Scared Cheney puts his head in the noose-The Former VP Fears Being Held To Account On Torture

[kpete]

March 29, 2009
Scared Cheney puts his head in the noose
The former vice-president fears being held to account on torture and is lashing out

Andrew Sullivan

.......................

The narrative that has taken shape since Cheney left office and lost the chance to stonewall inquiries is damning to the former vice-president. It was not an accident, it seems to me, that Cheney went on CNN the morning The New York Times published leaked testimony from the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The documents detailed horrifying CIA practices that the Red Cross unequivocally called torture – shoving prisoners in tiny, air-tight coffins, waterboarding, beatings, sleep deprivation, stress positions: all the techniques we have now come to know almost by heart. And torture is a war crime. War crimes have no statute of limitations and are among the most serious crimes of which one can be accused.

This is what Cheney is desperate to avoid. It is unclear whether he will actually ever be prosecuted, but the facts of his record will wind their way inexorably into the sunlight. That means he could become a pariah. Even though the CIA actively destroyed the videotapes of torture sessions, it could not destroy the legal and administrative record now available to the new administration.

So Cheney is reduced to asserting that what he did saved countless lives and averted many plots. He is reduced to asserting the same Manichean view of the world that gave us Guantanamo, Bagram and the Iraq war: fighting terrorism is “a tough mean, dirty, nasty business”, he told Polit-ico, an American political website. “These are evil people. And we’re not going to win this fight by turning the other cheek.”

..................
more at:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/andrew_sullivan/article5992569.ece

[Catshrink]

1. As much as I'd love to see him held accountable, I doubt it will ever happen.

He'll pull a "Kenny Boy" and sneak off to Paraguay rather than face the music. At heart, Cheney is a coward.

[annabanana]

2. I think he overestimates the political will in that cesspool of

whorishness, Foggy Bottom.

[The Backlash Cometh]

3. Let's all send him a box of depends.

May he live the rest of his life, the same way he manipulated millions in America -- in fear.

[Catshrink]

4. And noseplugs

to remind him of all of those he had waterboarded.

[arcadian]

18. 1126 Chain Bridge Rd McLean, VA 22101

Cheneys new residence. Stop by and say "hi".

[malaise]

5. Poor Cheney is yet to see that he is way more evil

than all the myriad evil he sees in others.

[seemslikeadream]

6. These are evil people.

Why, yes they are.

[omega minimo]

7. Being Cheney is a long hard slog................

[Hekate]

8. "Barack Obama’s most underrated talent is his ability to get his enemies to self-destruct"...

Andrew Sullivan leads with this observation:
"Barack Obama’s most underrated talent is his ability to get his enemies to self-destruct. It takes a lot less energy than defeating them directly, and helps maintain Obama’s largely false patina of apolitical niceness. Obama is about as far from apolitical as you can get; and while he is a decent fellow, he is also a lethal Chicago pol."

We at DU have this amazing contingent of people who cannot seem to remember how the campaign went down. This article is recommended.

Hekate

[saltpoint]

9. I had a dream -- a distinct and vivid one, in which Dick Cheney

was a mad dog. That is to say, a dog who looks like himself, Dick Cheney. It was not clear over the course of the dream's narrative that Mad Dog Dick Cheney was a canine entity or Dick Cheney, the Human power-mongering despot.

Dreams blur these distinctions, as we all know.

Certainly they are blurred in the instance of the former Vice President.

As the dream unfolded, Mad Dog Dick Cheneye was secured by strong chains to a sturdy and significantly deep cement pole stuck into the earth. Mad Dog of course didn't like the chain, and strained against it horribly, yanking the chain as hard as he could. But to no avail. Both the chain and the pole held strong, and the tug of the chain when Mad Dog lurched and yanked against it pulled back the skin of his face, which accounted for the snarling, teeth-exposing look Cheney usually carries.

[ConcernedCanuk]

10. Cheney failed to understand the power of the internets - his face and crimes are known worldwide

.
.
.

Even the Germans from Hitler's gang mostly got caught.

There is nowhere Cheney can hide to live a normal life.

He'll have to live in a bunker or a cave, and even then, someone will find him

AND the rest of the Bush-gang

They will NOT go unpunished.

It may take decades, but there are a lot of young orphans in the Middle East that will grow up;

and remember that the BFEE and PNAC gang slaughtered their families and relatives.

USA through it's wars on the ME have created another century of wars.

This time - it's the East going after the West

We asked for it

(sigh)

[Demeter]

15. Cheney Is Safe in His Maryland Estate

Only in public is he in danger.

[stillcool]

11. I don't think the detainee's can be ...

shut out of a court system forever.

[UTUSN]

12. I'll K&R-it even if it's Andy, because "CHEENEE - NOOSE" - strikes a CHORD for me!1 n/t

[Loki]

13. If anything haunts Cheney in his waking moments

and per chance his dreams, may it be the fate of Adolph Eichmann....justice never rests.

[UTUSN]

14. I've already done the REC #4, common, let's GO for the BIG #5!1 n/t

[Canuckistanian]

16. I'd like to see depositions from some CIA members

I can't imagine that Dead-Eye Dick is popular within "The Company".

After all the strong-arming regarding the fake intelligence and the scapegoating of the organization for the lack of WMD's, I can see some long time CIA hand spilling his/her guts. Not to mention all the halfwits foisted on the CIA leadership over the past 8 years (Porter Goss? WTF?).

Yes, be scared, Dick. Very, very scared.

[corruptmewithpower]

17. I'm for unlimited investigation and prosecution of everyone involved in

torture, from Bush on down the line to the torturers themselves. I don't care what the excuse.

Torture is and always will be a crime against humanity and our torturers must be made an example of so the whole world will see what the American people think of torture!

[aquart]

19. Did Cheney just say that Christians can't win against Muslims?

Because all his terrorists are Muslims, and that "turning the other cheek" is one of the teachings of Christ, I thought. So is Cheney going on the air to publicly diss Christianity as a loser?

[LiberalFighter]

20. War crimes have no statute of limitations!!!!

War crimes have no statute of limitations!!!

War crimes have no statute of limitations!!!

YES

It is very important that Bush and Cheney are convicted of war crimes before they die. That will then mean their body will not lie in state at the Capitol when they do die. Will not receive a military funeral. Will not be buried in Arlington Cemetery or any other military cemetery. Will lose their pension.


It will be important that everyone connected with their actions be prosecuted and convicted too. Then they will not have necessary security clearance to work in future Republican administrations.

[Usrename]

21. That's a great article. Very well written. Clear and to the point.

What more can I add?

The reasons for resorting to torture need to be explored further. I think the main reason for the use of torture was to create a false narrative about what actually happened on 9/11. All of these "confessions" that were obtained by torture were expertly used to muddy the waters. A whole fairy tale was invented using this technique.

The official "9/11 Commission Report" relied heavily on statements obtained through torture. This in itself is its own war crime, this time perpetrated by the 9/11 commissioners themselves, who were all selected because they were the most trustworthy Americans that could be recruited for the job.

Really?

Why hasn't a single trustworthy commissioner come forward to denounce their own product? Surely they know by now (even if they were unaware at the time) that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, their main wittness, was tortured. Don't they know that? Don't they know that using his statements in their report is a war crime?

Really?

[Politicalboi]

22. Well then somebody

Should put a bounty on his head. Dead or Alive.

[mitchum]

23. I would love to see him dance the ballet

[Dinger]

24. I Hate to Admit This,

but I stopped at "noose." Just got a weird feeling. Sorry, couldn't help it.