Cheney Takes Credit for Torture
By Susie Madrak Tuesday Dec 16, 2008 1:00pm
Yoo hoo! International War Crimes Tribunal? Over here...
Reporting from Washington -- Vice President Dick Cheney said Monday that he was directly involved in approving severe interrogation methods used by the CIA, and that the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, should remain open indefinitely.
Cheney's remarks on Guantanamo appear to put him at odds with President Bush, who has expressed a desire to close the prison, although the decision is expected to be left to the incoming administration of President-elect Barack Obama.
Cheney's comments also mark the first time that he has acknowledged playing a central role in clearing the CIA's use of an array of controversial interrogation tactics, including a simulated drowning method known as waterboarding.
"I was aware of the program, certainly, and involved in helping get the process cleared," Cheney said in an interview with ABC News.
Asked whether he still believes it was appropriate to use the waterboarding method on terrorism suspects, Cheney said: "I do."
His comments come on the heels of disclosures by a Senate committee showing that high-level officials in the Bush administration were intimately involved in reviewing and approving interrogation methods that have since been explicitly outlawed and that have been condemned internationally as torture.
Soon after the Sept. 11 attacks, Cheney said, the CIA "in effect came in and wanted to know what they could and couldn't do. And they talked to me, as well as others, to explain what they wanted to do. And I supported it."
Frequently wrong but never, for one minute, in doubt - the hallmark of the Bush era.
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Cheney isn't human: he's like a crocodile that only exists to feed.
Only a human being could be as cruel as Dick Cheney.
When the evil crap finally dies I can't think of a better grave to piss on.
Cheney is just daring the Obama Justice Department to come after him for breaking the law. Guess what? They won't.
taking there MONEY from them, ALL of them, any person who was in the meeting where this was talked about, I would love to see that new home @ 2.1 million dollars in Tx get taken.
I certainly hope something is done about this, but I certainly have my doubts.
Could we use this 'testimony' in the World Court when he and Bush are confronted by their war crimes?
Nevah. As with everything else the Republicans claim they are doing for the good of Americans and in America's best interests it's real purpose is for protecting themselves. Like their opposition to a world criminal court which they say could unfairly try American service members when it reality they are against a world court because their asses would be the first hauled before it for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Of course they say they are against the world court to "protect the troops".
1openmind
Well said. A followup question would be to inquire why Obama has inexplicably decided that the Bush administration should not be held accountable for their atrocities against the Afghan and Iraqi people.
You do understand that being a Constitutional Law Professor Obama knows that accumulating the necessary evidence in order to successfully prosecute these criminals will take time. To say that Obama "has inexplicably decided that the Bush administration should not be held accountable for their atrocities" is just another lie on Obama before the man even works a day in office.
I knew it wouldn't be long before one of you lying freaks would come here with your daily, baseless, "blame Obama" for another of the Bush crime family's sadistic adventures.
No one knows what Obama is or isn't going to do yet. He has given the perception of wanting to worry about "bigger" fish then Bush, but I do hope that you're correct about him wanting to gather evidence.
I'm not sure Enrolls last comment really warranted being called a "lying freak", but your response to it might warrant a cut back in coffee. In other words, calm down dude!
..."No one knows what Obama is or isn't going to do yet." True. And until Obama actually does something foolish I have chosen to reserve judgment on his "not yet" Presidency....it's call fairness. Save your preaching for Errol, dude....I read these doomsday predictions from amateur political Nostradamus' concerning Obama everyday.
You were suggesting that Obama was holding out to gain evidence, and Enroll was suggesting that he wouldn't do anything. At this point neither of you could be called a liar, much less a lying freak.
I'm not preaching just stating the obvious. However, if I keep reading comments like the one Enroll just left me I might just start calling him a freak myself.
REd Headed
Kindly explain, if you can, why you believe that I should be labeled a "freak" for the comment that I posted at 14:49, since said comment was neither abusive nor profane to anyone. Unless you believe that I was somehow unfair to Obama even though what I had written about him is, I believe, the truth. If you think that I was wrong, then please address what I had written instead of using such a juvenile and pejorative word such as freak. Without attempting to sound too pedantic, try to bear in mind that alleged liberals like Obama can be just as militant as their conservative counterparts.
Also, the name that I use is spelled E r r o l l [as in the jazz pianist Erroll Garner], not Enroll.
