Cheney defies protesters, defends record before Vancouver appearance

By macleans.ca - Tuesday, September 27, 2011 at 11:49 AM - 16 Comments

Former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney defended his track record in office and dismissed the claims of protesters ahead of his appearance at a Vancouver book club Monday. Speaking with the Globe and Mail, Cheney defended his support of the controversial waterboarding technique used to extract information from senior al-Qaeda operatives. He also stood behind his hawkish advocacy for the U.S. invasion of Iraq, insisting that the world is a better place now that Saddam Hussein is gone, adding that the “war on terrorism” has been worth the cost—both human and financial. Many people were angry that Cheney was allowed to enter Canada, saying his frank support of torture and his support of an “illegal” war in Iraq qualify as crimes against humanity. Some have called for his arrest on war crimes, while others—including a federal NDP MP—wanted him to be barred from Canada. Cheney was in Vancouver at a $500-a-plate dinner to promote his new memoir, In My Time.

The Globe and Mail

‘It’s irresponsible the way they throw these words around’

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, September 27, 2011 at 8:45 AM - 7 Comments

Dick Cheney does not appreciate the tone adopted by the likes of Don Davies.

“Now we have a lot of people running around using language like ‘torture.’ I heard one of your members of Parliament saying we used it on hundreds of people at Guantanamo. Not true,” said Mr. Cheney, who became a lightning rod for critics of the Bush administration, particularly over the war on Iraq, during his eight years as vice-president.

“We did not use torture. … We did what we absolutely needed to do. We had an obligation to gather intelligence to ensure that we didn’t get struck again, and I think it worked,” he said, noting that Mr. Mohammed, in particular, produced a “gold mine” of information “after he’d been through the process.”

The utility of waterboarding Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is a matter of some debate. So far as the hunt for Osama bin Laden, for instance, John McCain has said that torturing Mr. Mohammed actually produced false and misleading information.

‘Having engaged in acts of torture’

By Aaron Wherry - Saturday, September 24, 2011 at 12:09 AM - 39 Comments

NDP immigration critic Don Davies has written to Immigration Minister Jason Kenney asking that Mr. Kenney deny Mr. Cheney entry to the country (the former vice president is scheduled to visit Vancouver on Monday as part of his book tour).

Minister, may I remind you of your own government’s initiatives this summer in which you called on the public to assist your government in removing from Canada those individuals who had engaged in serious criminality, war crimes or crimes against humanity. May I also remind you of your own government’s actions in denying entry to British MP George Galloway. At that time you stated that: ”It’s not about words. It’s about deeds.”

… Minister, the essence of just application of the law is that it is applied evenly and consistently. I would therefore respectfully request that you deny entry to Mr. Cheney on grounds of inadmissibility under IRPA for having engaged in acts of torture. In the event that you do not do so, I would respectfully request that a report be prepared setting out the relevant facts, and that you refer same to the Immigration Division for an admissibility hearing with a view to issuing a removal order against Mr. Cheney, all pursuant to section 44 of IRPA.

REVIEW: In my time

By macleans.ca - Friday, September 16, 2011 at 10:57 AM - 6 Comments

Cheney’s unapologetic memoir, which stretches from a modest childhood in Nebraska and Wyoming to his rise as the most powerful vice-president in history, saves its emotional energy for settling scores, especially against fellow members of the administration of George W. Bush. (One of the few tidbits he does reveal: the secure “undisclosed location” to which he was so often consigned after 9/11 was not some cave bunker but often his own home or the woodsy presidential retreat of Camp David.) On policy, Cheney has few regrets. “One of the most significant accomplishments” of Bush’s presidency, he writes, was “the liberation of Iraq and the establishment of a true democracy in the Arab world.”

