Cheney Admits to War Crimes, Media Yawns, Obama Turns the Other Cheek
Monday 15 February 2010
by: t r u t h o u t | News Analysis
(Image: Lance Page / t r u t h o u t; Adapted: Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com, World Economic Forum, stevefaeembra, MissusK)
Dick Cheney is a sadist.
On Sunday, in an exclusive interview with Jonathan Karl of ABC News' "This Week," Cheney proclaimed his love of torture, derided the Obama administration for outlawing the practice, and admitted that the Bush White House ordered Justice Department attorneys to fix the law around the administration's policy interests.
"I was a big supporter of waterboarding," Cheney told Karl, as if he were issuing a challenge to officials in the current administration, including President Barack Obama, who said flatly last year that waterboarding is torture, to take action against him. "I was a big supporter of the enhanced interrogation techniques..."
The former vice president's declaration closely follows admissions he made in December 2008, about a month before the Bush administration exited the White House, when he said he personally authorized the torture of 33 suspected terrorist detainees and approved the waterboarding of three so-called “high-value” prisoners.
“I signed off on it; others did, as well, too,” Cheney said in an interview with the right-wing Washington Times about the waterboarding, a drowning technique where a person is strapped to a board, his face covered with a cloth and then water is poured over it. It is a torture technique dating back at least to the Spanish Inquisition.
The US has long treated waterboarding as a war crime and has prosecuted Japanese soldiers for using it against US troops during World War II. And Ronald Reagan's Justice Department prosecuted a Texas sheriff and three deputies for using the practice to get confessions.
But Cheney's admissions back then, as well as those he made on Sunday, went unchallenged by Karl and others in the mainstream media. Indeed, the two major national newspapers--The New York Times and The Washington Post--characterized Cheney's interview as a mere spat between the vice president and the Obama administration over the direction of the latter's counterterrorism and national security policies.
The Times and Post did not report that Cheney's comments about waterboarding and his enthusiastic support of torturing detainees amounted to an admission of war crimes given that the president has publicly stated that waterboarding is torture.
Ironically, in March 2003, after Iraqi troops captured several US soldiers and let them be interviewed on Iraqi TV, senior Bush administration officials expressed outrage over this violation of the Geneva Convention.
"If there is somebody captured," President George W. Bush told reporters on March 23, 2003, "I expect those people to be treated humanely. If not, the people who mistreat the prisoners will be treated as war criminals."
Nor did the Times or Post report that the "enhanced interrogation techniques" Cheney backed was, in numerous cases, administered to prisoners detained at Guantanamo and in detention centers in Iraq and Afghanistan who were innocent and simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. The torture methods that Cheney helped implement as official policy was also directly responsible for the deaths of at least 100 detainees.
Renowned human rights attorney and Harper's magazine contributor Scott Horton said, "Section 2340A of the federal criminal code makes it an offense to torture or to conspire to torture. Violators are subject to jail terms or to death in appropriate cases, as where death results from the application of torture techniques."
In addition to Obama, Attorney General Eric Holder said during his confirmation hearing last year that waterboarding is torture.
"Dick Cheney wants to be prosecuted. And prosecutors should give him what he wants," Horton wrote in a Harper's dispatch Monday.
Karl also made no mention of the fact that the CIA's own watchdog concluded in a report declassified last year that the torture of detainees Cheney signed off on did not result in any actionable intelligence nor did it thwart any imminent attacks on the United States. To the contrary, torture led to bogus information, wrongful elevated threat warnings, and undermined the war-crimes charges against Mohammed al-Qahtani, the alleged “20th hijacker” in the 9/11 attacks because the evidence against him was obtained through torture.
Karl also failed to call out Cheney on a statement the former vice president made during his interview in which he suggested the policy of torture was carried out only after the Bush administration told Justice Department attorneys it wanted the legal justification to subject suspected al-Qaeda prisoners to brutal interrogation methods.
Cheney told Karl that he continues to be critical of the Obama administration "because there were some things being said, especially after we left office, about prosecuting CIA personnel that had carried out our counterterrorism policy or disbarring lawyers in the Justice Department who had -- had helped us put those policies together, and I was deeply offended by that, and I thought it was important that some senior person in the administration stand up and defend those people who'd done what we asked them to do."
In an interview with Karl on December 15, 2008, Cheney made a similar comment, which Karl also allowed to go unchallenged, stating that the Bush administration "had the Justice Department issue the requisite opinions in order to know where the bright lines were that you could not cross."
Bush's Key Line of Defense Destroyed
Those statements, both on Sunday and in his December 2008 interview with Karl, destroys a key line in the Bush administration's defense against war crimes charges. For years, Cheney and other Bush administration officials pinned their defense on the fact that they had received legal advice from Justice Department lawyers that the brutal interrogations of “war on terror” detainees did not constitute torture or violate other laws of war.
Cheney's statements, however, would suggest that the lawyers were colluding with administration officials in setting policy, rather than providing objective legal analysis.
In fact, as I reported last year, an investigation by the Department of Justice's Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) determined that DOJ attorneys John Yoo and Jay Bybee blurred the lines between attorneys charged with providing independent legal advice to the White House and policy advocates who were working to advance the administration’s goals, according to legal sources who were privy to an original draft of the OPR report.
That was a conclusion Dawn Johnsen reached. Johnsen was tapped a year ago by Obama to head the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC), where Yoo and Bybee worked, but her confirmation has been stuck in limbo.
In a 2006 Indiana Law Journal article, she said the function of OLC should be to “provide an accurate and honest appraisal of applicable law, even if that advice will constrain the administration’s pursuit of desired policies.”
“The advocacy model of lawyering, in which lawyers craft merely plausible legal arguments to support their clients’ desired actions, inadequately promotes the President’s constitutional obligation to ensure the legality of executive action,” said Johnsen, who served in the OLC under President Bill Clinton. "In short, OLC must be prepared to say no to the President.
“For OLC instead to distort its legal analysis to support preferred policy outcomes undermines the rule of law and our democratic system of government. Perhaps most essential to avoiding a culture in which OLC becomes merely an advocate of the Administration's policy preferences is transparency in the specific legal interpretations that inform executive action, as well as in the general governing processes and standards followed in formulating that legal advice.”
In a 2007 UCLA Law Review article, Johnsen said Yoo’s Aug. 1, 2002, torture memo is “unmistakably” an “advocacy piece.”
"OLC abandoned fundamental practices of principled and balanced legal interpretation,” Johnsen wrote. "The Torture Opinion relentlessly seeks to circumvent all legal limits on the CIA’s ability to engage in torture, and it simply ignores arguments to the contrary.
"The Opinion fails, for example, to cite highly relevant precedent, regulations, and even constitutional provisions, and it misuses sources upon which it does rely. Yoo remains almost alone in continuing to assert that the Torture Opinion was ‘entirely accurate’ and not outcome driven."
The original draft of the OPR report concluded that Yoo and Bybee violated professional standards and recommended a referral to state bar associations where they could have faced disciplinary action and have had their law licenses revoked.
The report's findings could have influenced whether George W. Bush, Cheney and other senior officials in that administration were held accountable for torture and other war crimes. But two weeks ago, it was revealed that officials in Obama's Justice Department backed off the earlier recommendation and instead altered the misconduct findings against Yoo and Bybee to "poor judgment," which means neither will face disciplinary action. The report has not yet been released.
For his part, Yoo had already admitted in no uncertain terms that Bush administration officials sought to legalize torture and that he and Bybee fixed the law around the Bush administration’s policy.
As I noted in a report last year, in his book, "War by Other Means: An Insider’s Account on the War On Terror," Yoo described his participation in meetings that helped develop the controversial policies for the treatment of detainees.
For instance, Yoo wrote about a trip he took to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, with other senior administration officials to observe interrogations and to join in discussions about specific interrogation methods. In other words, Yoo was not acting as an independent attorney providing the White House with unbiased legal advice but was more of an advocate for administration policy.
The meetings that Yoo described appear similar to those disclosed by ABC News in April 2008.
“The most senior Bush administration officials repeatedly discussed and approved specific details of exactly how high-value al-Qaeda suspects would be interrogated by the CIA,” ABC News reported at the time, citing unnamed sources.
"The high-level discussions about these ‘enhanced interrogation techniques’ were so detailed, these sources said, some of the interrogation sessions were almost choreographed – down to the number of times CIA agents could use a specific tactic.
"These top advisers signed off on how the CIA would interrogate top al-Qaeda suspects – whether they would be slapped, pushed, deprived of sleep or subjected to simulated drowning, called waterboarding," according to unnamed sources quoted by ABC News.
Torture Preceded Legal Advice
If ABC's Karl had a firmer grasp on the issues he queried Cheney about he would have known that as recently as last week, three UK high-court judges released seven paragraphs of a previously classified intelligence document that proved the CIA tortured Binyam Mohamed, a British resident captured in Pakistan in April 2002 who was falsely tied to a dirty bomb plot, months before the Bush administration obtained a memo from John Yoo and Jay Bybee at the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) authorizing specific methods of torture to be used against high-value detainees, further undercutting Cheney's line of defense.
The document stated bluntly that Mohamed's treatment "could readily be contended to be at the very least cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment by the United States authorities."
Obama Turns A Blind Eye to Crimes
Under the United Nations Convention Against Torture, the treatment of Mohamed and the clear record that the Bush administration used waterboarding and other brutal techniques to extract information from detainees should have triggered the United States to conduct a full investigation and to prosecute the offenders. In the case of the US's refusal to do so, other nations would be obligated to act under the principle of universality.