Sorry about the name. First off, "freak" is a subjective term and one has to pay attention to the context in which it is used. I used it above because of your rather long winded response. I don't see any glaring factual inaccuracies, but I do see you trying to pretend that you know what you simply cannot know.
Like I was telling Left_and_Left, we simply don't know how Obama will act when he gets into office. As you and Centrocitta have pointed out, Obama has certainly given mixed signals on the issue, and I don't see one anymore valid or objective then the other.
And the "liberal","left","right", and "conservative" labeling is just nonsense. These terms are so subjective that all it would take is some clever thinking and one could label any view point as either liberal or conservative. It really just amounts to an "Us vs Them" mentality that I think we could all do without.
The Obama team may think that Cheney is a dangerous man but Joe Biden actually came out and said publicly that, "Dick Cheney is the most dangerous vice president in American history". Were those simply empty words or was there a reason for such a strong comment?
Obama and Biden spent a lot of time bashing the Bush administration, but whether that actually means something or not is uncertain. I hope it does, but with the support of the FISA bill and not supporting Kucinich's move to impeach Bush, I have my doubts. However, he was trying to get elected and that probably played a role in those actions. We will certainly find out.
Red Headed
Thank you for the kind words. Unfortunately, people like LeftandLeft [who, ironically, does not seem to realize that Obama is anything but a leftist]seem to believe that their leader practically walks on water, despite all evidence to the contrary. He also demonstrates that liberals can be just as wrong headed as conservatives. As this article points out, what I wrote does not merit being described as being "baseless" or as being a "lying freak." http://www.alternet.org/rights/108905/if_obam...
It is also not a lie to state that Obama voted to give the telecom companies immunity from prosecution just as Obama is loath, as the article states, "to prosecute Bush-era officials for torture." As Michael Ratner, president of the Center for Constitutional Rights notes in the article, not to try to prosecute one of the worst administrations in U.S. history is "the worst defeatism you can have." Unfortunately, this should not come as that great of a surprise as Obama is also the same person who did not champion Kucinich's attempt to impeach both Bush and Cheney. Likewise, the [alleged] liberal president told CNN's Candy Crowley last summer that he felt that the U.S. had no need to apologize for America's foreign policy, even though those actions which Obama seems to be so proud of has cost the lives of over a million Iraqis as well as millions more of them being displaced from their homes. The Afghans have nothing to be grateful for either since many innocent Afghan civilians and children have been blown to bits by 500 lb. American bombs.
All of this, of course, speaks volumes of how Barack Obama is just as unapologetic regarding American militancy and imperialism as any other U.S. president.
You're right (correct) Errol, Obama is not a leftist/liberal/progressive. I am fine with him though, I think he's great.
I, too, have my disagreements with him. I also know he is a lot smarter than I am and a lot more of a grown up. He probably wants to 'heal' the country and move on--- but, I am not ready to move on... I want our government investigate, convict AND put those war criminals away for a very very long time.
But, it won't be Obama that will decide that. His plate will be full for a long time. It will be our Congress or the World Court. (I would love to hear about any/many of those BushCo criminals arrested when they dare travel outside of the US in the near future.) The damage done to the Constitiution, the Iraqi's, world peace, the environment, the economy, every major department in the Federal government is not even fully known yet. They must pay for what they did!
The personification of evil. Somewhere there's a bronz shoe waiting for Cheney.
Absolutely nothing worse that a cocky evil son of a bitch.
Waterboard Cheney to get the truth on who on his staff, if not Cheney himself, authorized the outing of Valerie Plame.
If waterboarding is good enough for terrorist abroad then it's good enough for treasonous terrorists at home.
Maybe we will need to keep Guantanamo open, and fill it with Cheney, et. al. as the current occupants are released or transferred. Cheney can go first and have his pick of cells.
No "maybe" about it...
TREASON.
why his ideas are so bad, arrest him, put him in guantanamo and leave him there to rot with no recouse, by his design.
....he wouldn't bat an eye. Like most criminal psychotics, Dick can't help it, he just does give a shit about anyone.
We all knew this to be true without his admission. But, unfortunately, it is going to go unpunished, as I would bet the man doesn't live long enough to ever be prosecuted for anything. That is assuming that anyone anywhere has the guts to take him on and actually make him accountable. I don't think they do, as there are countless others who are also involved, and they don't want to be held accountable. So, unless the world outside this country wants to stand up, I think these scumbags are going to get away with literally, MURDER!
with tying up his last days with really unpleasant shit. A long drawn out trial, like Milošević -- fine by me.
