al queda and taliban there.
That can't be a good thing. Yes, I do understand that the Afghanistan Had no part in Sept 11th.
But the taliban were running that country at the time and were allowing al queda to set up shop.
I feel this should have been settled long ago. Instead of Iraq.
What we have here is a huge problem created and neglected by the previous admin. Hey, I'd like it all to be over and done with.
But someone has to fix this massive fuck up.
3, financial crisis. I don't like it. None of it.
But if we don't bail these ass clowns out. Millions of people will lose everything. Their entire life's savings. We're talkin you and me and everyone else. Do I like it? Hell no!
Allowing all those banks to go under would directly affect you and me and everyone else. Think bread lines.
4,Health Care. I want single payer. I'm willing to wait and see what comes of this. Yes, we need people like yourself to voice your opinion on this. We need everyone who is in favor of single payer to speak up.
5 War crimes, I think I covered that one above.
I like this guy. He wasn't my first choice, but I worked hard for him during the primaries after Edwards took a dive, and that continued into the general.
Nonetheless, I've been fooled before - specifically after my work for Clinton in '92. That was followed by Clinton's protecting the Iran-Contra traitors and those involved in Reagan's October surprise. It was also followed by NAFTA, deregulation, and virtually anything else that Big Business wanted.
I responded initially with anger, then apathy. Big mistake. This time I'm keeping the anger and hoping to keep Obama's feet to the fire.
Clinton did fuck up. No denying it.
But he also did some very good things. I'm not going to bring up what his admin went through with regards to opposition.
No President succeeds at everything he sets out to do.
Bubba did create 20 million new jobs. That ain't bad.
He did get the country in the black. That ain't bad either.
I really don't think anyone saw the repercussions of nafta coming.
Not to this extent anyway. But I have to say, people like that cheap shit.
I don't know what it is about the protection racket they have for each other.
At least Iran/Contra got put in everyones face. So they couldn't ignore it. I have a feelin the same result will happen for these fucktards and torture. Who knows? Maybe someone will go to jail?
nawww, doubt it. I really hate to say that. But this is nothing new.
The one good thing that can come of this is that the country will see the GOPers for what they are. But me, myself and I would like to see these assholes go to jail. But I'm not going to hold my breath.
Yeah, do hold Obamas feet to the fire. And while your at it, hold Congress's feet to the fire too. I don't know fiver. Call me a realist.
But was the second industrial revolution the result of Bill Clinton or Bill Gates?
Clinton goes down as a continuation of the Neocons economically. Those 20 million jobs were outsourced to China as fast as they could be.
with the repeal of the Glass Steagal Act under the Clinton Administration.
I believe the current "repealers" are working for Obama...guys like Larry Summers who loves to sleep through Cabinet meetings.
I feel sooooo much better that Summers is in charge of the whole economic thingy.
With Phil Gramm and the new contract with America's new congress passed that. All but 2 GOPers voted for it. 1 abstained. And 1 didn't bother to vote at all.
That would be McCain. Very shrewd decision on his part.
7 Dems voted against it.
Yeah, I know. I'm not happy about it either.
Yep, Bubba signed it. I really don't know if he was for it or against it. But I suppose that doesn't matter.
Being that Congress had an overwhelming majority of votes.
Actually, it was veto proof.
...first "they" stopped the governing with that sham impeachment and then "they" were able to ram through whatever they wanted.
Those jobs you're talking about were created in this country.
But I understand your anger. It's justified.
The country ended up in the black.
You can say what you want. The country did end up in the black.
As the days crawl by, I'm less convinced that Obama will act appropriately regarding the torture issue. We like to be mesmerized by the thought that Obama is a grand master chess player, that he's giving up a bishop to expose Cheney's queen, that through all of the disappointments, one after the other, his grand plan is to slowly pick off one Bush Cabal asset after another until there's no doubt about the outcome. It would make a great story.