However, instead of living up to that treaty commitment, the Obama administration has time and again resisted calls for government investigations and has gone to court to block lawsuits that demand release of torture evidence or seek civil penalties against officials implicated in the torture.
Though it's true, as Vice President Joe Biden stated Sunday on "Meet the Press," that Cheney is rewriting history and making "factually, substantively wrong" statements about the Obama administration's track record and approach to counterterrorism, it's difficult, if not near impossible, to defend this president from the likes of Cheney because he has steadfastly refused to hold anyone in the Bush administration accountable for the crime of torture.
Case in point: last week the Obama administration treated the disclosure by British judicial officials of Mohamed's torture as a security breach and threatened to cut off an intelligence sharing arrangement with the UK government.
In what can only be described as a stunning response to the revelations contained in the intelligence document, White House spokesman Ben LaBolt said "the [UK} court's judgment will complicate the confidentiality of our intelligence-sharing relationship with the UK, and it will have to factor into our decision-making going forward."
"We're deeply disappointed with the court's judgment today, because we shared this information in confidence and with certain expectations," LaBolt said, making no mention of Mohamed's treatment nor even offering him an apology for the torture he was subjected to by the CIA over the course of several years. Mohamed was released from Guantanamo last year and returned to the UK.
As an aside, as revelatory as the disclosures were, news reports of Mohamed's torture were buried by the mainstream print media and went unreported by the cable news outlets, underscoring how the media's interest in Bush's torture policies has waned.
The Obama administration's decision to ignore the past administration's crimes has alienated civil liberties groups, who he could once count on for support.
Last December, on the day Obama received a Nobel Peace prize, Jameel Jaffer, director of the ACLU’s National Security Project, told reporters "on every front, the [Obama] administration is actively obstructing accountability. This administration is shielding Bush administration officials from civil liability, criminal investigation and even public scrutiny for their role in authorizing torture."
Cheney's Attacks Unfounded
That being the reality is what makes Cheney's claim on Sunday that the Obama administration is attempting to prosecute "CIA personnel that had carried out our counterterrorism policy or disbarring lawyers" laughable.
Last year, Holder expanded the mandate of John Durham, a federal prosecutor from Connecticut appointed by former Attorney General Michael Mukasey to investigate the destruction of CIA torture tapes, to include a “preliminary review” of less than a dozen torture cases previously closed by Justice Department attorneys for unknown reasons. That hardly amounts to a prosecution. It's not even an investigation.
And "disbarring lawyers, a clear reference to Yoo and Bybee, which is beyond the scope of the Justice Department watchdog's authority to begin with, is no longer a possibility given that the OPR report reportedly does not recommend disciplinary action.
In a statement, the ACLU said, "to date, not a single torture victim has had his day in court."
As Jane Mayer reported in a recent issue of the New Yorker, Holder's limited scope authorization to Durham did not go over well with the White House and Obama's Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel made sure Holder knew where the administration stood.
"Emanuel worried that such investigations would alienate the intelligence community..." Mayer wrote. "Emanuel couldn’t complain directly to Holder without violating strictures against political interference in prosecutorial decisions. But he conveyed his unhappiness to Holder indirectly, two sources said. Emanuel demanded, 'Didn’t he get the memo that we’re not re-litigating the past?'"
All republished content that appears on Truthout has been obtained by permission or license.
Comments
This forum is moderated by software. Please allow up to 15 minutes for your comments to go live and avoid posting the same comment multiple times.
I am so sick and tired of
Mon, 02/15/2010 - 22:15 — S. Wolf Britain (not verified)I am so sick and tired of how far this country has fallen, and is continuing to fall. There have long been cover-ups and protection of extreme law violators at the top, which opened the door to what is occurring today, but the cover-up of admitted war crimes, etc., takes the cake.
"Our" country has descended into an above-the-law status that beggars belief, and that repudiates everything that this country was designed to stand for. As a result, the Constitution and the rule of law must be completely dead, and we must no longer be in a free country.
Psychopathic, sociopathic sadists are now in complete control, including the "O-bomb-Afghanistan-etc." administration, and they are supposedly above any kind of accountability. Only scapegoats at the bottom are held accountable in a few cases for following those at the top's completely illegal orders.
We have opened the door for total authoritarian and totalitarian fascism to take complete control of this country; and, thus, very soon countless completely innocent Americans who stand for and defend sanity and the rule of law will be eradicated for supposedly being "terrorists" and for doing nothing but exercising free speech.
Therefore, this country has gone completely insane, and it can and will only get worse, like in Spain and Germany in the 1930s. And very soon the "Federico Garcia Lorca's", the True Patriots and truthtellers, of this country and world will be "disappeared" and executed simply for criticizing the fascist regime and its complete madness.
I agree with the first
Mon, 02/15/2010 - 22:25 — Anonymous (not verified)I agree with the first statement of this article: Cheney is a sadist. But I do not believe him to be the Dr. Evil mastermind some make him out to be. I believe him to be an emotionally unstable man. The parallels between him and Nixon seem striking-perhaps no surprise since he was a Nixon staffer. Cheney is pretty obviously a legit paranoid, convinced that everyone is his enemy. And that couples with a sadistic, and even bloodthirsty streak. He believes everyone is his enemy, and he enjoys seeing his enemies get crushed and humiliated. And he seems to project a messiah complex-he believes that he has God on his side, and therefore he can never be wrong. Everyone else is always right, and if they refuse to acknowledge how right he is, then he will they are his enemy and he will take that same sadistic delight in watching them humiliated and suffer for it.
At times, it honestly frightens me that this man was able to aspire to a position of such obscene power and influence. And worse, that there are some who consider him a hero and continue to give him a platform on which to push his bizarre take on the world. I would say that the best thing to do would be to ignore him and he will go away, if I were not sure that he would just keep on talking for the sake of hearing himself.
If we needed any further
Mon, 02/15/2010 - 23:15 — Anonymous (not verified)If we needed any further proof that the United States is a seriously sick, psychotic, fearful, hysterical culture, here it is. May the whole country go to the devil and let the rest of the world try to repair the damage, not that there's much hope of that.
Cheney's crimes are evidence
Mon, 02/15/2010 - 23:21 — Jruss (not verified)Cheney's crimes are evidence of a general malaise hovering in the not-too-distant background of our nation's character. It's vindictive, sadistic and hubristic. The Iraq invasion was a lashing out, an act of blind rage in reaction to 9/11 and the torture, the killing of innocents will stain our nation's honor much as similar acts of other nations have in their recent pasts. An honest review of our national history of conquest, not only of Native Americans but of Filipinos, Haitians, and Asians reveals an eagerness to use the latest in weaponry to brutalize those considered "enemies" with only the sketchiest of evidence of their intent. The "collateral damage" is shrugged off as necessary to our survival. If we haven't reached the numerical mass murder numbers of Germany, the Soviet Union or Spain to name a few, we've certainly shown the world we have that capability and have eagerly and frequently sacrificed innocents to prove it. --JR
You all may be forgetting an
Mon, 02/15/2010 - 23:29 — Uppity Woman (not verified)You all may be forgetting an important consideration. About 75% of our people disapprove of the actions of our politicians, and contrary to the lies spread on TV, this is because we are a left of center nation. The people in the rest of the world know that roughly 3 out of 4 people in the USA hate the scoundrels in our government as much as anyone. If the truth were known, i suspect this statistic would hold up in other nations as well; we all have our own set of scoundrels. The poor people of the world are being exploited by a tiny minority of the worlds population, and these selfish and supremely arrogant people are sprinkled throughout all nations. We all know this, and we all know that we have nothing to fear from other poor people. What we need to do is find a way to impress a few racist, sexist, elitist, narcissists that they actually have something to fear from the rest of us if they do not straighten up and start working for the common good. This trend is building, and our politicians know what is coming. Why do we not have more faith in our own goodness? After all, the vast majority of people on the planet are peaceful and loving. Must we continue to believe lies about our brothers and sisters in other countries? Must we continue to distrust our neighbors, in spite of all evidence that we live surrounded by basically good, trustworthy people? Let's quit believing in fear mongering propaganda about how evil we are, and let's stop being afraid to see the goodness in ourselves and others.
Sorry, the post above was
Mon, 02/15/2010 - 23:37 — Uppity Woman (not verified)Sorry, the post above was meant for another column: Fear, with good reason elsewhere on TO.
I look forward to American
Mon, 02/15/2010 - 23:38 — Genessender (not verified)I look forward to American criminals of all stripes pointing out to judges that the US government's official policy is "to not relitigate the past," or even to litigate the past. Murdered someone? Raped a few people? Hey, it's all in the past! We Americans look forward, not backward!
Corporatism/fascism is on the march.
@uppity. You can find that
Mon, 02/15/2010 - 23:43 — Jason Leopold (not verified)@uppity. You can find that column
here http://www.truthout.org/fear-with-good-reason56861
Further evidence we have a
Mon, 02/15/2010 - 23:51 — plebe (not verified)Further evidence we have a One Party system, in which one hand washes the other, and they do a little dance, and mock fight, and divide the spoils and play their parts.
They do not represent the People or the Constitution in failing to hold criminals accountable, starting with those who have caused the most deaths and suffering worldwide: Cheney and Bush and their ilk.