No reason he should get to live his life out 'quietly' and unmolested by consequences for his actions.
By their own words, spoken and in writing, they are unequivocal, unabashed, war criminals. Yet this country debates whether they should even be investigated - let alone prosecuted.
Meanwhile, a kid still gets ten years for having some cocaine.
Indict them; convict them; hang them.
2 shoes and a Boston creme pie for the vice!
Cheney thought he could hide from his just desserts by being under the table in drag at the :04 mark. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ua05RTaDE8o
Every dictator or oppressive regime that I have read about has used the same excuses that Cheney used to justify their assault on basic human rights. Kings, dictators, and other unsavory characters have all claimed that their increasingly brutal methods were for the benefit of the people or for sake of national security regarding some made up or exaggerated external threat. The real target though is the citizens themselves. Fear and intimidation are powerful motivators and the Bush Administration has used them to their fullest. The Bush Administration embodies what our founding fathers once rebelled against.
I think he's confessing and that you're going to see a whole lot more of these from Bushies before Bush's last day so they can be pardoned for "potential misdeeds". They're floating balloons by coming out in the open.
So big whoop you wann fight about it?
Killing Cheney would be a waste of rope or bullets....the guy's already dead.
they (CIA)went to Cheney for what to do? Usually a VP is just a figure in the background who goes to funerals etc. and is on the sidelines in case something happens to the President. In this case it looks more and more like the whole "bush as presinit" thing was just a distraction so that Cheney and his PNAC brethren could make wars and sack the country.
I know this kind of talk isn't liked on this site, but I wish something would happen to his pacemaker .... no wait, that would be too good for him, he needs public humiliation.
I know, I know, ... it ain't gonna happen.
On Chris Matthews show Sunday, a reporter said that a truth commission is going to be set up. He said the members of that commission will be of both parties and will have subpoena power. He said much like the 9-11 commission they will look into what led us into war and things such as torture. The reporter didn't give his background on this info. I believe the reporter was Andrew Sullivan.
...it will just be another waste of time and money, just like the 9/11 Commission and the Warren Commission. Anyone who is still confused about why we invaded Iraq wouldn't recognize the TRUTH if it jumped up and bit them on the nose!!
send this waste of flesh to the Hague.
The vice president has just admitted approving a policy that we executed Japanese soldiers for following after WWII. Will no one in Congress grow a spine?
all sweaty with anticipation of anything happening to these criminals. We've heard it all before and nobody is going to do anything, period. Not the complacent MSM, not the SCOTUS, not Congress, certainly not Congress. The more people TALK about this and not DO something about this, the more remote the possibility that anything will get done. I hate to be so negative but with all that's on the plate of the new administration, with the gloomy economic outlook ahead and the desire to keep the eye on that economic nightmare, there will be no one who will take these criminals to task for their transgressions. I would love to see Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice, et.al. walked off to prison just like in that photo of them walking side by side only with handcuffs and leg irons. Its just that, I don't see it happening! Too bad-I bet people from here and abroad would pay money to see it. Wipe out that national debt it might.
This begs the question, who were the "others" the CIA talked to regarding permission to torture?
Was Bush there, or was Cheney the senior official to sign off?
Inquiring minds would like to know.
Were you complicit in this plan or did you actively collaborate?
He is blurring the line between himself and Saddam. They both put people in jail sans trial. They both approved of torture. They both killed their own people. Cheney sent Americans into die in an unnecessary war.
More than the impeachment, trial and punishment for the dumb shit that sucked off us in the White House for the past eight years, I WANT TO SEE this piece of human shit swing from a rope or be incarcerated for the rest of his heinous life.
Not a speck of remorse. None. Pure and simple evil to the bone. Maybe "swinging from a rope" is a bit over the top, but I definitely want to see him tried and punished for the pain and misery he has caused this world to suffer.
No more evil American lives today, and damn few more evil lived previously among us. This man is scum of the earth.
Cheney's remarks put him at odds with the U.S. military and most of the free world.
And I am sure cheney would respond to your comment by saying, "So?"
Satan laughing spreads his wings...
.
I would like to see him put in a prison cell and let everyone who has a grievance with him file by day and night forever telling him just what they think of him. It could possibly drive him mad after some amount of time.