The book describes Cheney’s outsized influence in the first Bush term and increasing marginalization in the second. While he successfully pushed for the invasion of Iraq in 2003, by the summer of 2007 he could not persuade Bush to bomb a Syrian nuclear reactor. “After I finished, the president asked, ‘Does anyone here agree with the vice president?’ Not a single hand went up around the room.” Cheney saves his harshest words for Bush’s two secretaries of state. He accuses Condoleezza Rice of misleading Bush while fumbling disarmament talks with North Korea (“We were promising rewards for their duplicity”) and naively seeking diplomatic engagement with villains. “In meeting after meeting, it seemed we had to argue against yet another misguided approach from the State Department.” And Colin Powell is painted as a disloyal colleague who criticizes Bush’s policies to others but not to the president’s face.

The world according to Cheney is dangerous and needs American power. When defence secretary Robert Gates tells the Saudis in late 2007 that Bush would be impeached if he took military action against Iran’s nuclear program, Cheney is livid: Gates “removed a key element of our leverage.” But Cheney’s will not be the last word. Rice’s political memoir is due out Nov. 1.

Newsmakers: September 1-8, 2011

By Ken MacQueen, Michael Friscolanti and Richard Warnica - Friday, September 9, 2011 at 10:45 AM - 0 Comments

Christopher Polk/Getty Images

Scales of justice

The Winnipeg Jets haven’t iced a team yet, but star D-man Dustin Byfuglien has been hit with a major penalty. The former Chicago Blackhawk, who helped propel the team to the 2009-10 Stanley Cup, was arrested Wednesday night near the lakeside community of Excelsior in his home state of Minnesota on suspicion of boating while intoxicated. “Big Buff” spent three hours in the penalty box of the Hennepin County Sherrif’s Office after refusing to submit to a blood or urine test. Possible charges are pending. The Jets have two causes for alarm: the police weigh-in showed Byfuglien has ballooned to 286 lb., about 40 lb. above his usual playing weight. As well, a criminal conviction would complicate crossing the border to Winnipeg. “He’s got to grow up,” his stepfather Dale Smedsmo told the Minneapolis Star Tribune, presumably a reference to attitude, not poundage.

Cutting remarks

Prime Minister Stephen Harper is not known for his love of journalists, so it came as a surprise that his new communications director is a member of the pencil press. Angelo Persichilli, 63, a political editor of the Italian-language newspaper Corriere Canadese and an occasional columnist for the Toronto Star, replaces former mouthpiece Dmitri Soudas. The hire may score points in the ethnic community, a target of Tory affections. Persichilli faces the daunting task of selling federal spending reductions. Meanwhile, budget cuts south of the border factored into outspoken Gen. David Petraeus’s last act after a 37-year military career. He warned reductions may hurt the army’s ability to fight insurgencies. Expect him to guard the CIA’s budget like a hawk when he takes over as America’s spy chief this week.

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Lawyer wants Cheney arrested upon entering Canada

By macleans.ca - Thursday, September 8, 2011 at 12:13 PM - 20 Comments

A Vancouver lawyer wants former U.S. vice-president Dick Cheney to be arrested and prosecuted for war crimes when he visits the city later this month to promote his new memoir, In My Time. Gail Davidson, the co-founder of an organization called Lawyers Against the War, wants Canada to either bar Cheney’s entry into the country or prosecute him for war crimes. “It’s a bit chilling that they would invite a mass murderer as their guest to Canada,” Davidson said to Vancouver’s Georgia Straight, criticizing the Bon Mot Book Club that will host Cheney. Davidson is writing letters to Prime Minister Stephen Harper and several prominent cabinet ministers, urging them to bar Cheney from entering the country, or charging him with crimes under international law. Cheney, along with former U.S. President George W. Bush, oversaw the American invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan and reportedly authorized the torture of suspected terrorists. According to Davidson, Canada is obliged as a signatory of UN covenants against the use of torture to arrest and prosecute both men when they enter the country.