Corporate rule personified.
don't apologize Uppity, your
Tue, 02/16/2010 - 00:06 — Anonymous (not verified)don't apologize Uppity, your comment works well here too.
Jason, please keep up the
Tue, 02/16/2010 - 04:10 — Philip (not verified)Jason, please keep up the good work. You are a true Journalist exposing the truth. Thank you so much. If I can ever help, just let me know.
It maybe time to head for
Tue, 02/16/2010 - 08:32 — Anonymous (not verified)It maybe time to head for the exits - where to go though - New Zealand?
The shotgun-meister should
Tue, 02/16/2010 - 08:42 — cheaptalker (not verified)The shotgun-meister should stay in his latest undisclosed location. The world could do without his playing politics with torture and DADT.
Dick Cheney, since the 2008
Tue, 02/16/2010 - 09:01 — hmmmm (not verified)Dick Cheney, since the 2008 Presidential election, has been the worst-behaved former executive I can ever remember. Why these news organizations continue to give him a bully pulpit is beyond me.
That being said, the headline for this article is egregiously over-the-top. He did not "admit to war crimes", since in his opinion he did not commit any war crimes. "Enhanced interrogation" was deemed under the Bush administration as within the rule of law. Secondly, I've seen various news reports that addressed his comments, and I didn't see one yawn. In fact, the Newshour on PBS had an extended segment discussing this very issue.
Don't get me wrong - I'm not trying to defend Mr. Cheney. I'm simply pointing out that the hyperbole in the headline (and some of the text as well) casts some dispersion on the credibility of the "journalist".
Both sides of the political debate in this country seem to have come to at least one agreement - that hyperbole is OK.
Thats what America does
Tue, 02/16/2010 - 09:05 — Bill Jones (not verified)Thats what America does best, turn the other cheek. No biggie. Business as usual.
Jerry
www.privacy-tools.de.tc
hmmmm By admitting torture,
Tue, 02/16/2010 - 09:47 — angryrat (not verified)hmmmm
By admitting torture, he does admit to war crimes. Torture is a war crime. You are essentially saying that in a theoretical case, by saying "I gave the order to wipe out all Jews" a former Nazi would not admit to war crimes. He does in so many words. Also the "preventive" war in Iraq is a war crime (crime against peace -ask poor Jodl). The sacking of Baghdad is a war crime. Using white phosphorus is a war crime. Indiscriminate killing of civilians is a war crime.
Cheney and Bush -as the "deciders" on top- are responsible for all.
hmmmmm, the Geneva
Tue, 02/16/2010 - 10:09 — Curt (not verified)hmmmmm, the Geneva Conventions are laws of the United States. Yoo did not write a "legal justification" for violating the law, he fabricated the appearance of justification who's validity was rejected by the Justice Department and most legal scholars. Cheney clearly said he endorsed torture, and torture is illegal under the Geneva Conventions (US law). The conclusion is simple logic that would be clear in any objective system of justice. And you claim that you're not trying to defend Mr. Cheney as you absolve him of heinous war crimes using logic even weaker than Yoo's?
The change in the OPR
Tue, 02/16/2010 - 10:37 — Rethinking (not verified)The change in the OPR finding will not protect these lawyers from bar investigations and potential discipline, including disbarment. The bars are well aware of the allegations and are in no way limited by the Justice Department's findings and conclusions. Several bars have disagreed with DOJ's characterization of lawyer misconduct and imposed greater disciplinary action on the lawyers involved.
You know as much as I hated
Tue, 02/16/2010 - 10:54 — tyler_durden (not verified)You know as much as I hated the last administration, at least you knew what they were about. Our new regime is more insidious because they got us all to believe in them, expect a turnaround, and it's back to worse than usual because we still get rousing speeches and empty promises.
Not one single thing of substance has improved since Obama came into office. Not one.
Neither party seems remotely interested in acting on the public's behalf and in fact the democrats are just an extension of the GOP in practice.
Obama and congress have shown us that we live in a one party system, in an authoritarian state dominated by money and influence. I am all done with the process, I have voted for the last time.
Bush,Cheney, Rice, Rumsfeld,
Tue, 02/16/2010 - 10:58 — Anonymous (not verified)Bush,Cheney, Rice, Rumsfeld, and all the other war criminals in the Bush administration are GUILTY of waging war, GUILTY of war crimes, GUILTY of crimes against humanity. All of these criminals should be indicted, tried, convicted, and lawfully executed according to the provisions of the War Crimes Act of 1996. President Obama, having continued the war making policies of the Bush administration, and having failed to allow the Justice Department to prosecute the Bush administration's war criminals, is now,HIMSELF, a war criminal and should be indicted, tried, convicted and lawfully executed for waging war, for war crimes, for crimes against humanity.
Good journalism, Mr.
Tue, 02/16/2010 - 11:32 — Anonymous (not verified)Good journalism, Mr. Leopold. How different the "mainstream" press is from the Watergate era. In those days, a reporter might have cornered Cheney about his statements. Not today's airheads.
you are all hypocrites.
Tue, 02/16/2010 - 12:00 — CHRIS O PER (not verified)you are all hypocrites.
what do you think? that he wants people tortured for fun?
if somebody had information that could save you or your families lives, you'd torture them yourself. and if you wouldn't; you're too weak to survive or protect anyone. (useless)
and as far as torture techniques go; water boarding is effective, physically HARMLESS. and causes only short-term psychological harm because it induces panic attacks.
i have a panic attack disorder. panic attacks are TERRIBLE. but only last seconds, though it seems like an eternity. but when its over; its OVER.
get over yourselves you bunch of bias idealists. this is the REAL WORLD. your idealist theories don't apply
My support for the Obama
Tue, 02/16/2010 - 12:06 — Anonymous (not verified)My support for the Obama administration started crumbling with this issue and has been deteriorating ever since. I can't express how profoundly disappointed and angry I am in the people who run this country.
Cheney led 9/11 attacks,
Tue, 02/16/2010 - 12:18 — Anonymous (not verified)Cheney led 9/11 attacks, this has been proven, at least two reliable witnesses implicate him in foreknowledge and command and control (it has now been proven beyond argument that 9/11 was an inside job).
If you think this is unbelievable or a step too far, I strongly suggest ignoring the mainstream media on 9/11 and reading the widely respected book "Debunking 9/11 Debunking" by Professor David Ray Griffin. It will almost certainly convince you. If it doesn't start researching into all the professional groups that have questioned the official story of 9/11, e.g. Architects for 9/11 Truth, Pilots for..., and so on, there are many.
9/11 was Cheney's biggest crime, alas America does not have the guts to face up to this awful truth.
CHRIS O PER, I agree! Who
Tue, 02/16/2010 - 12:27 — Anonymous (not verified)CHRIS O PER,
I agree! Who needs laws? Those Japanese soldiers should never have been prosecuted for torturing US troops during World War II, and the same goes for any of our troops in Iraq or Afghanistan, right? Let's all fly by the seat of our pants and let chaos rule the day!
It's too late for Obama to
Tue, 02/16/2010 - 12:36 — OldUncleDave (not verified)It's too late for Obama to prosecute Cheney et. al.
His actions have made him an accessory after the fact.
Europeans call it "blind in
Tue, 02/16/2010 - 13:21 — Anonymous (not verified)Europeans call it "blind in the right eye" - the ability of society in general to overlook the crimes, faults, failures of the right wing. It is like amnesia but on a societal scale.
How great it sounds: Dick
Tue, 02/16/2010 - 13:31 — Anonymous (not verified)How great it sounds: Dick Cheney, you are under arrest.
This is just another
Tue, 02/16/2010 - 14:04 — Anonymous (not verified)This is just another entertainment show, styled in line of Limbaugh’s, Beck’s and others. Basically we have two parties who agree that they disagree on how to conduct the same practice and continue the legacy of the former administration. This is just to massage the people. People will soon accept that it was perfectly legal to do it. It’s so openly “debated” as a normal procedure. No mention of any illegality, whatsoever. So people will accept it as normal. This administration became an accomplice, “legalizing” the use of this and other questionable practices, when it didn’t recommend disciplinary action against John Yoo and Jay Bybee. Cheney feels free to say anything he wants, he is safe and protected. And, in his own words to all of us, “F** yourself”. We are used to the retro-rhetoric, straight talk-opposite decisions of this administration. It’s already said in the article “This administration is shielding Bush administration officials from civil liability, criminal investigation and even public scrutiny for their role in authorizing torture."
The saddest aspect of all
Tue, 02/16/2010 - 14:16 — Melani (not verified)The saddest aspect of all this for me is that this opens the door to those of our own- serving in the military, to be savaged by others without legal or moral recourse... at one time such a threat to our own, would never have been considered or allowed... but now one fears that is no longer a concern to our "leaders". We don't take care of our vets when they come home adequately ...so a little torture here and there on foreign fields might be the price they have to pay to have the privilege of serving?
What a world we have wrought with our militarism and march toward empire - Torture is WRONG and will breed Hate in posterity... Cheney must answer and be penalized for defying and denigrating law and humanity in the name of conquest.
Chris o per, to follow your
Tue, 02/16/2010 - 14:45 — Concerned (not verified)Chris o per, to follow your logic, you need to also ask what if it was a member of your family who was being tortured for information they did not have?