But the odds of all of this happening in such grand style is a fantasy. The far more realistic ending is that the US will continue to decline in its position in the world, it will never face the damage it did with violating international treaties and harboring war criminals, and it will continue on its inexorable slide into third world status, partly BECAUSE of its commitment to protecting war criminals, of legitimizing torture.
By not acting, Obama is legitimizing torture, no matter what words come out of his mouth. It's Obama's actions that define his presidency.
yep
If Cheney's trying to push, O would be wise to let him wear himself out. The investigation should be done properly and if the bandwagon starts rolling too hard we'll get the media whores who do no work. Listen to Zellico (sp?) - he talks like a lawyer, as does the Sen running those hearings. They are both careful plodders. We need organized consolidated methodical investigations. Hysteria will only botch the job. ...Rachel did zing Zellico with that question about the 9/11 commission. Love that girl.
Then the MORE the upper-class should fear. With the number of guns available in this country. Pile the shit high enough and all that's needed is a guy yelling "Peace, Land, and Bread" to turn the fan on.
He's now saying certain detainees should be held "INDEFINITELY".
And this coming from a former Constitutional law professor...???
Oh, man....
Give them a trial.
But in what court?
Civil or military?
Some of these guys have to be innocent. But some have to be...(how shall I put this?) involved?
This isn't something new. We
don'tdidn't imprison people without cause. If you have cause, charge them and give them a chance to defend themselves.We have the framework already, and have had that framework for hundreds of years. It's just that some may not like the results and others won't like what a trial reveals.
Conservatives hate courts. Courts use stuff like rules, evidence, and reason. It's why they've set up private credit reporting, want tort reform, and love corporate/governmental immunity.
Imprisoning people without cause goes against everything this country stands for. And so far, it's Obama's policy.
I don't get it.
This isn't in Obama's hands.
It's in the AG's hands. Obama can't force any influence on the AG. Otherwise, it would be just like Boosh. See where I'm going with this?
Hey? I don't get it either.
But I'd like to thank you fiver for the conversation.
Thanks bud. Civility. What a concept? :)
Always a pleasure to read what you have to say.
But I don't believe in the Gonzales equivalence. Politicizing the Justice Department to go after political enemies or protect your buddies is a far cry from requiring the Attorney General to uphold the law.
One is highly improper, the other is a constitutional duty.
Peace.
But what happens if Obama does influence the DOJ?
Then he's involving himself in judicial matters
That's a separate branch of govt'.
He can't. As much as I would like to see him say do it.
He can't.
The Court (i.e. the Judge) is the Judicial Branch. The Prosecution is the Executive Branch. The U.S. is a party to the case and the Executive is in charge of representing U.S. interests.
If Obama were to influence a Federal Judge, I would agree. But Holder works for Obama (and us - I hope). There is definitely a concern when the President influences the Justice Department when some sort of self-interest is involved, but I don't see that as a concern in this case.
Anyway, I need to hop over to the Open Thread or the LNMC to congratulate Andy K on his Redwings.
GN
The judicial branch is the Supreme Court.
But, he can't lean on his AG too much. Otherwise it looks like he's doing it out of vengeance.
And in this case, he would be justified in leaning on his AG.
It's a fine line he has to tread.
Yeah, I'm having a hard time with this one too.
ganite
...don't do Machiavellian scheming well. In fact, they seem to be almost always surprised at the most obvious ploys by the republicans. Cheney may be onto something, Obama has proven that he is a great capitulator...err, I mean compromiser.
Cheney is a psycopath.
Imagine, if you can, not having a conscience, none at all, no feelings of guilt or remorse no matter what you do, no limiting sense of self concern for the weell-being of strangers or friends. Imagine no struggle with shame and pretend that the concept of responsibility is unknown to you, except as a burden others seem to accept without question, like gullible fools. (The Psycopath-The Mask of Sanity)
This is what we are dealing with. This "human" has no feelings except for himself and his delusions of grandeur. He will stop at nothing to fulfill his demented dreams.
I want to be the first to state that I would like to be, after his trial, conviction and sentencing to death by firing squad, to be the one to pull the trigger of the rifle containing the live round. Nothing would be close to that feeling. I would love to have that snake look me straight in the eye as I pull the trigger.