Put him in a STATE prision, on the yard. I give hin 2 hr.
"I was aware of the program, certainly, and involved in helping get the process cleared," Cheney said in an interview with ABC News.
There you go, thanks idiot. There's the evidence and confession from this beast to prosecute him and punish him. Plain and simple. It's time to pay for evil.
[Deleted. Off topic-Sitemonitor]
dick!
And I'll give 100 to 1 odds he'll never serve a day in prison.
In fact, he'll be regarded as an elder statesman and become a commentator for Fox news.
Ya see, it's not that I doubt he's a criminal. I'm just going by the track record of all the other lying, traitorous fucks produced by this cabal. The fix is in. I hope to God I'm wrong.
you think he will sit next to rove
And all the Dems and the Obama Administration will do is say they don't want to look back by investigating and prosecuting Bush and Cheney but to move forward.
If you are the head of a state and the people under you commit war crimes; or, if you are in a position where you should of known and could of stopped war crimes from happening; or, if you create a climate in which war crimes are likely to occur then you are completely guilty of war crimes.
It doesn't matter whether or not Bush, Cheney, Rove, Gonzales, Rumsfeld, or any of the others had first hand knowledge or specifically authorized the commissions of war crimes; nor, does it matter whether or not any of them were just following orders. The mere fact that war crimes were committed under their watch is enough to convict them of war crimes.
Confessions or signed documents are simply not needed to convict any of these people of war crimes. The mere fact that they were in leadership positions and these things happened makes them responsible.
Years ago, when I went through basic training for the Army; they taught us in the first week that a commander was responsible for the actions of his troops; and that, it didn't matter whether or not he/she had first hand knowledge. The climate created by the command is enough to establish guilt. The commander has a responsibilty to ensure that those under his command act appropriately. We were also
taught that should a commander order us to act inappropriately that we had a legal obligation not to follow what they called "an illegal order". We were also taught that prisoners of war were to be afforded the same respect and dignity that we would want to be treated with if we ourselves were to become prisoners of war. The reasoning behind this was; if we treat our prisoners with dignity and respect then hopefully it will encourage our enemies to treat American POWs with equal dignity and respect.
I, as an Army Veteran, was completely shocked when I saw the pictures
of prisoners of war from Abu Graib. It disgusted me to no end to see American soldiers act that way. I also knew that prisoner abuse like that is 100% the result of command climate. The command climate begins with the Commander in Cheif and rolls down hill.
Nice post.
I had become alarmed about the Bush administration, and I was therefore paying attention when the Abu Graib thing broke.
When I first saw the Abu Graib torture pictures, the same thoughts went through my mind.
And I knew, right then, that the war was lost, and that Bush would become the epitome of a failed president, and that America (including myself) had become disgraced. Abu Graib said it all. Bush is a living disgrace to the country and all its people.
Arrest the Motherfucker!
These jokers lose their sitting head of state protection against war crimes indictments. The indictments are already typed up and ready to be filed the day that Bush leaves office. The big question here is whether or not American courts are going to honor the extradition requests.
could it be one of the following:
a- is it that cheney has balls of cast iron steel? i mean why else would he flaunt his torture-approval?
b- or, maybe cheney is dumb as a rock, and he just doesn't know that he is hamstringing himself?
c- or maybe cheney doesn't feel as if he has that much longer to live (the ticker), and feels that it is best to be honest, as going to grave with a clear conscience is better than being racked with guilt?
[key: a, no; b, no; c, no]
trick question.
cheney is like al swerengen from deadwood, he is a dirty, nasty fighter who likes to get in close to make the kill. he is one of he most vicious in-fighters in all of DC. his bureaucratic jujitsu skills make him a formidable opponent, and he knows what he's doing. he knows full well.
cheney is openly admitting these war crimes b/c he knows full well that he will walk. he will NOT be charged with anything, and the entire nasty chapter will be swept under the rug.
anyone thinking that we are going to see a domestic govt investigation/trial of the cheney admin's war crimes needs to wake up. not. going. to. happen.
And as much as I hate to type it, our efforts have to be focused on the future and not the past because accountability is an option that's no longer on the table.
Steal a Little and They Call You a Thief; Steal a Lot and They Call You King.
Cheney wouldn't brag if he didn't believe (with reason) that he has gotten away with it.
Face Shooter knows he's old and getting ready to die, so he's trying to grab the blame/credit for torture to save a few of his pal henchmen.