You make an emotional argument that carries little weight. Naturally, people would go to extreme measures to protect a loved one ... but I would hope that the United States would conduct itself in a more leveled and responsible fashion than a person acting out of blind fear to an imagined threat to their loved ones. Emotional responses breed irreparable mistakes.
This reminds me of the argument that people make to justify capital punishment, saying "you'd feel differently if someone killed a member of your family." Yeah, obviously. I want to beat to death people who are rude to my mother in restaurants, which is why victims and their families aren't responsible for setting punishments and an impartial judge or jury has that task.
At a certain point, you can't justify conduct towards an aggressor solely framed by how it protects an innocent. You need to look past that and consider the social costs of becoming a country that not only condones torture, but expects international respect when we chastise other countries for the exact same conduct.
I admire your passion for your country and the lengths you'd go to protecting it, but what you endorse is catastrophic for the rest of the world and for our children.
This is slightly off topic,
Tue, 02/16/2010 - 15:32 — Lawrence Seib (not verified)This is slightly off topic, but all Cheney’s talk about we should be treating this like war, not like a crime is utter bull feces. If in fact we are at war with terrorists, then just because they kill us does not make them guilty of anything. Just like we released most German and Japanese prisoners after the war. Only those who commit crimes against humanity were prosecuted as war criminals, and they were prosecuted in international court.
Yes, Obama is protecting
Tue, 02/16/2010 - 15:32 — Anonymous (not verified)Yes, Obama is protecting Cheney and Bush, and letting the same techniques go on. There is one rule left in politics that will not be broken ever: you do not go after a previous administration, after the fact. That is the one rule still left standing. Even the don't go after the President's family has been crossed. So yes, Obama is protecting the last administration, because that is essentially part of his oath as President-unspoken. The reason that is the case, is because if we started doing that, where would it end? How far back do we go?
Where are the Tea Bag 'human
Tue, 02/16/2010 - 15:34 — Anonymous (not verified)Where are the Tea Bag 'human righters' when you need them?
In the beginning of Barak
Tue, 02/16/2010 - 16:56 — Bill M (not verified)In the beginning of Barak Obama's administration, it appeared that it was going to be George W. Bush's third term.
Now it is clear -- Obama is Bush on steroids.
Just before taking office,
Tue, 02/16/2010 - 17:02 — Silver Heels (not verified)Just before taking office, Barak Obama was asked what books he had been reading in preparation. He said he had been reading a lot about and by Abraham Lincoln.
I fear that Obama took Lincoln's approach to internal conflict too much to heart. Toward the end of the Civil War, Lincoln made it clear the need for the country to heal, the need to not engage in blame, recriminations, or revenge, but to move forward in rebuilding the nation.
Then Abraham Lincoln was shot in the head, from behind, while watching a play with his wife. This is what he got for his charity--murdered by John Wilkes Booth, in an act by a person who can basically be reduced to the description of a "sore loser." Yes, a sore loser. And what did Booth shout as he jumped down to the stage? "Sic semper tyrannus!!" "Thus always for tyrants!"
We are dealing with the same mindset here. The right sees Obama as a socialist/fascist (a pretty neat trick) and openly calls him such. Glenn Beck actually publicly states that Obama "hates whites" and is a racist. The Republicans propose legislative initiatives for financial accountability and/or health care, and then when Obama agrees they vote against their own initiatives. Cheney will not shut up, and continues to try to undermine the current administration with his gross, offhand obnoxiousness. Antonin Scalia scoffs at those who question the Supreme Court decision in the 2000 election by saying "Get over it" and "...the result would have been the same anyway;" then, on the same 60 Minutes program, when asked about the torture controversy, he wonders aloud, "...well, what exactly is punishment? What does punishment mean? I am not at all sure." A congressman actually shouts "You lie!" during a presidential address.
Obama, for whatever reasons, is trying to negotiate with those for whom compromise is not an option. They are a veritable nest of John Wilkes Booth wannabees. It is futile to try to accommodate them in any way shape or form. The only thing they sanction and offer is obstinacy, even brute force--except when they are on the receiving end, then it is a matter of gross injustice.
You have to give Booth credit. When he was trapped in a barn by federal agents, he refused to surrender, choosing instead to die. Do you think our current crop of Booths will follow suit? No. Narcissists are cowards--sociopaths, but cowards none the less, and they exist to maintain their self-delusion. Let them filibuster; let them blather; let them make their money.
But, do not let anyone flout the law as they do. This administration must realize it is in another war, a civil war. We had best fight it through the justice system before it gets totally out of hand.
Get over it. Get on with
Tue, 02/16/2010 - 17:31 — Anonymous (not verified)Get over it.
Get on with your life. Focus on something more productive.
All you people fulminating
Tue, 02/16/2010 - 17:51 — Anonymous (not verified)All you people fulminating about war crimes make me sick! What about the jihadis? They live (and die) to do war crimes! And the Geneva Conventions do not apply to them.
Got an e-mail about Jobs in
Tue, 02/16/2010 - 17:52 — Oliver (not verified)Got an e-mail about Jobs in Europe and Australia, I think it might just be time to get out!
If you are not outraged you are not listening!
If we are unwilling to
Tue, 02/16/2010 - 18:02 — Vival (not verified)If we are unwilling to prosecute Cheney and Bush and the whole Administration and all the Bush Judges as criminals, why do we even bother talking about "law" as an organizing principle? Let's just go back to the "old West" and find an American John Wayne to get rid of them.
Good distraction. It’s
Tue, 02/16/2010 - 18:04 — Anonymous (not verified)Good distraction. It’s pure Hollywood. Cheney vs. Biden in a match with no time limit and no referee. No more health care reform, no more protection of consumers, no more regulating the big banks. Big media is happy; they have a free reality show. All the above comments agree. Former and current administrations are on the same path. Obama has extended and the Congress has approved laws and “legal” interpretations for twisting the law. Promised investigations are forgotten. Congress and this administration keep pumping trillion for the same goal pursued by the former administration. It is just “bipartisanship” at work. And it works.
C.I.A. officers and
Tue, 02/16/2010 - 18:29 — bary (not verified)C.I.A. officers and contractors "who've done what we asked them to do" are no more innocent than were Nazi officers who were "just following orders". We sat in judgement of them at Nuremburg, and we hanged more than a few of them.
keep voting . . . keep
Tue, 02/16/2010 - 18:32 — Tending to be Anonymous (not verified)keep voting . . . keep sending in those letters, making those "calls to action", those calls of demands and outrage to your "representatives" -- including the latest "gift": emails to the palace, some of which might even be read, we are told, by the current chief mouthpiece . . . continue signing those website petitions and punching "return" . . . keep hoping (def. expecting certain outcomes from events over which one has no agency) . . .
who knows? maybe it will bring "change"!
until then, feel free to roam around and bellow in the feed lot -- and keep voting!
If you were a male
Tue, 02/16/2010 - 18:41 — Robert Flynn (not verified)If you were a male impersonator like Bush and Cheney wouldn't torture make you feel , well, more like a man? Imagine watching another man losing bladder and anal control and soiling himself. Wouldn't that make you feel powerful, I mean if you lacked cojones? Members of congress were allowed to view the censored photographs of torture from Abu Grahib but few could stomach more than a few minutes. Yet, none of them were upset enough to defend the Constitution and the Geneva Convention and impeach Bush and Cheney and begin the process of prosecuting them for international crimes.
A yoga teacher of mine said
Tue, 02/16/2010 - 18:47 — Shepherdess (not verified)A yoga teacher of mine said to ask ourselves, how can we approach this so that we do not create more suffering ?
If we all ask that question enough we won't have to have any policies on torture.
The world will become sane again.
Nobody has anything to gain by torture.
Invite the people who are hate-bombs to live in a kinder world. They might say yes. Keep our voices earnest, honest, and leaving space for a response.
Nothing regarding Cheney is
Tue, 02/16/2010 - 19:04 — Anonymous (not verified)Nothing regarding Cheney is surprising - the awful truth might be that 9/11 was an inside job.
Cheney wants to be
Tue, 02/16/2010 - 19:07 — S.O.Teric (not verified)Cheney wants to be prosecuted? OK, why? Because if he gets prosecuted now the right-wing SCOTUS will acquit him! Consider that it looks like collusion with the previous administration, but it's more realistic [not idealistic] to take into account the likely 5-4 decision. Just a theory, but Obama and Holder are bidding their time.
Obama turns the other cheek.
Tue, 02/16/2010 - 19:34 — Carol L. (not verified)Obama turns the other cheek.
When Obama ran for President, I believed he was too inexperienced and not strong enough to do what needed to be done.
I was a Hillary supporter, outraged by her treatment by the DNC and the media.
Guess what? The Hillary supporters were right. The male dominated media and the DNC had their way and look what its brought the country.
We simply don't have the strong leadership we need to turn the damage done to this country around.
Time to button down and take
Tue, 02/16/2010 - 19:51 — Anonymous (not verified)Time to button down and take care of the people you love and to hell with government. Because those governing do not care a twit about you or your loved ones. Neither do their thoughts, words or deeds represent most of you.
Drop out. Do your own thing. Get off the grid. Stop paying taxes. Stop supporting Wall Street. Get to know your neighbors. Share, barter, trade and take your money in cash.
I'd rather be righteous in the eyes of God and to my conscience than continue to support an entity that has fallen so far. We tried in '04. We tried in '08. Never knowing that we lost it decades ago.
