Ridge, Cheney Assail Holder’s Decision

The previous administration is entirely for disclosure. Cheney wants all the memos released, not just the ones Obama released and heavliy redacted.
Obama does not dare release them, as they would completely vindicate Cheney and Bush and make painfully clear that what Holder is doing is a partisan witch hunt meant to pacify the bloodlust of the left.

“”the president’s the one who bears this responsibility, and for him to say, ‘Gee, I didn’t have anything to do with it,’ especially after he sat in the Oval Office and said this wouldn’t happen,”
But Obama never said that. Cheney’s lying, again. There can be a debate about whether the investigation of the CIA breaking it’s own rules on the allowed use of torture is justified, but what’s the point of listening to a guy who is telling obvious, verifiable lies to try to slander the current president?

drjohn:”Cheney wants all the memos released, not just the ones Obama released and heavliy redacted.
Obama does not dare release them, as they would completely vindicate Cheney and Bush”
What nonsense. The Bush administration had years to release ‘all the memos;’ they released none. The memos released to date show Cheney was lying. Now he’s playing word games to try to avoid more lies, “The documents released Monday,” said Cheney in a statement, “clearly demonstrate that the individuals subjected to Enhanced Interrogation Techniques provided the bulk of intelligence we gained about al Qaeda.”
Yeah, the individuals tortured did provide the bulk of intelligence – but not BY torture, but rather personal effects and the initial traditional interrogations.
Cheney is a proven liar, and that lable applies to you as you willfully repeat his lies.

“The Bush administration had years to release ‘all the memos;’ they released none.”
This did not become a political footall until Obama needed to feed some Republican meat to the left wing monster.
Obama won’t do it because it will make Cheney’s point valid.
WaPo also had an article this weekend vindicating Cheney.
It worked.

“We were just reminded again that our CIA agents murdered detainees,”
I’ll take a citation on that one.
And don’t forget that awful “threatening with an electric drill” and the “threatened with a loaded gun.”
Ooooo, those are just horrible.
Worse thing happen in Chicago and in the prison system, but none of you cares about that.

Ah, but nothing is worse than having second hand smoke blown right into the face.

So Alyson, you’re saying that Cheney told Emanuel and Gibbs what to say?
>guffaw<

“We torture – how terrible… they (Al Qaeda, Taliban, etc.) torture – then cut your head off!”
Dale | Aug 31, 2009 10:11:39 AM
Yay, we torture innocent people – but Al Qaeda kills them so we’re not as bad.
USA! USA! We’re not quite as bad! We’re not quite as bad!…
Hmm, doesn’t quite have the same ring as ‘We’re number #1′ does it.

Of course, this is a political ploy, but it will end up doing more harm to Obama, than to the GOP.

drjohn:”On Sunday, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, appearing on ABC’s This Week, underscored that President Obama had promised that CIA agents who acted in reliance on Bush-era Justice Department memoranda”
Once again, you are allergic to providing the ACTUAL QUOTES preferring to stick to spun paraphrases to distort what was said.
And agents who stuck to the approved torture procedures are indeed shielded. This probe is to look into allegations that some agents broke the few limitations in the CIA’s Bush-approved torture manual.

What did Cheney eat for dinner last night? Better put it in a headline.

Once again, you are allergic to providing the ACTUAL QUOTES preferring to stick to spun paraphrases to distort what was said.
And agents who stuck to the approved torture procedures are indeed shielded. This probe is to look into allegations that some agents broke the few limitations in the CIA’s Bush-approved torture manual.
Posted by: jhw539 | Aug 31, 2009 10:19:41 AM
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Ahhhh. Thanks for clearing that up. I didn’t have time to look up the quotes :>)

All you bleeding heart liberals kill me.I think you should praise the CIA and BUSH/Cheney for keeping America safe after 9/11.

People seem to have forgotten that this investigation was triggered by a referral from the CIA. The IG investigation within the CIA found that laws may have been broken, so the CIA referred it to the DOJ. The DOJ is responsible for following up on any referral from another agency.
This is exactly how government is supposed to work. The right is screaming all the time that government doesn’t work, and then when it does, they can’t stand it.
Bunch of WATBs, they are.