Georgia Straight

The war on terror 10 years on

By Andrew Coyne and Paul Wells - Tuesday, September 6, 2011 at 9:30 AM - 12 Comments

AFP/Getty Images

ANDREW COYNE: Perhaps the best way to think about the legacy of Sept. 11 is to think of all the things that haven’t happened. Most obviously, there has been no successful terrorist attack on American soil since then—nor any attempted attack originating from Canadian soil. Neither have there been any of the consequences that might well have followed from a second, possibly worse attack, or in some cases were predicted to follow from the first: no wholesale victimization of Muslims, no long, black night of repression of dissent, no cataclysmic clash of civilizations, and so on.

This is of more than theoretical interest. If, 10 years later, al-Qaeda seems a depleted force, there was no guarantee things would turn out that way, nor did it seem likely at the time. Reviewing television footage from the day, what is striking is the sense of be­wilderment in the voices of the normally phlegmatic anchormen, as the planes keep dropping out of the sky. Who could blame them? As of about noon that day, you could have told me California had fallen into the sea and I’d have believed you.

The audacity of attacking the world’s most powerful nation in such spectacular, head-on fashion still has the power to shock. More than anything else, Sept. 11 was a show of strength: look what we can do to you, it announced. And there is nothing you can do to stop it.

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Newsmakers: August 25-31, 2011

By Colby Cosh, Richard Warnica, and Alex Ballingall - Monday, September 5, 2011 at 3:45 PM - 0 Comments

Mark Blinch/Reuters

Just call her ‘G’

Winnipeg philanthropist Gail Asper, 51, is inspiring admiration and horror in her hometown with a surprise contribution to the genre of “older white folks rapping.” Asper is among prominent locals asked to contribute short videos to the University of Manitoba’s VoteAnyWay youth-voter drive; Asper’s supposedly self-penned number, delivered on the steps of the legislature building, reminds viewers: “Even if you’ve got smallpox / you can still go tick that box,” as the media heiress improvises gang signs and grabs her derrière. Local rapper Patrick “Pip Skid” Skene told the Winnipeg Sun her intentions were “honourable” but admitted “the rap is pretty wack.”

Brother of the year?

Gaelan Edwards said he learned his craft from “medical books” and TV. But as an amateur doctor, his record is pretty solid nonetheless. The 12-year-old delivered his own baby brother after his mom went into labour at their home in Campbell River, B.C. Gaelan, the eldest of five, pulled his brother out by his shoulders, helped his mother push out the placenta, then clamped and cut the umbilical cord. Baby Caynan was born a healthy 7 lb., 9 oz. Lucky for mom, Gaelan was up late watching a movie about showgirls when her sudden labour kicked in. He is now said to be considering a more formal medical career.

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Dick Cheney to speak in Calgary

By macleans.ca - Thursday, September 1, 2011 at 12:17 PM - 5 Comments

Former U.S. Vice-president Dick Cheney will be taking questions from Calgarians at a $500-a-ticket engagement on September 27 at the Palliser. Leah Costello, whose Bon Mot Book Club is responsible for bringing the politician to Calgary, says the event will give its 300 participants a chance to ask Cheney questions about his controversial new memoir, In My Time, which has already been criticized by Colin Powell and Condoleeza Rice. The last time Cheney was supposed to visit Alberta was in 2005, but he cancelled after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. Calgary businessmen Fred Mannix and Dick Bonnycastle are sponsoring the engagement.

The Calgary Herald

Newsmakers

By macleans.ca - Friday, December 10, 2010 at 8:00 AM - 0 Comments

Helena Bonham Carter, fashion plate
Her corsets, crinoline and frizzy hair have made her a constant on “worst dressed” lists over the years, so when the British actor, who counts Marie Antoinette as her style icon and claims a “f–k it attitude” to red-carpet dressing, heard she’d made Vanity Fair’s “best dressed” list, even she burst into laughter.

When nature’s in your path . . .
Vancouver’s organic breakfast moguls, Ratana and Arran Stephens, may have cast their professional lot with the environment—their cereal company, Nature’s Path, aspires to “advance the cause of people and planet along the path of sustainability.” But this week they came under fire for razing 25 trees from their lawn in tony Point Grey: a violation of the city’s famously strict tree-protection bylaw, and a major no-no in Lotusland. Their sins made headline news in Vancouver, which bars homeowners from removing trees from their property, prompting the pair to apologize profusely and repeatedly, even writing a letter to Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson insisting that they be heavily fined.