@Philip 14:10 thank you so
Tue, 02/16/2010 - 19:55 — Jason Leopold (not verified)@Philip 14:10 thank you so much for the kind words. Appreciate that very much. You, and other truthout readers, can reach me at jason@truthout.org if you ever have questions or would like to contact me personally.
Just when I think it is once
Tue, 02/16/2010 - 20:10 — Anonymous (not verified)Just when I think it is once again safe to take pride in being an American, Dick Cheney rears his ugly head (and I'm not talking about physical appearance). The Bush regime had no shame in it's systematic destruction of the Constitution and the degredation of American honor. The perpetrators of the heinous acts committed in the name of the United States are still crowing about it!!!!
Man, it makes me so angry!
And, just as bad (okay, almost as bad) is the administration I volunteered untold hours helping to get elected once again lets the American people down.
When will Pres. Obama wake up and start doing what the people who elected him want him to do? Lately, I've come to the realization that the Obama administration is simply conducting business as usual.
All of it makes me sick to the very fiber of my being.
Dick Cheney does not deserve
Tue, 02/16/2010 - 20:12 — Anonymous (not verified)Dick Cheney does not deserve to call himself an American! Not a Real American who believes in the rule of law, and a Constitution that has checks and balances. Why this man continues to walk free is beyond my comprehension.
Well, this proves it. We're
Tue, 02/16/2010 - 20:13 — Anonymous (not verified)Well, this proves it. We're proudly a Not See nation. Did Cheney torture, we didn't see it. Break the law? Nope. We didn't see the past. Just keep moving and not see anything. Just like good little fascists. That's us. We are torturers, and some of us enjoy it for the entertainment value. The rest are Not Sees.
Any cop in America has the
Tue, 02/16/2010 - 20:34 — Anonymous (not verified)Any cop in America has the authority (and responsibility) to walk up to Cheney and slap the cuffs on him. Take him to the station. Charge him with the crimes and the system begins to work.
That's how you do it.
Cheney, Bush and number of
Tue, 02/16/2010 - 20:39 — Anonymous (not verified)Cheney, Bush and number of former US officials should be indicted by the International Criminal Court of a multitude of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The court should issue international arrest warrants and demand their extradition to the Hague for proper trial.
Then Obama can shyt or get off the pot.
Cheney puts out soldiers in
Tue, 02/16/2010 - 20:47 — Anonymous (not verified)Cheney puts out soldiers in increased danger. He's had a heart plug installed just like Ken Lay for when the Law comes calling.
The masses still don't get
Tue, 02/16/2010 - 20:51 — Eric Rogers (not verified)The masses still don't get it. The vast majority still have jobs that pay the bills and make them feel secure. They still vote according to the information they get from 30 second TV commercials. They are still afraid of the bogyman the authorities tell them to be fear and depend on those authorities to protect them. And as long as it remains this way the masses won't demand that the system change. And as long as the masses don't demand change we won't get it. What are you doing to change things? I'm pushing for a Constitutional amendment to take all private money out of politics. Please help me get a massive grass roots movement going to do that.
“.. a Spanish judge opened
Tue, 02/16/2010 - 20:53 — Anonymous (not verified)“.. a Spanish judge opened a formal criminal investigation of Bybee and Yoo in January for their role in authorizing torture tactics at the detention center at Guantánamo Bay. The judge, Baltasar Garzón, indicted Gen. Augusto Pinochet in 1998 for, among other things, authorizing torture while serving as Chile's self-appointed president, so he's shown himself unafraid to call torture something more than "poor judgment." (See Davis Cole, The Nation, February 11 2010) . “As President Reagan explained when the United States signed on to the Convention Against Torture in 1988: "The core provisions of the Convention establish a regime for international cooperation in the criminal prosecution of torturers relying on so-called 'universal jurisdiction.' Each State Party is required either to prosecute torturers who are found in its territory or to extradite them to other countries for prosecution."(Ibid.). Maybe something will happen, one never knows.
Prosecute the bastard!
Tue, 02/16/2010 - 21:15 — Anonymous (not verified)Prosecute the bastard!
Interesting, isn't it, how
Tue, 02/16/2010 - 21:24 — Paul W (not verified)Interesting, isn't it, how many of the comments on Jason's column defend this outrage. I'm sure the same kind of language of 'liberal' extremism was used in Nazi Germany, as the horrors began to emerge.
Anything is justified, when the 'enemy' is non-white, yeah? Evil, horrendous Muslim terrorists, who had the nerve to strike on American soil. Human beings, deserving of the same treatment we'd expect them to give U.S. soldiers? Never.
Torture is too good for them, right, Uppity Woman? And so the U.S. slides down the slippery slope, into a real dark age. An age where a sitting President can turn both his blind eyes to abominations like Cheney, Yoo and Feist etc.
There are only two true Terrorist states in the world today. They are not, I repeat, not North Korea and Iran. They are Israel and the United States. Israel is turning into a carbon copy of Germany in the 1930's, and the U.S.? Terrorizing other nations, torturing and murdering innocent civilians wherever they wage their so-called "War on Terror". And terrorizing their own citizen into accepting outrages that are the antithesis of what America is supposed to stand for, but never has.
Strange how it's left up to other nations to point all this out, as 1:53 says of Spain.
And yet people wander around the United States, wringing their hands and saying in plaintive voices: "Why does the world hate us so much? It must be because they hate Freedom, Justice and Democracy!"
Well, no folks, it's not Freedom, Justice and Democracy they hate, it's Hypocrisy with a capital H.
Wake up and smell the coffee, America. Your day is over. It may take a while to wind down; but you've completely lost it at this point.
And those who have enough foresight to see it all coming, the total breakdown, that is, are heaving a sigh of relief, and saying: "Speed the day, please God." Because the American people have fallen asleep at the wheel. They are no longer on guard to defend the moral order of the world. They are determined to break it down, and to support all those animals like Cheney and the rest, who defend their own evil with their own "U.S. Exceptionalism".
This article is too long.
Tue, 02/16/2010 - 21:35 — Anonymous (not verified)This article is too long. You should try to be more succinct.
Now the media...which has
Tue, 02/16/2010 - 21:49 — Anonymous (not verified)Now the media...which has failed America on all points...ever since Bush Senior "embedded them with the troops in Desert Storm...is proclaiming that the party of Cheney and torture is about to be re-elected to power.
Let me warn you...that's the scary part!
Everyone posting here should
Tue, 02/16/2010 - 21:56 — Anonymous (not verified)Everyone posting here should write to the International Criminal Court and demand the indictment of Bush/Cheney and their gang for a multitude of war crimes, crimes against humanity and treaty violations etc...
http://www.icc-cpi.int/Menus/ICC
The International Red Cross (the ICC's star witness in every case) long ago declared USA war crimes in Afghanistan, Iraq, Guantanamo Bay and a variety of other places.
Ahh, Dicky Chumley. Is there
Tue, 02/16/2010 - 22:13 — Wade (not verified)Ahh, Dicky Chumley. Is there not ONE man in this country with the stones to stand up to this indescribably evil and corrupt dirtbag and call him out to his face, that he was (and apparently still thinks he is) America's premier Mobster VP and Halliburton Whoredog/War profiteer extraordinaire? I mean... how much more blatant can you get than to have the corporation you were once a VP with, and still had/has ties to, profit not only handsomely but obscenely in setting up the Iraq war theater, demolishing substantial parts of the country during the fight, and then continue to profit in rebuilding it? How much do you suppose Dicky Chumley has pocketed personally from his Halliburton ties? This whole thing of his pride at his moral bankruptcy, of rubbing it in our noses that he has glorified and enabled widespread torture, how can we let him get away with this? Are his ties to the Corporatocracy (the REAL rulers of our country and the globe) so deep that he knows he can say or do anything he wants, because his corporate mobsters, goons and thugs will shield him? How about we send Dicky and his whole disgusting family to one of the CIA-run Rendition Country Clubs for some Spa treatments? Let's waterboard the whole Cheney clan, and Yoo and Addington and all their cohorts, and see how smug they are afterwards. Rotten s.o.b.'s, all of them.
He's not on trial for
Tue, 02/16/2010 - 22:31 — Carrie (not verified)He's not on trial for treason, why? Is there a possibility of The Hague?
omg... you conspiracy guys
Tue, 02/16/2010 - 22:34 — Anonymous (not verified)omg... you conspiracy guys are out there brilliant.
How very entertaining I must bookmark this and come back for more.
Get on with your lives you little trolls.
Please read "the Guantanamo
Tue, 02/16/2010 - 23:04 — Will Candler (not verified)Please read "the Guantanamo 'Suicides'" in March, 2010 Harper's or at http://harpers.org/archive/2010/01/hbc-90006368
It tells of three men bought for $5,000 under the bounty scheme in Pakistan and then held in Guantanamo for four years before being murdered by water boarding. The evidence is quite clear, but no one has yet been prosecuted.
I cannot believe that given the Harper's article the administration will be able to continue the cover up..... that now includes the Obama administration.
conspiracy guys: Yeah you
Tue, 02/16/2010 - 23:07 — Anonymous (not verified)conspiracy guys:
Yeah you were probably squealing like a stuck pig that Clinton didn't get convicted and removed for lying about a consensual blojob.
Here are murders, torturers, liars and war criminals running around bragging about their crimes in public.
We are not theorists.
