The empire strikes back!
As if in a sequel to Star Wars, Darth Vader (aka Dick Cheney) re-emerged from the shadows in the far reaches of the Galaxy last week to spread more doom
and gloom across the land. The former Vice President gave an address at the conservative American Enterprise Institute where he again deployed the “I will
scare you to death” strategy that he was responsible for creating as the bogeyman in the Bush Administration. He made a frontal assault on the Obama
Administration on issues related to National Security. He did so with that smirk arrogant swagger consistent with that image made popular by James Earl Jones.
Cheney “debated” the President on “enhanced security measures” vs. water boarding and torture, on whether or not the prison at Guantanamo Bay should be
closed and on the issue of what to do with the detainee’s. While this was billed by the national media as a heavy weight fight; it was, from Cheney’s point of view,
more of an effort to set the historical record straight on the Bush/Cheney legacy. Some have also argued that it was also a shot across the bow in his effort to get
a leg up on any future efforts to hold him personally accountable in the event that some type of Congressional investigation emerges.
After a vigorous defense of the policies that he supported and championed as part of his major role in the Bush Administration, Cheney concluded that the
closing of Gitmo and the outlawing of water boarding had made the nation less safe from the next terrorist attack. Contrary to what Obama said regarding the
nation losing its moral compass through the use of torture tactics, he opined that the U.S. has never lost its moral bearings. He said that those who “asked
questions” and did the “right things” were good loyal Americans who made the nation safer because of what they did. He admonished that enhanced
interrogation techniques have worked and saved American lives.
Newt Gingrich and the Republican leadership have supported Cheney’s efforts to set the record straight. They took advantage of an opening created when
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi accused the C.I.A. of “misleading” Congress in a briefing about whether or not water boarding would be used as part of their
interrogation of detainees. Gingrich accused Pelosi herself about fibbing about the lie calling on her to apologize to the C.I.A., American people and for her to
resign from her position as Speaker of the House.
The assault on Pelosi can only be construed as a diversionary tactic by the Republicans. It was duplicitous for Gingrich to be so critical of Pelosi when he
himself had accused the CIA of lying and misleading Congress when he was in Office. Barbara Boxer rightfully dismissed Cheney’s critique noting that the Vice
President as the chief architect who had created this mess now had the nerve to be critical about plans to fix it. Tom Ridge, the former and first Secretary of
Homeland Security who had also called for the closing of Gitmo, said in a recent interview that he did not believe that Cheney was right in saying that Obama’s
policies have made the nation less safe. Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff also told George Stephanopoulos that he supports Obama’s
closing of Gitmo which is also consistent with the position held by Secretary of Defense, William Gates.
The other diversionary issue that the Republicans have seized upon to shift the focus from torture and the closing of Gitmo is the “not in my back yard
strategy.” They have been enjoined by a growing number of Democrats who feel politically vulnerable if they can somehow be construed to be supporting the
trying and placement of detainee’s in their states and/or districts. In a snub to the President, Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid said that the Appropriations
Committee will not fund Gitmo until a plan has been created to address what to do with the detainees. I find it odd that a country that has the largest prison/
industrial complex in the world can’t find a way to incarcerate a handful of prisoners. If the nation can find a way to incarcerate the Oklahoma terrorist bomber
Timothy McVeigh and serial killer Geoffrey Dahmer, then it certainly has the means to deal with these other characters. Secretary Bill Gates has also noted that
it is folly to believe that the detainee’s cannot or should not be incarcerated in prisons on the U.S. mainland.
There is one area where President Obama equivocated and found himself in lockstep with an aspect of the Bush Administration policies for which he had
been critical. He did so when he said that there are a small number of detainees who are very dangerous who must be held in “prolonged detention” without a
trial or judicial proceeding. The President said that they can’t be prosecuted due to the manner in which evidence was obtained concluding that no judge
would allow them to be convicted with tainted evidence. These would be the ones that he would continue to detain indefinitely without prosecuting them. Is
this a flip flop or a nuanced decision? As the media and the nation contemplate who actually won the debate, the real loser in all of this is not Vice President
Cheney or President Obama. While Cheney made have made the case to save his legacy if not his hide, his resurgence into the national spotlight has diverted
the attention of our nation’s leadership away from the issues that matter to ordinary Americans.
and gloom across the land. The former Vice President gave an address at the conservative American Enterprise Institute where he again deployed the “I will
scare you to death” strategy that he was responsible for creating as the bogeyman in the Bush Administration. He made a frontal assault on the Obama
Administration on issues related to National Security. He did so with that smirk arrogant swagger consistent with that image made popular by James Earl Jones.
