Dick Cheney’s speech to AEI today.
If fine speech-making, appeals to reason, or pleas for compassion had the power to move them, the terrorists would long ago have abandoned the field. And when they see the American government caught up in arguments about interrogations, or whether foreign terrorists have constitutional rights, they don’t stand back in awe of our legal system and wonder whether they had misjudged us all along. Instead the terrorists see just what they were hoping for – our unity gone, our resolve shaken, our leaders distracted. In short, they see weakness and opportunity.
On waterboarding:
It’s almost gone unnoticed that the president has retained the power to order the same methods in the same circumstances. When they talk about interrogations, he and his administration speak as if they have resolved some great moral dilemma in how to extract critical information from terrorists. Instead they have put the decision off, while assigning a presumption of moral superiority to any decision they make in the future.
Now, that does bother me somewhat, because the one nagging doubt I’ve had about “enhanced interrogation methods,” is that a liberal fascist state could, say 10 years from now, expand and turn them on its domestic enemies…in the name of security, of course.
I remain conflicted.
on May 21st, 2009 at 7:13 pm
what… and a conservitive fascist state wouldn’t do the same thing, just a liberal one?
In general this issue shouldn’t be about liberal vs conservative views on torture. When we get down to it, its about the tactics of fighting a war between a technologically advanced nation-state and a decentralized and technologically inferrior foe.
Interigation and torture are only a few of the many techniques the nation-state may use against such a decentralized organization; and we choose these tactics because of our advanced military’s lack of ability to truly wipe these guys out. Just like the Taliban and Al-Qaude resort to terorrist tactics becasue of their lack of ability to strike out against the heart of our military, they choose the weakest and most vulnerable targets to inflict the greatest amount of damage not on our ability to wage war, but on our psyche.
on May 21st, 2009 at 7:18 pm
Didn’t John McCain say that the “enhanced interrogation methods” used on him by the NV worked?
on May 21st, 2009 at 10:36 pm
“I remain conflicted.”
No conflict. You are either a Roman or you are not.
on May 22nd, 2009 at 10:36 am
Cheney is a right wing authoritarian, perhaps the closest this country has ever come to a totalitarian in power, though John Adams and the Alien and Sedition Acts come to mind.
What he is up to now is intriguing - hard to figure out - some say he is trying to sell books, but he don’t need the money. Some say he is laying the groundwork for a defense should he be brought up on charges for torture - but Obama will not go after him.
Then there is the specter of his possible arrest and trial in other countries - he’d better stay home for a while so as not to be Pinocheted. Spain tried, but Obama intervened. Others may not be so compliant.
He’s arrogant and condescending, rigid and cruel. He’s a criminal, do doubt, but when American foreign policy is a criminal enterprise, if one swings, they all swing.
So he will walk free, write his memoirs, live in splendor. No one ever said life was fair, and it is foolsih to expect justice in this land. Don Siegelman will be in solitary confinement, Dick Cheney will walk free. Nuts to America.
on May 22nd, 2009 at 10:39 am
Tomato Guy is Mark T.
on May 22nd, 2009 at 11:23 am
What’s wrong with Tomato Guy? I don’t mind sock puppets.
I like Cheney, always have. But I admit part of the appeal is that super-cool affect of his. And he seems almost Churchillian now in his single-mindedness about security. I wish he’s been more open to running for president, though at the time I thought him too old and unhealthy. It would be funny if he outlived us all.
on May 22nd, 2009 at 11:26 am
Mark T.:
You have some very interesting opinions for a non-historian, non-lawyer, non-psychologist, non-foreign policy expert, and a nonentity.
on May 22nd, 2009 at 1:17 pm
Wrote a nice post. Won’t post again. Go figure.
on May 22nd, 2009 at 2:53 pm
What’s with you two? Can’t everyone just talk nice and get along??
I am happy to be a nonentity. Entities have it rough nowadays.
on May 22nd, 2009 at 3:04 pm
Play the happy hostess if you like. But anyone who lives and works in America and enjoys all that she has to offer and then slanders her at every opportunity is a bum and ought to be shown the door.
on May 22nd, 2009 at 4:05 pm
Sorry, I just can’t work up a good hate these days. I think he’s got terminal case of devil’s advocacy, like my husband. I can’t forget that Mark is still a real person who lives in Bozeman and appears to be happily married. Actually, I know more about him than I do about you.
Anyway, I got the tomatoes planted.
on May 22nd, 2009 at 6:56 pm
All you need to know about me is what I have written here over the last several years.
“I just can’t work up a good hate these days.”
If you spent some time, as I have, reading what Mark T. writes over at his blog, you would know he is not playing devil’s advocate. You would know that he has a deep-seated hatred of America and all she stands for. He hates all things American, from the Christians who discovered this country, to the free-market system that built it, to the soldiers who protect it.
“Anyway, I got the tomatoes planted.”
People like Mark T. are like the aphids that will infest your tomato plants if you do nothing to control them. The analogy is quite accurate:
///
Although it has not been scientifically proven, aphids and tomatoes seem to come together when gardeners have a propensity to over-water or over-fertilize. Humid conditions seem to attract aphids (and as a result, ants), as does feeding your tomatoes too well.