To paraphrase Mark Twain,
Tue, 02/16/2010 - 23:25 — Anonymous (not verified)To paraphrase Mark Twain, "the media is a ass."
they paint Hitler mustaches
Tue, 02/16/2010 - 23:47 — Anonymous (not verified)they paint Hitler mustaches on Obama's pictures while Cheney admits to war crimes and this is OK?
and the Neo-Cons assume the democrats are the fascists?
when will the right wing [aka democrats] and the far-right wing [aka republicans] ever aspire to be there own monsters without having to look to other global monsters to emulate?
WE, CITIZENS OF THE WORLD,
Tue, 02/16/2010 - 23:51 — JASPER Friendlybear (not verified)WE, CITIZENS OF THE WORLD, ARE CATTLE! OUR POLITICAL LEADERS WELL REWARDED JUDAS GOATS,
WITH GUARANTEED IMMUNITY! CALL IT FASCISM, GLOBALISM OR "BOTTOM LINE DEMOCRACY" WHICH EVER, BUT IT IS ALIVE AND WELL! ..... for now....
Right-on, "Paul W", etc.!
Wed, 02/17/2010 - 00:29 — S. Wolf Britain (not verified)Right-on, "Paul W", etc.!
I may just be me but this
Wed, 02/17/2010 - 00:37 — Anonymous (not verified)I may just be me but this honestly does not bother me. I look at it like this, we were at war, granted not for all the right reasons but nonetheless we were at war. In my opinion when it comes to war, all is fair and there are no rules in war. That may sound harsh but war is just that it's WAR. If we captured these people during war, in my opinion, they don't deserve to be treated like your next door neighbor. Call me inhumane but that is my opinion. And to the people that may ask "so if our soldiers get captured you think it's fine that they be tortured or treated this way?" And my response to that would be of course I don't want that to happen but do you honestly think they wouldn't do this to one of our captured soldiers. I'll ask you this, if they captured you do you honestly think they are going to treat you humanely? Do you really think they are going to care if you die from their doing?
And to all the people screaming about how corrupt Dick Chaney is, you make me laugh, do I think he is corrupt? Of course. The funny part is the way you talk is as if this world and our country wasn't corrupt before all of this. And you act as though this is the first time the government has done such thingss. Or you act as though Chaney is the anti-christ. You people are ridiculous it has always been this way and it more than likely always will be because money is the root of just about all evil and money runs this world.
The Bush administration
Wed, 02/17/2010 - 00:39 — Paul Kotta (not verified)The Bush administration needed to torture: To buy more time to rob the Treasury, Bush and Cheney needed to torture people into confessing to crimes they didn't commit so the administration to offer them up to the American public as "proof" that they were defending us from evildoers.
This short poem seems to fit
Wed, 02/17/2010 - 00:57 — Richard Placone (not verified)This short poem seems to fit the situation as well as many of the comments posted here:
O what a tangled web we weave
When first we practice to deceive!
But when we've practiced quite awhile
How vastly we improve our style.
J. R. Pope
YES, Paul Kotta, EXACTLY!!!!!
Wed, 02/17/2010 - 01:01 — S. Wolf Britain (not verified)YES, Paul Kotta, EXACTLY!!!!!
"The US has long treated
Wed, 02/17/2010 - 02:47 — Giovanna Lepore (not verified)"The US has long treated waterboarding as a war crime"-- it would be far better if the US treated WAR as the crime but in order to do so it would have to look in the mirror of its history. Any chance of that?
No, Giovanna, there is no
Wed, 02/17/2010 - 04:36 — S. Wolf Britain (not verified)No, Giovanna, there is no chance of that. War is too profitable. And I'm not just talking about monetarily. It is also profitable for its use in bringing about totalitarian, dictatorial control of previously free countries, now including the U.S. itself. The present wars and the global "War (OF!) Terrorism" are aiding the globalists immensely in turning the U.S. and entire world into a fascist police state under the "New World Order (NWO)" and one-world government. So, you see, it is extremely profitable in more ways than one, as they get away with sodomizing all of us without any lubricant.
It's very sad to see so many
Wed, 02/17/2010 - 09:03 — Curt (not verified)It's very sad to see so many Americans descended into uncivilized brutality and/or defending it, but indeed we have a long history of same. We called Native Americans savages, and wiped them out by hook and by crook, and looked at what we did, and said "we are good". Once we had our lands "secured" we stretched out to the rest of the world and did the same, first the other lands in the Western Hemisphere and the Philippines (and other Pacific Rim countries) then the entire planet, killing as we pleased and without remorse, and looked at what we did and said "we are good".
Then we lost some 3000 people in an attack on us (perhaps in a way a small price to pay for the hundreds of thousands dead at our hands) and we said "we are good" and it was an excuse to murder more tens of thousands, to even more than a million, while in utterly willful ignorance we ask "Why do they hate us?"
For me, I know why they hate us, and I don't blame them one bit, we deserve the hatred, we deserve exactly what we get. We will not get it from the world though, we will get it from our own government, those same monsters that some here defend. Indeed it's already started, while they tell us the recovery is going well there are more and more without employment and starving while our "leaders" plunder us, and when no country will lend us any more cash for our wars and our economy collapses the elite will have their armies and their mercenaries attack the only place they will be able to afford to attack, America. And then we will look at it, and will we say "We are good?"
The perfect solution would
Wed, 02/17/2010 - 09:29 — greg (not verified)The perfect solution would be to make Cheney a candidate for extraordinary rendition, another misguided Bush-era policy. Whisk him away under the cover of darkness to a country that will prosecute him. Then retire the practice all together.
Remember the "Impeach
Wed, 02/17/2010 - 10:41 — granny (not verified)Remember the "Impeach Bush/Cheney" semi-movement? Remember the outrage over torture?
It's NOT too late to bring the criminals to justice. It'a not too late. Mad men like Mussolini and HItler were taken down. Mad men like Cheney and Rumsfeld and Rice, aided and abetted by their little dupe Georgie, need to be taken down. If Madoff could be punished, why not people who did even more awful stuff?
How take Cheney down? All the media should agree to totally ignore any more of his rants, keep him off the air, let him rot in silence until he dies in prison. And maybe Liz could join him for a moment or two.
I'm putting this at the
Wed, 02/17/2010 - 13:00 — wikiBuddha (not verified)I'm putting this at the start, because I think this is the one thing that could actually make a difference. Below, I just rant and blow a bunch of smoke.
So, what's the big idea? We need to reform [our sense of] the economy. I've never understood the fascination with or devotion to the economy (read stock market). I'm often given the feeling that the economy is something of a religion. However, there are many problems with the economy, perhaps mostly because it is limited to finances. This is breeding greed.
Wee need to add some indexes to our economy. There should be the financial economy, but there should also be a volunteerism economy. We should track how much value is being created for no money (or profit). Perhaps we should have an infrastructure economy. This could help us make decisions on policy affecting the quality of our various infrastructures. The most difficult economy to track would be the love or happiness economy. This is the economy that we truly need to work for. Money does not particularly correlate with happiness (although it seems to up to a certain point). Each year, we could file an H-45 form, rating our happiness. And we need to give this happiness economy the greatest weight.
I honestly wish the big banks got no bailout. The auto industry deserved no bailout either. I'm surprised Hollywood or the RIAA haven't received bailouts. I would have like to have seen things fail. So what if the country on whole crumbled. Are you that afraid of it yourself? Can't you see that that's what we need? We need things to fall apart, to break. I had waited for this time, when the greed would be redeemed. When living beyond our means (societally) would finally manifest its affect. The bankers (largely to blame) would have been hurt the worst of all. I'm so disappointed in this country. Crime really does pay. The law is so selectively applied, it is ridiculous. This is why I perceive a distinction of classes between government and governed.
I'm disturbed. I'm seeking a solution. We can't just point fingers. I don't have solid evidence to point in any one direction, however there is evidence all over the place pointing up the American political ladder. While I believe in holding people to be innocent until proven guilty, there are a great number of government employees that would do well to spend some time in jail until a proper trail and investigation has been conducted.
If only I had substantial evidence, I would bring this case to trial myself.
I'm really wondering what the future holds, esp. in terms of US government. I see the government growing substantially. I, to some degree, recognize a class separation, between government and governed. It seems to be that most elected officials are solidly corrupt (~90%).
I think we need to reconsider who we are electing. I don't necessarily support term limits for congress, but I think there are financial requirements for running for office, which should be disbanded. I should only need a certain number of signatures to run for office.
While I increasingly consider violent solutions to the problems we're faced with, in theory killing all the guilty parties involved with torture and treason won't necessarily solve the problems. You see, you can kill people, but you can't kill ideas.
I think we need to hold news outlets accountable for their reporting. I've started calling out poll figures. I tend to hate polls. It's like 500 people are asked how they feel about something and based on that, there's an assumption that the group polled somehow represents the whole nation or state. They need to stop saying "in a recent poll, it was shown that 60% of American's support ..." where it should read "in a recent poll, it was shown that 60% of the 500 respondents feel..."
I would encourage any of you who have never been contacted by a politician, to write them constantly to ask how they can claim to be your representative when they have never once asked your opinion on a subject.
You would think that if politicians wanted to overhaul a national policy which has the potential to affect each citizen, that each politician would be expected to send a letter to their constituents asking for their opinion on what should be included in such a bill. I see no reason for this not to be happening, with the exception of some military decisions, most decisions don't need to be made immediately.