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Newsmakers

By macleans.ca - Friday, November 27, 2009 at 9:30 AM - 1 Comment

So a blond walks into a courtroom

Mississauga, Ont., native Jordan Wimmer cleared more than $1 million last year working for Nomos Capital, a London-based hedge fund. But all was not a bed of roses for the attractive, 29-year-old blond financier. Indeed, her blondness is at the heart of her $7-million wrongful dismissal suit against her multi-millionaire boss Mark Lowe. Sexist jokes, piggish behaviour and even an attempt to run her down on the street were part of a campaign of harassment, Wimmer testified last week. She told a London employment tribunal that Lowe made cutting personal remarks, emailed sexist “dumb blond” jokes throughout the office and cavorted in front of her with a stripper, causing her to suffer depression and an eating disorder. Lowe accused Wimmer of “gross distortions,” though he admits “entirely as a joke” to calling her “decorative” and a “dumb blond.” As for his emailed gag about a blond confusing a Corn Flakes box with a jigsaw puzzle, he says that “feeble joke” wasn’t told at her expense. Depending on the tribunal’s sense of humour, the joke may be on Lowe. Continue…

The Fox and Cheney sideshows

By John Parisella - Friday, October 23, 2009 at 7:01 PM - 102 Comments

The Obama White House recently decided that Fox News is biased and that it should be called out for its distortions and mistruths. White House strategists have apparently concluded that the Beck-Hannity-O’Reilly crowd is getting traction. Even though recent polls put Obama’s approval ratings over the 50% mark—the latest CNN poll put his popularity at 55%—the White House is growing increasingly concerned about the impact his opponents will have on major upcoming legislative proposals like health care, cap-and-trade, and the consumer protection agency. As a result, Obama will still do interviews on Fox, but his staff has clearly labeled the network media non grata.

Meanwhile, former vice-president Dick Cheney is continuing his crusade against Obama’s foreign policy, going so far as to label the president a “ditherer.” Cheney’s statements get wide media coverage, if only because they stand in such contrast with the reserve shown by former President George W. Bush. Again, the White House has reacted and taken to reminding voters about Cheney’s role in the last administration. Given Cheney left with a popularity index of less than 25%, the Obama people have taken to portraying him as the face of the Republican party. Since the inauguration, Obama strategists have been blessed to have Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh, Glen Beck and, once again, Dick Cheney as embodiments of the Republican party. Going after them seems to be working, too, as voter identification with the party is at 20%, its lowest point in 26 years. So far, their attacks have paid off. But is it the best approach in the long run?

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Where to draw the line?

By Andrew Coyne - Tuesday, September 8, 2009 at 8:50 PM - 14 Comments

Torture, like terrorism, is an issue that does not admit easily of complexity. The same people who mocked George W. Bush for his “black and white” thinking on terrorism (“you are either with us or you are with the terrorists”) stand ready to accuse anyone who confesses any uncertainty about the issue—what tactics may be permitted in interrogating terrorist suspects, whether the CIA’s treatment of detainees crossed the line, whether to prosecute those who did—of “defending torture.”

At the same time, any attempt to impose legal limits on the war on terror, to hold to account those who may have broken the law in the prosecution of their duties, invites equally lurid accusations from the other side—of criminalizing policy differences, of demoralizing the CIA, even of aiding the terrorists. So it is a probable testament to the political independence, if not the political judgment, of the U.S. attorney general, Eric Holder, that he was willing to wade into this swamp. His boss may come to wish he hadn’t. Continue…