Cheney could be tried for some of the many financial irregularities that he's engineered via KBR/Halliburton.
They popped Agnew for his financial dealings.
I hold little hope for seeing this turd punished for his crimes against humanity because we are a rogue nation.
Cheney will never get what he deserves.
Any retaliation taken will be against the common people of the USA.
Now that Cheney has admitted his crime re: torture, why isn't he being frog-marched out of the VP's residence right now and taken to a holding cell?
Sheesh.
Curses, foiled again...weh...weh...weh!!!
Can you believe that crap?
He has no feelings for other people what so ever.
I don't know how the old bastard can sleep with all the death and destruction he and chimpy have caused.
And chimpy doesn't know why the guy would through a shoe at him?
I wonder how many family members that person has lost in the last 7 years? I wonder if his water and sewer no longer work, no or little electricity, just finding the basic needs of life food and water is an overwhelming task.
This is not a good thing that has been done in our name and we the Iraqi's and the Afghani people need a little justice. We need to see justice carried out.
We need to see the whole bush cabal stand trial in the Hague!
Since the VP loses his Secret Service escort after he's out of office, why can't we make a citizen's arrest on him at some unguarded point in the future? We can have a jet standing by to take him to The Hague.
He'll never go anywhere along again. Maybe he won't have secret service but you can bet he'll have some sort of protection.
Halle Berry?
Blackwater Ops -- but some of them are such head cases, they're liable to take Cheney out in the collateral damage.
It makes me sick to know that this person is the vice president of the United States of America.
I'm even more disgusted that he's going to walk away from these crimes.
But the important question is not being asked:
How would chainey look in black lace-up leather vest and cheek shorts?
Gloating about his lack of humanity probably because NO ONE is going to touch him. Certainly not the congress, and the republican MSM will whistle by it. If there's an international court SOMEWHERE that would try him, I would love to know about it. Damned, evil, perverted, piece of s--t....poor excuse for a human being. And this is the excrement that represents America.
You can't kill what is already dead.
http://www.drewfriedmanart.com/Resources/Coun...
Meet The New Conservatism; Same as the old conservatism.
Thinking and nuance are games only effeminate elites play.
Real men shoot first, and aim later.
We can only hope this coal-hearted shit-for-brains gets at least 1/3rd of what he's due in the grand scheme of things...
Cheney has doctors at his side when he gets a hang nail. Cheney is ate up with evil, rotten filth. His disregard for humanity turns my stomach. I want to see him brought up on charges of crimes against humanity.
I think in this same interview, Cheney said that it didn't require WMDs to invade Iraq and take out Saddam. He said that Saddam had the means to make WMDs; he said Saddam had the intention of making WMDs and using them.
Cheney is E.V.I.L. INCARNATE.
What a true American patriot, the big Dick Cheney.
Cheney is evil incarnate. When do the war crimes trials begin?
You don't know the power of the dark side. Use the force Obama.
He's an ice-cold devil.
I feel sick to my stomach to know that this poor excuse for a human being represents our Nation. If our own Congress and criminal justice system does not prosecute Cheney and his associates, the World Court should. How anyone can extol this guy as a patriot is beyond me. But I guess most tyrants are given the benefit of the doubt until enough people wake up to the facts.
Unfortunately there will always be a small segment, like Faux News commentators, who pick and choose the facts that support their viewpoint.
Like France did when they tipped Rumsfeld off that he should get out of town.
But dear gawd! I want to see him pay the ultimate price for his crimes.
He's fucking PROUD if his crimes!
If he isn't fucking prosecuted, then there is NO JUSTICE!
These four disasters - Cheney, Bush, Rice and Ashcroft - should all be waterboarded themselves.
The truth at Guantanemo is that there's brainwashing going on. The US government cannot afford for the detainees to leave there with any of their memories intact because if the did and if they ever talked, holy crap would the lid blow off.
I would be mortified to call myself a USian (or american if you must).It's bad enough being attached to that country by a border....
These four disasters - Cheney, Bush, Rice and Ashcroft - should all be waterboarded themselves.
The truth at Guantanemo is that there's brainwashing going on. The US government cannot afford for the detainees to leave there with any of their memories intact because if the did and if they ever talked, holy crap would the lid blow off.
I would be mortified to call myself a USian (or american if you must).It's bad enough being attached to that country by a border....
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