Before you haul out the hose or the tomato food, keep this in mind. Water only as much as your tomato plants actually need and do the same about feeding them. Too much of a good thing often turns into a bad thing, and finding a thriving population of aphids on your tomato plants is one of those bad things.
http://www.onlinetips.org/aphid-tomatoes
///
I hope you keep that in mind while tending this blog.
on May 22nd, 2009 at 9:26 pm
Hats off to Cheney for being one of the few unafraid to publicly and succinctly state why he opposes Obama’s positions, and makes no bones about the emperor having no clothes. I think he must get under Obama’s skin like no other. Gravitas and and such assurance doesn’t come to a younger man and that lack of concern he has about what others might think of him is a breath of fresh air.
Yeah, it’d be great to seem him step back in the arena.
on May 22nd, 2009 at 11:25 pm
Hats off to Cheney for being one of the few unafraid to publicly and succinctly state why he opposes Obama’s positions…
I agree. It is refreshing to see someone speak about public policy and foreign affairs who also doesn’t feel compelled to apologize for his country at every turn. Dick Cheney would make a fine president - a firm, decisive, knowledgeable leader.
Cheney is a right wing authoritarian, perhaps the closest this country has ever come to a totalitarian in power…
You’ve never heard of Woodrow Wilson, have you?
on May 22nd, 2009 at 11:31 pm
I think you are correct, Dana. Besides the fact that Dick Cheney represents the white male authority father figure in the guilty liberal’s mind, the juxtaposition of his commanding character with that of the amateurish and effeminate Obama is exceedingly embarrassing for them. Here is a good example of the adolescent cry of one leftist:
“when we need a draft dodging liar, a hunting partner that blows away his friends and a torture prone asshole again we will let you know….meanwhile, quit looking over our shoulders and get the f***out of our news ferrcrissakes….the whole country is sick of your worthless ass.” [Problemboy, 4&20 Blackbirds]
on May 23rd, 2009 at 8:04 am
Oh, you mean problembore, yes? I don’t go there anymore.
I have never had aphids on my tomato plants. On my aspen, yes.
on May 23rd, 2009 at 6:42 pm
Funny how the Obama administration (and the POTUS himself) feel compelled to defend themselves against Cheney. Why? Cheney is just an ex-veep, he’s not in office, not in power, why he’s just about right up there with Rush - a private citizen with strong opinions and a great deal of insight and knowledge , but they are not in office, they are not calling the shots, so why the need to defend? So telling…. Heh.
I might add too that Cheney’s daughter, Liz, seems to have inherited her father’s fearlessness and unflappability when confronted by foolishness. I hope we see more of her.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slvl8RK0wBo&feature=related
on May 24th, 2009 at 8:46 am
Maybe this will take - the guy named MB above posts under many names, but assumes teh MB persona here, and more abrasive ones elsewhere. He’s a personality grab bag. You would recognize all the names he uses.
on May 24th, 2009 at 11:31 am
Got half my tomato plants in the ground…not the heirlooms, which aren’t as far along yet. Wall o Waters needed for the next two weeks, then they’re on their own.
Mark T speaks out loud and puts his name on every line. Worthy, even if I disagree with 85% of everything he types. Since he’s down here in the Gallatin, I’ve got to at least put in some “faint praise”, eh? I know he’s no respecter of my opinions, too.
Never had aphids; but those little flea beetles are a problem.
on May 24th, 2009 at 2:51 pm
our tomatoes did OK last year, but it was a bumper year for strawberries and raspberries. The year before, plums were off the chart. This year we’ll be traveling, and garden takes up too much time, so it’s on its own.
Goof - opinions are like … what’s that old saying? Ask me - I have three or four on every subject. Gallatin - beautiful time of year, no? This morning we had Siskens, Finches, Blackheaded and Evening Grosbeak, a Sapsucker and Cowbirds (newbies) on the feeders. Sandhills in the field nearby, fox and rabbit come through along with deer - skunk too. All welcome.
on May 24th, 2009 at 3:07 pm
Well, pfffft. We had six American Avocets standing in our semi-permanent lake yesterday. Too far away for my 4x lens though.
on May 24th, 2009 at 4:20 pm
We have the siskins, finches and crossbills? and juncos below the feeder. No grossbeaks, but I’d love for them to find us. Hoping to see the tanagers again a little bit later.
The little downy woodpecker is always flittering around.
Yes, it’s beautiful with the chokecherry and the apples blooming. I was supposed to go camping/floating but the blown out rivers are too much for my RA inflicted hands to row eight hours a day. Instead, we did yard stuff and set up the new tent (without yelling but with some bafflement) and planted tomatoes, chopped up the flower beds and sewed some flax, opium, and cosmos.
on May 24th, 2009 at 4:31 pm
Oh, and Mark T and I share some letters in common…with Joe Balyeat too.
I’ve always wondered what a CPE class with the three of us might erupt into.
on May 24th, 2009 at 4:39 pm
I’ll be damned. You’re a bean counter too? Who always wanted to be a lion tamer?
on May 24th, 2009 at 4:42 pm
We had one crossbill yesterday, but not so much lately. They did hang out this winter. I love that bird.