I am not suggesting anything but the fulfillment of our laws that are on the books. Treason is punishable by death.
them rationalize that maybe they weren't the one who shot the victim. Of course, the firing squad for Darth Cheney might be a lot more enthusiastic.
actually only one has the live round. the one pulling that trigger knows it wasn't a blank, as well as any one watching. cheney deserves a fair trial. and a hanging.
somehow NOT examining his role in 9/11, as if any active participant in those actions would necessarily have to be a sociopathic foreigner. Upon close examination, as Michael Ruppert wrote in "Crossing the Rubicon", we find that Cheney is at the center of all things 9/11. He had his fingers in all of the pies. The opening piece of evidence is Norman Mineta's observation about Cheney refusing to give an order to shoot down Flight 77 when it was clear that he could have easily done so. Not only was Cheney at the heart of the 9/11 events, but he was also at the heart of the Plame/Brewster Jennings outing, the yellow cake controversy, the Powell/UN debacle with his own "intelligence channel" that we now know was opened by a man who was being tortured (and who was "suicided" in Libya), and all of the torture policy.
Cheney ran a shadow government with a German Nazi-style "parallel chain of command." It was specifically designed so that one hierarchical structure didn't know what the other structure was doing, which was both the strength and (fatal) weakness of the Nazi way of operating their war machine.
Bush knew all of it.
generate an idea among them. The more facts the come out about Bushco's torture regime--that it was used to get false confessions, that the FBI's nonviolent methods worked far better, that the torture was worse than most people expected--the more average Americans will be disgusted by Repugs, and Cheney specifically. And the last time the Repugs tried their "nuclear option," Newt's Contract on America collapsed in the backlash. The Dems need only to keep moving forward to run the Repugs over and into the ground, and put a lot of war criminals away as well. How exactly do the Dems lost in this scenario?
But we know (most of) the Dems are spineless, corrupt and compromised themselves. And we don't know what sort of backroom deals have been made between Obama and Bushco.
I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
The man is pure unrepentant evil true. But he's not as smart as he thinks he is. Obama is smarter than Cheney and me thinks Obama's just luring Cheney out of his spider hole. Cheney's day is coming. It may not be next week, next month or next year but his day is coming.
With regard to torture, it seems like Obama is trying to allow it to play itself out, unfold, as it were. Congress is holding hearings, so that's a start. I'm sure he'd like to distance himself from it to a large extent. He needs to allow Congress or the DOJ take the lead, since this is a legal issue. At some point, an independent prosecutor, commission, or whatever will have to be assigned. I just don't see how they can avoid it with all the damaging information that's coming out on a daily basis. Sheldon Whitehouse and Russ Feingold seem to have a good handle on things, and understand the gravity of the situation. Obviously, this will piss off a bunch of immoral conservatives, but I have to believe that there are more rational, decent, law-abiding Americans who will see the light, and understand why this is so important to future generations.
Bush has faded into the Texas dust while this evil fuck remains front, center and vocal. If there was ever any doubt who called the shots in the Bush regime this should put it to rest once and for all.
Dick knows his fifth heart attack will probably be his last.
Maybe he can't stand to see humanity survive him. That would make him as big a loser as victims of torture and bombs and no-bid contracts. So he says, "Go F*** yourself, Humanity."
With little left to lose, he's playing "all in."
Too discredited and sick to regain his power, too hateful to enjoy the wealth he has stolen from America, he is egging on our enemies with his defense of torture.
If he can get a nuclear war started, he can go out grinning, "I won! I won! Nobody's going to outlive me!"
He's like Mr. Burns. He'll never die.
Since he has a DEFIBRILLATOR built into his chest that will automatically zap his heart if he goes into atrial or ventricular fibrillation.
For the rest of us "bottom feeders"?....
"Agggghhhhh....I'm dying....I'm dying....oh the pain!!!...Arrggghhh....Call 911!!...Goodbye cruel world!!!!..."
Flat line. Good bye.