Also, with the current accessibility to communication, the cost of receiving feedback from your represented people is not costly. I would be happy to have my taxes pay for postage to keep me up to date on the issues. How do my taxes fail to support my political awareness? Why do we have to form groups with enough money and power to effectively affect change?
That's why our country was set up this way. Town hall meetings are BS. Only the unemployed and retired can make most of them. The first and last town hall meeting I heard of, wasn't announced until the day before.
Hopefully Dick’O will keep
Wed, 02/17/2010 - 13:04 — Hempwinch (not verified)Hopefully Dick’O will keep talk’n. Dick, what’s this about you give’n the orders to ”stand down” on 9/11?
I am beyond sick and tired
Wed, 02/17/2010 - 13:31 — Floresta (not verified)I am beyond sick and tired of seeing and hearing this total ass constantly in the MSM.
Dick Cheney, you are not in power any more!!! and should be behind bars in federal prison. That nothing is done to justly prosecute this cretin baffles the mind.
Thanks, however, for giving us the info to do just that...
Thanks Jason Leopold for the
Wed, 02/17/2010 - 13:39 — michael (not verified)Thanks Jason Leopold for the reporting, we need it more than ever now. Cheney is part of the corporate elite who "own" Congress, and as such our government, and it seems to be getting worse. Obama is slowing the progress of decay, not because he is a good person or is genuinely concerned about America and it's people, but because many Democrat appointees and clerks are renewed in their energy to bring America back from the edge of the abyss. Obama, and the White House, seem to be the prime obstacle to justice in many cases: the torture memos, conspiracy to commit war crimes by Bush-Cheney, illegal use of white phosphorus in Fallujah, the forged yellowcake memo, illegal domestic spying, denial of human rights to people incarcerated in the so-called "war on terror", murder of people detained with no charges against them, and so many others. Let's just hope Britain is able to prosecute Tony Blair for his weak-spined collusion with BushCo. It needs to lead to further legal action of the previous fascistic, authoritarian-styled Bush government.
Cheney is neither a sadist
Wed, 02/17/2010 - 14:16 — David Marks (not verified)Cheney is neither a sadist nor emotionally unbalanced. Rather, he, like so many others, follows a line of logic to its end. In some ways, I can understand what I think is their reasoning: to protect American lives and our way of life. However, too many times, if one digs deep enough, there are other considerations for these people, like personal business interests or a history of power seeking, or violence. But this is only half the story, the other half is the lack of interest and action on the part of those now in power who can do something about this. Obama should take the lead and direct some kind of investigation into these atrocities, or he is not upholding his oath of office, which is to protect and defend the Constitution. Or maybe this is not just an American problem, but a human problem: we are a stiff necked and lawless species. But that doesn't mean we can't get better, and do something about it.
Perhaps in days to come,
Wed, 02/17/2010 - 16:51 — An Outsider's View (not verified)Perhaps in days to come, when the Chinese own America, as a show of good faith to the world they will allow the UN to put the former administrations on trial. Germans are still tried for war crimes committed 60 years ago, albeit less frequently these days.
We can live in hope that a foreign government will do what the American government won't.
And to think I was upset that only American citizens were allowed to donate to Obama's election campaign. Not any more.
David, if you truly believe
Wed, 02/17/2010 - 21:28 — Curt (not verified)David, if you truly believe "to protect American lives and our way of life" you are being conned by the propaganda. Richard Cheney has never shown the slightest sign of caring about either of these things as we would define the terms- although he may have used the words at some time they would, from his mouth, be only a lie to cover up his entirely selfish and self-serving ends. The "our way of life" is the life of the elites, riding upon your back and stealing the "fruits of your labor". Read the deeds, not the words.
One problem all you little
Wed, 02/17/2010 - 23:49 — Dr. Mj (not verified)One problem all you little gerbils have is - waterboarding is NOT TORTURE. May you be the the first to suffer beheading in the new Islamic world
The one thing you are all
Thu, 02/18/2010 - 00:57 — Intrepid (not verified)The one thing you are all overlooking--and have continued to overlook--is the simple fact that all of these Minions of Madness have had an agenda in everything they do.
Do you seriously think that Cheney is making the admissions out of a sense of conscience? or just unbridled arrogance? Whatever his motives, you can be sure they are equally as invidious as everything else he does.
Do you seriously think that Obama is different in any way? All of these vermin are part of the same elite that have gradually taken over this planet; and they are not from any one country. They are global fascists and their motives have never changed.
The whole purpose of these admissions is to divert attention from their culpability in 9/11, so that you won't notice that we are--literally--taking over the world.
"Dr. Mj", it is a very well
Thu, 02/18/2010 - 01:15 — S. Wolf Britain (not verified)"Dr. Mj", it is a very well documented, known FACT that waterboarding IS a form of torture, Nimrod, both in U.S. and international law; so please, liar, take your ignorance and lies someplace else! (This is a figure of speech, for all of you other Nimrods; I am NOT trying to take away his or her, or anyone else's, freedom of speech here!)
Dr. Mj "waterboarding is NOT
Thu, 02/18/2010 - 01:25 — SleepDirt (not verified)Dr. Mj
"waterboarding is NOT TORTURE"
Really?
In a further embarrassment for Mr Bush yesterday, Malcolm Nance, an advisor on terrorism to the US departments of Homeland Security, Special Operations and Intelligence, publicly denounced the practice. He revealed that waterboarding is used in training at the US Navy's Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape School in San Diego, and claimed to have witnessed and supervised "hundreds" of waterboarding exercises. Although these last only a few minutes and take place under medical supervision, he concluded that "waterboarding is a torture technique – period".
Utter nonsense, David Marks.
Thu, 02/18/2010 - 01:31 — Hempwinch (not verified)Utter nonsense, David Marks. American way of life? You mean the fat piggly wiggly way of life, that most Americans El Dick'O included feel is owed to them by such Noble principles as "Manifest Destiny"?
Puulleease, that is either dry satire, or the rantings of a Fox hypnotized zombie. Then for you to go on and criticize the current administration, as if you are the all knowing, all seeing.... no, your head is thrust too deeply in the sand.
Look if the current administration made a move, say to prosecute Cheney and others, what do you think would happen? Even if Obama was to say, bring the troops home (which he should) how long would he remain in office? Can you say Daly Plaza?
Patience, my dear boy, Patience
Obama was not (s)elected to
Thu, 02/18/2010 - 02:03 — Jack B. Nimble (not verified)Obama was not (s)elected to unclench the iron fist but to repair the velvet glove.
Hempwinch..well
Thu, 02/18/2010 - 11:22 — Max Immelmann (not verified)Hempwinch..well said..exactly..you got your finger on the pulse :)
Everyone is missing the point about Obama's..won't prosecute Cheney and co...the real reason.is he CAN"T..not if he doesn't want his children and wife anthraxed and his head blown off "by some errant white extremist"..and I am not referring to the white extremist as the threat either.. I am just using what the Media would use, whatever "lone gunman story would be the most convincing.
People forget that just after 911 there were the "Amthrax Attacks" all of them were directed at" Democrats"...why?
Because 911 was a statement..."yes we can do this and just in case you FAILED to get the message Dems...here is a little reminded what we can and will do. Clue.... we now know for fact that the Anthrax was "weapons grade" and came from Fort Dietrich......hint, hint.. oh yeah the NAOC planes flying in New York and DC are also "signature" 911
Any real Democracy in the USA died on that day...
people need to wake up, since 911..the "functioning democracy" doesn't exist..
Obama is a tiger without teeth and claws, he is window dressing...the puppet show to keep people distracted..while the REAL decisions are probably not even made by Americans.....wake up folks......
I know its a scary thought and many people don't want to "go there"..but eventually we will all have to make that leap.
We all love our illusions
FURIOUSLY AFRAID. Cheney is
Thu, 02/18/2010 - 16:40 — Anonymous (not verified)FURIOUSLY AFRAID. Cheney is America's Mussolini. Be alarmed enough to do AT LEAST one thing about it. Make a phone call or better write a letter to your "Representative" make a copy for you newspaper. Send it. Call a friend and ask them to do the same. YOU KNOW what happened in Fascist Europe, Argentina, Chile, El Salvador...
"I may just be me but this
Thu, 02/18/2010 - 17:24 — Anonymous (not verified)"I may just be me but this honestly does not bother me. I look at it like this, we were at war, granted not for all the right reasons but nonetheless we were at war. In my opinion when it comes to war, all is fair and there are no rules in war. That may sound harsh but war is just that it's WAR. If we captured these people during war, in my opinion, they don't deserve to be treated like your next door neighbor"
~~~
What if I told you some of those captured are on tips from locals, i.e. you don't like your neighbor tell the American's he's Al Queda. No worries he won't be around to get back at you as he'll have won a one way ticket to some secret prison. His crime, well who really cares his neighbor, who very well might be one planting IED's on the highways, said he was Al Queda. So we will torture him with no impunity, ensuring that any members of his family that weren't already anti-American grow up or become those that are seeking any means to harm troops or US civilians.
"I've never seen a President
Fri, 02/19/2010 - 11:48 — Anonymous (not verified)"I've never seen a President — I don't care who he is — stand up to them. It just boggles the mind. They always get what they want. The Israelis know what is going on all the time. I got to the point where I wasn't writing anything down. If the American people understood what a grip these people have got on our government, they would RISE UP IN ARMS. Our citizens certainly don't have any idea what goes on."
