Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Is Dick Cheney Really That Bad?
Here is a sample of headlines about Dick Cheney from the last 24 hours:
Is Cheney really that bad?To get beneath the surface of the headlines to find out, I am re-posting a roundup of Cheney's background which I first published in February 2006 (slightly updated).
Most people know that Vice President Dick Cheney is former CEO of Halliburton, which makes billions of dollars a year from oil and primarily defense-related construction contracts (and that war and chaos increase Halliburton's profits, which in turn increase the value of Cheney's stock options). Most people also know that Cheney was secretary of Defense under George H. W. Bush.
Well-read people may know that Cheney was a congressman from Wyoming. Some even know that he was one of the founders of the Neocon think tank, Project for a New American Century.
But even well-informed people probably don't know that -- in the 70's -- Cheney was instrumental in generating fake intelligence exaggerating the Soviet threat in order to undermine coexistence between the U.S. and Soviet Union, which conveniently justified huge amounts of cold war spending. See also this article.
Have you heard that Cheney has been perhaps the leading advocate for strengthening the powers of the White House to the point of monarchy for at least 20 years?
And did you know that Cheney has been instrumental in creating and practicing Continuity of Government measures for the last 20 years or so. "COG" measures were actually implemented on 9/11.
Or that newly-released documents show that Cheney was involved in debates concerning illegal wiretaps 30 years ago?
Did you catch that Cheney is the guy who pushed for torture? Or that he was the guy who pressured the Justice Department lawyers to write memos saying torture was legal? Or that Or that Cheney's the one who actually led the briefings of lawmakers to defend torture? Or that the former director of the CIA accused Cheney of overseeing American torture policies ? Or that Colin Powell's former chief of staff stated that Dick Cheney is guilty of war crimes for his role in facilitating torture?
And you may have heard that the Energy Task Force chaired by Cheney prior to 9/11 collected maps of Iraqi oil fields and potential suitors for that oil. But did you know that a secret document written by the National Security Council on February 3, 2001 directed the N.S.C. staff to cooperate fully with the Energy Task Force as it considered the “melding” of two seemingly unrelated areas of policy: “the review of operational policies towards rogue states,” such as Iraq, and “actions regarding the capture of new and existing oil and gas fields”? In other words, it is difficult to brush off Cheney's Energy Task Force's examination of Iraqi oil maps as a harmless comparison of American energy policy with known oil reserves because the N.S.C. explicitly linked the Task Force, oil, and regime change. Indeed, a former senior director for Russian, Ukrainian, and Eurasian affairs at the N.S.C. said “if this little group was discussing geostrategic plans for oil, it puts the issue of war in the context of the captains of the oil industry sitting down with Cheney and laying grand, global plans” (see also this essay).
And guess who was largely responsible for generating fake intelligence about Iraq in order to justify the war?
And guess which American politician called the shots in the failed Iraq war according to the former British Defense Secretary?
And guess who was was probably responsible for outing CIA agent Valerie Plame?
According to to the Pulitzer prize-winning reporter who uncovered the Iraq prison torture scandal and the massacre against Vietnamese civilians - Seymour Hersh - Cheney was also the main guy helping to fund groups which the U.S. claims are terrorists (see confirming articles here and here)
Hersh also says that the military ran an "Executive Assassination Ring" throughout the Bush years which reported directly to Cheney.
And guess who is the prime architect of efforts to bomb Iran? (And see this).
A top official at the State Department stated there was a secret "cabal" involving Cheney, and that Cheney and a handful of others had hijacked the country's foreign policy.
Oh, and Cheney was apparently in charge of ALL 5 of the war games which occurred on 9/11 and coordinated the government's "response" to the attacks. See this CNN article; this essay; and this.
And Cheney is the one who monitored flight 77 for many miles as it approached the Pentagon and -- when a military man asked "do the orders still stand?" -- Cheney responded affirmatively:
"The plane is 50 miles out. The plane is 30 miles out." And when it got down to, "The plane is 10 miles out," the young man also said to the vice president, "Do the orders still stand?" And the vice president turned and whipped his neck around and said, "Of course the orders still stand. Have you heard anything to the contrary?"Watch the video for yourself (and see this essay).
Heck of a job, Dick.