Dick Cheney and the lessons of Watergate

By John Parisella - Wednesday, September 2, 2009 at 7:00 PM - 79 Comments

It will soon be 35 years since President Gerald Ford pardoned his disgraced predecessor, Richard Nixon, on September 8, 1974. It was the first and only time in American history that such an extraordinary act took place. Historians have rendered a mixed judgment on the wisdom of such a move. Some believe it mined the goodwill Ford was shown following Nixon’s resignation and conclude it was a deciding factor in his loss in 1976 to Jimmy Carter. Others look back on Ford’s action as a gesture of healing that permitted America to move beyond the dark chapters of Watergate and Vietnam. I subscribe to both interpretations—it was not the best move in the short term, but we have come to recognize that, whatever Ford’s motives were at the time, a prolonged process may have been more traumatic for the nation. Among some of those who lived through the Watergate travails as politicians or political operatives, a third interpretation took root. To them, Ford’s pardon amounted to a weakening of the executive branch of the United States government. One of those who believed this was Ford’s chief of staff, Dick Cheney.

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Dick Cheney strikes again

By John Parisella - Monday, August 31, 2009 at 5:33 PM - 9 Comments

It did not take long for politics to resume its usual course following the moving funeral services for Sen. Edward Kennedy. On the Fox News Sunday show, former vice-president Dick Cheney threw another salvo at the Obama administration over Attorney General Eric Holder’s decision to name a special prosecutor to investigate specific cases of torture by CIA. Cheney called John Dunham’s appointment an intolerable political act by Obama and claimed to be deeply offended by the decision. He added that Obama is pursuing a course that will make America more vulnerable to a terrorist attack. Holder’s decision is undoubtedly controversial, since many on the left would have preferred a full-blown investigation that would certainly have included Cheney. Those on the right—led principally by Cheney and, to a lesser degree, the congressional Republican leadership—counter that Dunham’s investigation will affect morale at the CIA and will make future administrations hesitant to take actions to safeguard American security.

It should be noted that Dunham is already investigating the C.I.A.’s destruction of tapes that reportedly featured some of the most abhorrent tactics in the agency’s arsenal, including water boarding. These interrogations were performed with the encouragement of senior officials associated with Cheney, and Dunham’s initial investigation was authorized by President Bush’s last attorney general, not the Democrats. All Holder has done is widen the scope of Dunham’s investigation. He has not in any way made Cheney or his cohorts the subject of it. Granted, the findings may be damaging to people like Cheney, but it is unlikely to result in a full-scale probe of the Bush Administration, complete with show trials into its conduct of the war on terrorism. It is for this reason that the left is not satisfied with the Holder move. Continue…

Unlike father, unlike son

By John Parisella - Wednesday, July 29, 2009 at 2:21 PM - 5 Comments

The recent edition of Time magazine contains a story describing the last days of the Bush-Cheney Administration. By then, Dick Cheney had developed a near-singular focus on obtaining a pardon for his former chief of staff, Scooter Libby. The issue was one of only a few on which George W. Bush disagreed with with his second-in-command. Libby had been found guilty of lying to investigators looking into the Valerie Plaine incident, in which Plame was outted as a CIA agent by officials in the administration. Cheney’s aide was sentenced to two and a half years in prison and to pay a fine of $250,000. President Bush, who had earlier vowed that he would fire anyone involved in the incident, decided to commute Libby’s prison term, to much criticism from the Democrats and the press. His decision nonetheless upheld the conviction, leaving Libby, a former high-profile lawyer, facing permanent disbarment.

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It's a date (II)

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, June 16, 2009 at 12:48 PM - 13 Comments

So you’re clear on where we’re at, the Prime Minister and the leader of the opposition are to meet today to discuss the immediate future of the country, but neither side will say when or where that meeting is occurring. Feel free to fill in the gaps with wild-eyed speculation. I’m told, for instance, that Dick Cheney is moderating the discussion in the salon of his personal undisclosed location. 

Update. Oh, nevermind. Though neither side will say so out loud, CP reports they’re meeting during QP.