Never-the-less...here's a bit of cheer. EVENTUALLY the Grim Reaper will take his crafty/cold-blooded ass.
My father has one and it has gone off. He says it feels like someone is hitting him in the middle of his chest with a baseball bat, and they are 'swinging for the fences'. I hope Dick's goes off at least once a day!
All that "strategy won't mean a thing if the Pres. straightens out the economy.
And you better believe the GOP, Fox and hate radio will do everything they can to insure he doesn't.
From Robert Windrem: Cheney's Role Deepens page 2:
The motivation for using torture during interrogations of al-Qaida suspects was to get confessions to (1) false information linking Saddam to al-Q'aida and false information and (2) false information about the "planning and execution of the [9-11] attacks."
Why would Bush and Cheney want false confessions & false information about the 9-11 attacks?
Obviously to cover for whoever DID plan and execute the 9-11 attacks.
THAT is what Cheney doesn't want to come out.
............. you forgot to mention the Sociopath's 'connections' with Mossad the real perpetrator of 9/11. BLOODYISRAEL has already taken over the USofBLOODYISRAEL.
Soon, he'll tell us that he's launching an investigation to find the REAL criminals.
Like OJ.
Get it?
And like OJ he'll get his.
I hope the do a little better on the Ferengi chief.
He's just making sure the "wars" and tactics that were started, aren't ended.
Maybe Cheney doesn't want the last remembrance of him being wheeled out of DC during Obama's swearing in. That was priceless. Never seems to a long flight of stairs around when you need one.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHHJsXH3BiU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoYlCkHdNlU
Wait, wait! I found even better video of Cheney in the wheelchair...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xB7iz1HTh9U&fe...
A drunk driver.
...betting against the democrats' backbone is never a bad strategy. *sigh*
Obama is a veteran of Chicago style politics, and they play rough there. He came from nowhere to topple the presumed shoo-in for the nomination. he is as shrewd a politician as anyone; he even bested the Master, Bill Clinton and his wife.
The Democrats swept into power over public frustration with the economy and an endless war. The public has not had time to really reflect and be horrified by the devastation caused by Bush & Co. Most of them think it all just "happened," not that it was caused.
Seeming to resist releasing photos and memos, being reluctant to prosecute people, and letting a public outrage build slowly until the Republicans in Congress dare not resist the will of the people, Obama is setting the GOP up for utter destruction in 2010.
Nixon went down only after the Republicans in Congress forsook him. And Cheney is out preaching to his choir, but making average Americans sick of him. "Methinks the lady doth protest too much." By making such a loud noise, he is calling too much attention to himself. He was most effective when he was shadowy.
He's going down. Hard.
yes he came in with a whirlwind and petered out to to become a slight breeze!
Yes, Cheney is M-A-D, in every sense of the word: angry, pissed off, MAD as in Mutual Assured Destruction, MAD as in insane, MAD as in delusional.
I just hope that this mad hatter finally gets trapped in all of his madness. Lock him up, and throw away the key!
Damn, you beat me to it. :)
Cheney Tuesday blasted Obama's approach on Iran as a "giant conspiracy" which is "bound to fail,"...
Well, he'd be the authority on giant conspiracies that are bound to fail...
He is a sick MF, and should be locked up and threatened with torture. That is all you'd need to get the guy crying like a child and spilling the beans on Bush Sr. on through the ages.
His objective is to appear to antagonize the Obama administration. Then when crimes are investigated - as they should be - they'll cry 'petty politics!'
Same as he panicked after 9-11, Cheney is panicking now. He only knows one way of dealing with others: fear and confrontation. He is is unable to see those who disagree with him as anything but evil and the enemy, and he is unable to respond in disputes in any way other than ratcheting up the confrontation. The major reason Bush/Cheney could only bluster in international affairs and would never negotiate is that they literally did not have that ability.
I get the strong sense that the Cheney-torture connection is gaining momentum by the day, maybe reaching the point that even if he wanted to, Obama will not be able to stop it.