Postscript: Of course, Cheney has not acted alone in his actions. But he's been an important player in many different arenas and is, perhaps, the most widely-known figure who has had a hand in all of the above-described events. Cheney might not be the ultimate Mr. Big in these crimes, but he appears to have gotten his hands dirtier -- and to be closer to the true seat of power -- even than Mr. Bush.
In addition, while Cheney was not solely responsible for the above-listed actions, he hired many of the people who caused the mischief, such as the chief architect of the Iraq war - Paul Wolfowitz.
See also this round-up of Cheney's actions.
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Great post. I think he truly believes he acted in the best interest for the nation but somewhere along the line he forgot our nation is more than an abstract concept of greatness: it is first and foremost a nation of people. He threw the American people under the bus, and felt justified in doing so as long as the bus lurched a few feet towards his notions of a "great nation."
ReplyDeleteIndeed. And much worse than we may ever find out.
ReplyDeleteDick Cheney is an asshole!
ReplyDeleteGreat post. In addition, Cheney mocks all the conservatives who supported him as he speaks in front of the CFR. He states that he hid from his voting bloc the fact that he was a top CFR chief. (The CFR seeks to destroy USA Sovereignty and basically hand our nation's democracy - and wealth - over to a cabal of global banksters.) Coincidence that the results of our Government are to basically hand our nation and wealth over to a bunch of global banksters?? No. The CFR controls the Democratic and Republican Parties - meaning banksters control the USA Government, Executive, Legislative, and Court branches as well as the Pentagon, CIA, etc., etc.
ReplyDeleteCheney is, I'm quite sure, multiplied worse than what those headlines state. He's evil - and I'd like to see him tried for treason as well as war crimes.
His day is coming. He's going on trial - and unless he is wise and finds absolution, he will be found guilty. If he's LUCKY, he'll find absolution OR be punished in this life.
But I have no question hell is looking forward to his descent... after he's judged. He may want to confess his crimes and repent before he reaches that Judgment Seat. He's going to face a Judge he cannot lie to, he cannot buy, and he cannot wage war against or assassinate.
Cheney pays no taxes by using offshore havens
ReplyDeleteHalliburton had 58 offshore subsidiaries in Caribbean tax havens. With Cheney at the helm Halliburton's tax payments to the U.S. went from $302 million in 1998 to zero in 1999!
As pure abstraction, I was floored by his appearance at Obama's swearing in. The poorly performed, perfectly timed injury forcing Cheney to be seated was secondary to the almost Hollywood issue 'sinister hat' he chose to wear - a copy of a hat I remember David Bowie wearing while playing a blythe vampire in 'The Hunger' - suggested to me he is intoxicated with darkness, reveling in his murderous powers, with no minimum of black humor.
ReplyDeleteIt is, however, always darkest before the dawn...
Thanks for keeping the heat on Cheney by discussing/recounting his serial frauds, lies, misrepresentations, betrayals, treachery, abuse of power and related crimes.
ReplyDeleteIt is too incredible for words that politicians of high rank and status like Cheney have managed to avoid accountability for their past egregious abuses of power and as a result, have steered America towards waging irresponsible, unjustifiable wars resulting in millions of casualties and trillions in misappropriated costs.
Cheney was instrumental in cobbling together the fraudulent 'b team' compilation report during President Ford's admin. that by-passed the CIA's intelligence review, in order to include the CIA's own psyop disinfo re: making a case that the Soviet Union was organizing world-wide terrorism, intent on destabilizing and attacking America -- in order to implement the Straussian agenda of perpetual war to 'save' American public from its liberal self-indulgence.
We are 'at' the current impasse of unaccountable, morally-and-intellectually-and-fiscally-bankrupt government under control of Banking, Military Industrial and Wall Street interests precisely because of the criminal manipulations of Cheney et al.
When the pendulum swings the other way in reactionary response to its excesses, it wouldn't surprise me that America becomes the very tyranny Cheney claimed to be fighting against. Bitterest fruit is irony's harvest.
And how come none of this came up when he was running for vice-president with Bush? Ain't that a bit too easy now?
ReplyDeleteThe answer to the question is YES!Cheney is that bad and worse.He is guilty as sin of treason in every way one could be and should be thrown in one of prisons that house the enemy combatents.
ReplyDeleteHe is equal to any enemy combatent terrorist has far as I am concerned.
Cheney is definitely a "higher" psychopath.
ReplyDeleteCheck out PONEROLOGY.com
I'd like to see a new picture of Cheney next to Saddam.
ReplyDelete