Palin and Gingrich are not doing the GOP any favours

By John Parisella - Thursday, June 11, 2009 at 5:21 PM - 30 Comments

Republicans are still searching for their voice eight months after losing the presidency. It is not unique that a party still be in search of itself after such a decisive loss. What is strange is the fact that personality politics and not policy debates are dominating the discussion. After all, we are still a long way from 2012 and it is too early to project a nominee. Yet, in recent days, it seems the attention has shifted from the Dick Cheney/Rush Limbaugh sideshow to the Sarah Palin/Newt Gingrich roadshow.

Just recently, Governor Palin delivered a speech in New York and made a well noticed appearance at a fundraiser where Newt Gingrich was the main speaker. David Letterman’s controversial top ten on Sarah Palin further served to keep the Alaska governor in the news. (Expect her to be a guest on the Letterman show soon as it reinforces her celebrity status.) Meanwhile, Gingrich is commenting daily and appearing on the Sunday news show regularly.

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Why Dick Cheney may be Obama's best ally on gay marriage

By John Parisella - Wednesday, June 3, 2009 at 3:41 PM - 14 Comments

You have to hand it to Dick Cheney. The man knows how to generate headlines. After a month of chastising President Obama on the closing of Gitmo, the potential handling of detainees, and for supposedly making America less safe, he has now ventured into sacred territory for social conservatives—the gay marriage debate. Cheney is evidently in favour of same-sex unions, and while he did not use the m-word, many are already saying the former vice-president is ahead of Obama on this controversial issue. Never mind that he stayed silent during the eight years of the Bush Administration and said precious little when the president pushed for (but ultimately failed to get) a constitutional amendment preventing gay marriage. The fact that one of his daughters is gay may have a lot to do with it, but I believe his statement reinforces my conviction that gay marriage in America is inevitable. Court cases, pending legislation in a growing number of states, an emerging Supreme court case to be argued by Ted Olsen and David Boies (two opposing lawyers in Gore v. Bush), a new battle to come against Proposition 8 in California, and now Dick Cheney are all making an eloquent case for same sex unions, which reinforces the momentum in favor of gay activists.

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The Bush Hangover

By John Parisella - Wednesday, May 27, 2009 at 3:15 PM - 10 Comments

It is hard to underestimate the imprint George W. Bush’s “axis of evil” speech left on U.S. foreign policy. The story has been unfolding ever since, with the invasion of Iraq, the disengagement from bilateral talks with North Korea that had been started under the Clinton Administration, and the continuing alienation from an emerging regional, and possibly nuclear, power in Iran. The Iraq war quickly degenerated into an anti-insurgency operation that remains far from a conclusive; North Korea has once again provoked the ire of the world with its nuclear tests; and, as for Iran, with an election currently underway, it may not be the ideal time for the U.S. to radically alter its approach, but its nuclear enrichment program remains an ongoing source of worry. In the meantime, events in Afghanistan and neighbouring Pakistan have become grounds for serious concern. I know it appears all too easy to blame Bush and Cheney for all this, but eight years of misguided policies cannot be reversed overnight or even in the first year of a new presidency, however well-intentioned or promising it may be.

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Cheney’s Impact

By John Parisella - Friday, May 22, 2009 at 4:59 PM - 20 Comments

As expected, Dick Cheney and Barack Obama squared off on Gitmo and national security on Thursday. Obama focused on fleshing out his plan for the coming weeks, standing resolutely behind his decision to close Gitmo while acknowledging there is not a one-size-fits-all solution to the inmate problem. ‘Obama the teacher’ was on display, as the president made the case for his decisions by appealing to reason and depending on facts. It is likely that his address reinforced in his voters the belief that closing Gitmo and ending torture is the right policy. Yet, Cheney’s continued crusade in favour of “enhanced interrogation techniques” and keeping Guantanamo has led to a substantial increase in the former vice-president’s popularity (up eight per cent to 37 per cent, according to CNN). Never mind that Bush and a significant number of Republicans—including John McCain—were leaning in the same direction as Obama on those issues.