Why would he panic? Nine eleven was the "New Pearl Harbor" that Cheney and his fellow Neocons at PNAC were praying for.
Perhaps our definitions of panic differ in scope or form, but mine encompasses both a President who sits frozen for several minutes in a school room and a Vice President who is delusional and paranoid to the point that his stated policy is to respond to even the remotest (1% chance) of threats as if they are certainties.
This is someone who is scared of his shadow, and it would not (and did not) take other countries or political elements long to figure out how to use such reactions to their advantage and our detriment. (Remember all the false alarms?)
Cheney's "one percent doctrine" was just an excuse to do what he wanted to do anyway. The false alarms were a part of the ruse, not the result of fear.
Look again at that video of bush reading "My Pet Goat" to children and being told of the attacks. See that "Oh my God, he actually did it" look in his eyes? My friends, that is "panic".
That is panic in its most harmful sense.
Theories abound regards Cheney's motivations and tactics. Overwhelming public opinion hopes that justice will finally shine like a diamond on his decades--decades of craven abuses. We as a country are experiencing symptoms of the abused child. We want, need justice, we need closure to truly move on (Peggy Noonan). Justice through the firing squad. Or hanging. Or water boarding. Cheney has his contingency plan in place should his lies catch up to him: Fly down to Paraguay with GW. He is simply too rich--obscene Halliburton/KBR rich vampired out of the carcasses of our service men and women--too stinking rich to serve time.
The MAD analogy doesn't work AFTER the Soviet Union has already collapsed. It would be like Mikhail Gorbachev doing the TV-bobblehead circuit, waving the hammer and sickle flag and threatening nuclear war against the U.S. unless Obama signs an arms limitation agreement with the USSR. WTF, MATE? There IS no more USSR, the Republicans don't have enough votes to block anything in the House, and if they want to filibuster EVERYTHING in the Senate they'll only show their hand as the bunch of useless, obstructionist assholes they are. This is something that's only obvious to Democrats at the moment, but if they run around filibustering EVERYTHING, it'll be patently obvious to independent voters as well.
No, the MAD analogy only works if both of the parties are superpowers. This is not MAD. It's ASYMMETRICAL GUERILLA WARFARE with (to use Rumsfeld's term) DEAD ENDERS from Saddam's (Bush's) Presidential Guard. Cheney is strapping on a (political) suicide belt because he (personally) has nothing left to lose, and he doesn't give a shit whether he takes what's left of the Republican party down with him.
Why is it okay for the Republicans to have a majority and beat the Democrats into complete and utter submission, but when the Democrats have the majority, they have to be careful not to be heavy-handed?
When Franken takes his seat, Cheney threatening MAD will be like Costa Rica threatening the U.S.
That's our "Pricky Dick" Cheney!
Look this American Traitor cheney and his spineless buddy dumsfeld are out and about.
Remember anytime rumsfeld was around it was trouble misdirection and confusion, remember the big push on the pan ademic bird flu, remeber at the same time the American Traitor cheney wasn't far behind with escalation and misdirection.
You have a right wing Racist Nazis Party that is scared shitless because a BLACKMAN is in their domain. Not only that they are being watched closer and scurtinized even closer and were in the pass they could use executie power now they musst use the Racist Nazis News network Fox. Were the truth is misrepresented twisted cropped and out and out lied about. These racist will stop at nothing to get there way.
Seriously, Rummy was the CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD at Gilead--which came up with Tamiflu and gets 10% of sales--until the moment he stepped in as Bush's Secretary of State. AND he still has all of his stock. So you're telling me he has nothing to do with the the Bird Flu and now the Swine Flu media blitzes THAT HAVE ENTIRE COUNTRIES stocking up on the stuff?
I'll believe that one when I believe American oil companies had nothing to do with invading Iraq.
His charge that President Obama will "raise the risk to the American people of another attack" has reached a crescendo with appearances on CBS and Fox News this week.
He's laying some groundwork. He could make something explode on US soil.
A few "patriots" + van full of explosives + busy shopping mall. Presto.