Thomas H. Moorer
(1912 - 2004)
Admiral,
US Navy & Chairman,
Joint Chiefs of Staff during interview on
24 August 1983 The Jewish people as a whole will become its own Messiah. It will attain world dominion by the dissolution of other races, by the abolition of frontiers, the annihilation of monarchy and by the establishment of a world republic in which the Jews will everywhere exercise the privilege of citizenship.
In this New World Order the children of Israel will furnish all the leaders without encountering opposition. The Governments of the different peoples forming the world republic will fall without difficulty into the hands of the Jews. It will then be possible for the Jewish rulers to abolish private property and everywhere to make use of the resources of the state. Thus will the promise of the Talmud be fulfilled, in which is said that when the Messianic time is come, the Jews will have all the property of the whole world in their hands."
— Baruch Levy, Letter to Karl Marx, 'La Revue de Paris', p.574, June 1, 1928 Our race is the Master Race. We are divine gods on this planet. We are as different from the inferior races as they are from insects. In fact, compared to our race, other races are beasts and animals, cattle at best. Other races are considered as human excrement. Our destiny is to rule over the inferior races. Our earthly kingdom will be ruled by our leader with a rod of iron. The masses will lick our feet and serve us as our slaves."
— Menachem Begin - Israeli Prime Minister 1977–1983
"They are the so-called neo-cons, or neo-conservatives. A compact group, almost all of whose members are Jewish. They hold the key positions in the Bush administration, as well as in the think-tanks that play an important role in formulating American policy and the ed-op pages of the influential newspapers....
Seemingly, all this is good for Israel. America controls the world, we control America. Never before have Jews exerted such an immense influence on the center of world power." Uri Avnery, "The Night After,"
Counterpunch, April 10, 2003.
If a Gentile exposes
Fri, 02/19/2010 - 11:52 — Anonymous (not verified)If a Gentile exposes Zionism, they are called "anti-semitic" which is nothing more than a smokescreen to hide the Zionists actions.
But, if a Jew is the person doing the exposing, they resort to other tactics.
First, they ignore the charges, hoping the information will not be given widespread distribution.
If the information starts reaching too many people, they ridicule the information and the persons giving the information.
If that doesn't work, their next step is character assassination. If the author or speaker hasn't been involved in sufficient scandal they are adept at fabricating scandal against the person or persons.
If none of these are effective, they are known to resort to physical attacks.
But, NEVER do they try to prove the information wrong.
Jack Bernstein, (assassinated by MOSSAD)
My suggestion is to focus
Fri, 02/19/2010 - 14:13 — Anonymous (not verified)My suggestion is to focus less on the distractions of the past and do some real reporting on Obama, the liberal progressives, and the plutocrat elites who are currently working to establish a world socialist government. There are things happening in the White House right now that are a lot more worrisome than anything Cheney might have done a few years ago. I might add that I am no Dick Cheney fan but anything he's done won't amount to a hill of beans compared to what is being attempted as I write this.
Impeach Obummer, galvanizing
Fri, 02/19/2010 - 15:04 — Vic Anderson (not verified)Impeach Obummer, galvanizing Biden to prosecute all the Bush war criminals and let JUSTICE and BushCo. prison time be served!
I doubt CHRIS O PER & Cheney
Sun, 02/21/2010 - 12:48 — Concerned Traveler (not verified)I doubt CHRIS O PER & Cheney have considered the inverse consequences of condoning torture. Now any enemy has the go-ahead to capture and torture our people for info. We do it, so it must be OK. Since we've been applying these "harsh interrogation techniques" to non-combatants since 2003, isn’t Cheney essentially telling the world he doesn’t care if terrorists kidnap and torture Americans? And Obama, our “New Hope” president, thru his silence will be condoning it as well…
I’m confused, but I do know this goes to the very essence of morality and keeping wartime and peace behavior separate. Cheney, as a recognized world figure and former Vice-President, made a public statement that has irreparably muddled the two. Americans are now at even more risk when traveling. These interviews are translated and broadcast all over the world, and a journalist or businessman (like me) is an incredibly easy target to capture and torture thus putting Cheney’s public statements to the test.
Morality is a weapon our country cannot afford to lose.
i cant believe it.and nobody
Mon, 02/22/2010 - 13:01 — Anonymous (not verified)i cant believe it.and nobody doing nothing.
Right, Max. Obama can't
Tue, 02/23/2010 - 14:41 — Frances in California (not verified)Right, Max. Obama can't prosecute Cheney because Obama is not a prosecutor. He could advise Holder to appoint a Special Prosecutor . . . but then Holder would have to be less of a coward. All those rightwing judges and attorneys Rove had installed during Bush's reign? Every one of them is connected to every other one of them . . . no, there can be no justice in the United States. As of Feb 22nd it's all going to a Higher Power anyway; "chest pains" indeed . . .
Why? Why is everyone, in
Wed, 02/24/2010 - 23:22 — Anonymous (not verified)Why? Why is everyone, in power, ignoring this?
Why? Why is the media
Wed, 02/24/2010 - 23:25 — Anonymous (not verified)Why? Why is the media ignoring this?
Yihla Moja(karma)
Fri, 02/26/2010 - 18:54 — paul (not verified)Yihla Moja(karma)
Chris O Per is still living
Mon, 03/08/2010 - 21:24 — Anonymous (not verified)Chris O Per is still living in a fantasy land and believing that the boogeyman is waiting by the foot of his bed, ready to pounce on him when he sleeps. Grow up for Christ's sake. If you want to live in a safer world, you have to see the world as those at the bottom see it. The problem with people who still think Bush was on the right track is that they are into such a state of denial and can only connect the few dysfunctional dots that make them feel safe at night.
If we have no integrity, as individuals or as a country, we deserve whatever fate God sends our way.
Cheney won't have to worry about being under house arrest; at the rate people are learning to hate him, it'll be a collective conscience induced cardiac arrest he'll have to worry about and when he goes, with luck, he'll go very slowly. Maybe then he can contemplate the anxiety induced in all those he chose to waterboard.
Sorry, Dick, in your case I seem to have forgotten how to do CPR.
nut case...that's all that
Tue, 07/20/2010 - 21:15 — realist (not verified)nut case...that's all that comes to mind after reading this article. Not worth further response.
hturo moncler cxjnd
Sun, 10/14/2012 - 13:55 — Poortaterlize (not verified)trpnv air jordan pas cher olcoz sac longchamp fqiys doudoune moncler evjjh http://frsvuitonsacsdemagasinn.info rbsiw
cqfqv beats by dre voxbg
Mon, 10/15/2012 - 07:32 — Chaireeroaria (not verified)pthko sac longchamp pliage znned casque beats nuwmi moncler pas cher ikszl http://frscasquebydremagasinn.info eifap
tawtsk
Thu, 11/01/2012 - 19:21 — tawtsk (not verified)ogkxghz
モンクレール Ytu xBpP ugg ブーツ
Sun, 11/25/2012 - 08:08 — WheereGrili (not verified)モンクレール Ghk cHnR アグ
http://www.jpccomonclaironline.info
bottes ugg xJr9o5beats pas cher
Thu, 11/29/2012 - 08:38 — WheereGrili (not verified)louboutin iEg6w9 bottes ugg fCo8i8 beats pas cher yHw8n0
http://www.mrzd.info
louboutin pas cher fSt9q9 ugg qQm1c
Sat, 12/01/2012 - 02:31 — syncUnfaifs (not verified)louboutin pas cher wOn7g0 ugg rOy1m1 http://www.mrze.info
http://www.aspmn.org/thumbsugg.asp tAg9z ugg boots
Sat, 12/01/2012 - 21:13 — AssusaLob (not verified)coach factory outlet gCg4d ugg sale http://www.aspmn.org/thumbsugg.asp
Yrhttp://acua.org/versions.asp jKobR louis vuitton bags
Sun, 12/02/2012 - 06:22 — Seriswins (not verified)coach outlet online sNs9t louis vuitton handbags outlet yCg eZj http://acua.org/webs.asp
mulberry sale ojihum michael kors outlet
Sun, 12/02/2012 - 11:34 — Steelfistet (not verified)cheap mulberry bags
7kG 4oZ 7oP 7jY
michael kors outlet online
oC 7r#
http://www.taana.org/pics.asp
louboutin pas cher sTe7j5 bottes ugg fEw7c
Tue, 12/04/2012 - 09:47 — syncUnfaifs (not verified)chaussures louboutin gLs3j6 ugg pas cher pUf7v2 http://www.mryo.info
canada goose jacket xBfCwA ugg sale
Thu, 12/06/2012 - 03:03 — Steelfistet (not verified)canada goose parka
2xK1sN 2eO4dV 9sK
cheap ugg boots
http://www.taana.org/sitesmap.asp
pgvkeah
Sat, 12/08/2012 - 08:05 — pgvkeah (not verified)qndyxcg
dWz doudoune moncler jWc hJo abercrombie france
Sun, 12/09/2012 - 12:46 — stesyhotS (not verified)[url=http://www.cuisinecollective.fr/themes-abercrombie.asp]abercrombie[/url] pWv2l0 [url=http://www.cdad-ardennes.justice.fr/guide_judiciaire_louboutin.asp]chaussures louboutin[/url] qIx7v9
http://www.cdad-ardennes.justice.fr/guide_judiciaire_moncler.asp
girtbjsp
Fri, 12/21/2012 - 20:20 — girtbjsp (not verified)rychax