Rising support among stalwart Republicans is likely behind Cheney’s increase in the polls. He is not certainly not prompting any widespread nostalgia for the Bush-Cheney years. However, the question now is whether Cheney might be motivating Obama’s policy on national security. New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd seems to think so, and an increasing number of left-leaning Democrats are becoming concerned about some of Obama’s Gitmo-related policies. If Dowd is right, it would seem to have exposed a serious flaw in the White House’s planning process. There is an air of improvisation being detected by some observers. At first, it was Limbaugh, and it now seems to be Cheney that is driving the Obama agenda on national security. Continue…

Stand back, gentlemen! Only science can settle this dispute! Lame online polling science!

By Paul Wells - Thursday, May 21, 2009 at 2:20 PM - 29 Comments

And you know what the question’s going to be, don’t you.

Torture and the Pelosi Diversion

By John Parisella - Wednesday, May 20, 2009 at 11:49 AM - 13 Comments

Speaker Nancy Pelosi has never been one to shy away from a good fight. This time, she has entered a battle that is very much of her own making. Her reversals and confusing explanations have shifted the debate from whether former Bush-Cheney officials should be investigated and possibly prosecuted for their roles in the torturing of terrorism suspects to what she knew and when she found out about it. Give the Republicans credit for adroitly exploiting the diversion after the Dick Cheney media offensive was clearly becoming a liability for the GOP. Nothing better than to put the Speaker on the defensive and shift the debate away from their increasingly disturbing record on torture.

This being said, the torture debate is only heating up. The evidence increasingly seems to suggest that torture was used to link 9/11 to Iraq and thereby justify the invasion. There is now evidence that torture was going on while Bush was telling the nation the exact opposite. What really matters is whether the US government knowingly contravened domestic law, the Constitution or the Geneva Conventions. Either of those scenarios would be enough to justify a special non-partisan or bipartisan commission to get to the truth.

This weekend, Cheney’s daughter Liz referred to Obama’s actions on national security as un-Americain. Later in the week, Cheney will once again justify the actions of his administration on “enhanced interrogation techniques” before a right wing, partisan crowd at the American Enterprise Institute. But there is nothing quite as effective as using Pelosi to make Americans forget the real perpetrators of torture and the extent to which it was used.

The Cheney-Limbaugh Ticket

By John Parisella - Thursday, May 14, 2009 at 3:00 PM - 12 Comments

The impression that is emerging in the minds of voters is that Dick Cheney and Rush Limbaugh are running the Republican party—not in terms of electoral politics, but in leadership terms. Nothing could please the Obama people more than being attacked in the media by a former vice president adamantly defending “enhanced interrogation methods” or being castigated daily on the radio by Rush Limbaugh. Such a hypothetical Republican ticket represents at best 25% of the electorate. If you are Democratic National Committee president Tim Kaine, with less than two years to go before the mid-term elections, you cannot ask for a better portrait of the current Republican leadership than Cheney-Limbaugh.

Cheney’s media tour, undertaken under the guise of talking about the lives that were saved by the Bush administration’s policies, has overshadowed legitimate policy differences between the GOP and the Democrats. This comes at a crucial moment, too: the budget’s details are emerging and Obama will soon be proposing a nominee for the Supreme Court. The ongoing sideshow over what Nancy Pelosi knew about torture has only brought greater spotlight on the issue itself. We now know that the torture began six months before the memos that authorized it were written. There is increasing evidence that laws were broken, that the constitution was violated and, possibly, that war crimes were committed. Moreover, FBI interrogators and infiltrators have testified before a congressional subcommittee to argue that torture does not work. And yet, Cheney and his daughter are claiming that America is less safe under the Obama presidency—a serious charge that cannot go unchallenged. The defense secretary under both Bush and Obama, Robert Gates, strongly disputes this claim, as does defense hawk and McCain supporter, Democratic senator Joe Lieberman. If Cheney wants a debate on torture, to borrow a favourite phrase of George W. Bush’s, “bring it on.”

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