Did we ever find the culprit behind the government-grade anthrax that showed up at Democratic Senators offices days before the vote on the Patriot Act?
Oh, that's right, no. Unless you count the scientist who "committed suicide."
...........only with Mossad's help.
Cheney is asking for a ratification of the Bush Cheney policies.
He doesn't want to leave room for prosecutions of little guys, or half measures because that could slowly work its way up to him.
Rather he wants to make it about him, and the top guy and the whole establishment, to shut down the process before it starts eating away at the bottom.
It's a high level game of chicken, and he's waving the steering wheel out the window just to make his point clear.
We'll find out soon enough what Obama is made of. Don't get your hopes up.
Since then we wouldn't have to do anything, just sit back and watch his car fly off the cliff and roast marshmallows and weenies over the fire fueled by his own fat.
Unfortunately, this would be more akin of a rabid dog getting lose, you need to put down, and put it down NOW, before it causes irreparable damage. And there's no playing nice with it, no compromising with it, you have to shoot it square in the head and make sure that first shot puts it down for good.
Upon that light and airy breeze I delicately sense a most petrid FART!!
Would somebody walk this guy past a microwave oven, please?
Clang, Clang, Clang went the trolley....
I also wonder if Cheney doesn't want any kind of investigations into anything because many things lead back to the bonanza of 911. I do not find it hard to believe Cheney and Co. might have been behind it. Maybe he is threatening another attack if Obama and the Dems. don't back down.
I ran across these yesterday and they are a MUST SEE for everyone.
Both of these videos relate to this subject and contain information YOU WILL WANT TO KNOW!
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4617...
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3776...
I hope he gets what is coming to him. Soon.
Every time I see Cheney he has a more posthumous look to him. Perhaps he senses it will all be over soon, and wants to get his side of the story argued while he still can.
If MAD is Cheney's strategy, it only works if the whole GOP stands behind him.
Chances are, in the face of serious allegations or violations of law, I doubt many Republicans would be running to Cheney's side. This could do more long-term damage to the GOP than cutting him loose and letting him fly in the wind, ala Dick Nixon. They now realize Cheney and Bush are no-win situations, and if they don't zip the lips, they won't find the level of support they think they have.
While it may be true the best defense is a good offense, it's also true you sometimes lose regardless.
I'm with you. I think the administration's plan is coldly and rationally display to the American people the atrocities committed by the booosh clan, and then respond to the peoples' demand for an investigation.
President Obama must be a relative of the Wallenda Family. He fearlessly walks the high wire without a net.
Draw the enemy out into the open, let him use up all his ammo, then POW! Cheney will just get crazier and crazier. He hasn't realised he's out in the cold without hiding behind W. Let him keep babbling all the way to The Hague.
Gov. Jesse Ventura said it best give me one hour with cheney and I will have him confessing to the Sharon Tate Murders
in a way, that's pretty brilliant by DICK. So, what we have is we are going to be making one choice for the whole Obama presidency. We can proceed on torture prosecution, reveal what a corupt government we have on all levels, destroy any hope for change, and finish bankrupting the people and their country. Or, we do not proceed on torture, Obama goes down to political defeat (he appears weak, unsure, etc.) and all that political capital goes down the toilet.
I thought this was a democracy? Rule by the people/majority? How does one criminally insane man dictate how everything else should operate?
Cheney is blowin all this smoke, knowing full well nothing will be proven - not for 50 years. While everyonee is stewing over torture no one is investigating his role in the energy crisis that led to the economic collapse. His hands are bloody in so many ways. I pray to God that someone gets him on something before he dies. He needs to be humiliated and exposed for the criminal he is.
This cycle keeps repeating itself. They (the dems) will always cover for the criminals cause they are themselves members of the same money mafia.
Someone once said of the architects of Vietnam who defended their policies long after the country had moved on, if they had to admit to themselves what they did, they would never sleep again. While I doubt the Emperor has any conscience left, I like to think he is haunted at least a little. I just hope it doesn't kill him before we can prosecute him.
Enron..
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=671631n
guess who's name is in there...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_de...
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