Cheney “debated” the President on “enhanced security measures” vs. water boarding and torture, on whether or not the prison at Guantanamo Bay should be
closed and on the issue of what to do with the detainee’s. While this was billed by the national media as a heavy weight fight; it was, from Cheney’s point of view,
more of an effort to set the historical record straight on the Bush/Cheney legacy. Some have also argued that it was also a shot across the bow in his effort to get
a leg up on any future efforts to hold him personally accountable in the event that some type of Congressional investigation emerges.
After a vigorous defense of the policies that he supported and championed as part of his major role in the Bush Administration, Cheney concluded that the
closing of Gitmo and the outlawing of water boarding had made the nation less safe from the next terrorist attack. Contrary to what Obama said regarding the
nation losing its moral compass through the use of torture tactics, he opined that the U.S. has never lost its moral bearings. He said that those who “asked
questions” and did the “right things” were good loyal Americans who made the nation safer because of what they did. He admonished that enhanced
interrogation techniques have worked and saved American lives.
Newt Gingrich and the Republican leadership have supported Cheney’s efforts to set the record straight. They took advantage of an opening created when
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi accused the C.I.A. of “misleading” Congress in a briefing about whether or not water boarding would be used as part of their
interrogation of detainees. Gingrich accused Pelosi herself about fibbing about the lie calling on her to apologize to the C.I.A., American people and for her to
resign from her position as Speaker of the House.
The assault on Pelosi can only be construed as a diversionary tactic by the Republicans. It was duplicitous for Gingrich to be so critical of Pelosi when he
himself had accused the CIA of lying and misleading Congress when he was in Office. Barbara Boxer rightfully dismissed Cheney’s critique noting that the Vice
President as the chief architect who had created this mess now had the nerve to be critical about plans to fix it. Tom Ridge, the former and first Secretary of
Homeland Security who had also called for the closing of Gitmo, said in a recent interview that he did not believe that Cheney was right in saying that Obama’s
policies have made the nation less safe. Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff also told George Stephanopoulos that he supports Obama’s
closing of Gitmo which is also consistent with the position held by Secretary of Defense, William Gates.
The other diversionary issue that the Republicans have seized upon to shift the focus from torture and the closing of Gitmo is the “not in my back yard
strategy.” They have been enjoined by a growing number of Democrats who feel politically vulnerable if they can somehow be construed to be supporting the
trying and placement of detainee’s in their states and/or districts. In a snub to the President, Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid said that the Appropriations
Committee will not fund Gitmo until a plan has been created to address what to do with the detainees. I find it odd that a country that has the largest prison/
industrial complex in the world can’t find a way to incarcerate a handful of prisoners. If the nation can find a way to incarcerate the Oklahoma terrorist bomber
Timothy McVeigh and serial killer Geoffrey Dahmer, then it certainly has the means to deal with these other characters. Secretary Bill Gates has also noted that
it is folly to believe that the detainee’s cannot or should not be incarcerated in prisons on the U.S. mainland.
There is one area where President Obama equivocated and found himself in lockstep with an aspect of the Bush Administration policies for which he had
been critical. He did so when he said that there are a small number of detainees who are very dangerous who must be held in “prolonged detention” without a
trial or judicial proceeding. The President said that they can’t be prosecuted due to the manner in which evidence was obtained concluding that no judge
would allow them to be convicted with tainted evidence. These would be the ones that he would continue to detain indefinitely without prosecuting them. Is
this a flip flop or a nuanced decision? As the media and the nation contemplate who actually won the debate, the real loser in all of this is not Vice President
Cheney or President Obama. While Cheney made have made the case to save his legacy if not his hide, his resurgence into the national spotlight has diverted
the attention of our nation’s leadership away from the issues that matter to ordinary Americans.