“STEPHANOPOULOS: Final quick question. The president has ruled out prosecutions for CIA officials who believed they were following the law. Does he believe that the officials who devised the policies should be immune from prosecution?
EMANUEL: What he believes is, look, as you saw in that statement he wrote, and I would just take a step back. He came up with this and he worked on this for about four weeks, wrote that statement Wednesday night, after he made his decision, and dictated what he wanted to see. And Thursday morning, I saw him in the office, he was still editing it.
He believes that people in good faith were operating with the guidance they were provided. They shouldn’t be prosecuted.
STEPHANOPOULOS: What about those who devised policy?
EMANUEL: Yes, but those who devised policy, he believes that they were — should not be prosecuted either, and that’s not the place that we go — as he said in that letter, and I would really recommend people look at the full statement — not the letter, the statement — in that second paragraph, “this is not a time for retribution.” It’s time for reflection. It’s not a time to use our energy and our time in looking back and any sense of anger and retribution.”
Senseless waste of time. What was posted here was absolutely accurate.
“It’s not a time to use our energy and our time in looking back and any sense of anger and retribution.”
Unless we need to feed the left wing monster.
Just remember what comes around….
Obama maintaining rendition and wiretapping could open himself up to prosecution.
Then again, so could his nonstop lying about healthcare.

“..Barack Obama does not really know the American people very well. And to the extent he does, he doesn’t particularly like them, and regards them with a certain contempt.”
Fascist;
I would say that you yourself has expressed more open contempt in print on these very comment pages for far more of your fellow Americans than Obama has tangibly expressed for any Americans in his entire political career.

Arent we suppose to be a nation of Laws?
So if we dont Investigate how will we know wheather or not Laws were broken? and if they were then people should be held accoutable I sat start at the top with Bush and Cheney they set up the torture prgram

thank you mr chenny for having the guts to ingnore the cant we just get along crowd and do youre best to protect the country post 911. how quick we forget. in the mean time did the JAPANESE RULING LIBERREAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY JUST SUFFER A dEVASTING LANDSLIDE LOSS? IN POWER FOR 50 PLUS YEARS? SIGNS OF CHANGE WE CAN BELEIVE IN.

I think you should praise the CIA and BUSH/Cheney for keeping America safe after 9/11.
Posted by: Johnny L | Aug 31, 2009 10:37:41 AM
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Oh, you do? And what shall I do about how safe they kept the American economy? how they protected Americans from medical bankruptcies and escalating health care costs? how they protected the environment? how safe they kept Americans ON 9/11?
I have to say I don’t really care what you think I or others should do. Seriously. I do commend our troops and the CIA and the FBI and our current Prez, SOS, DOJ and many others.I don’t need any pointers from you, particularly if you voted for Bush/Cheney twice and watch Fox News.

“We torture – how terrible… they (Al Qaeda, Taliban, etc.) torture – then cut your head off!”
Dale | Aug 31, 2009 10:11:39 AM
Yay, we torture innocent people – but Al Qaeda kills them so we’re not as bad.
USA! USA! We’re not quite as bad! We’re not quite as bad!…
Hmm, doesn’t quite have the same ring as ‘We’re number #1′ does it.
Posted by: jhw539 | Aug 31, 2009 10:17:03 AM
The about circular argument demonstrates all the absense of inttelligence required to violate the constitution. How about “two wrongs don’t make a fight” how about “what are we fighting for?”. For the love of god would you please go read a book? or better yet, go live in a place that doesn’t care about human rights, oh yeh, that’s who we’re fighting!

“Dr.” John, for citations, the AP report is no longer available (interesting) and death by US torture remains classified, I believe, but you can google ACLU’s info (autopsy reports and so on) as well as the UN’s Report of the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions. Also, Glenn Greenwald does a great job keeping on top of torture issues.
Just an FYI. I doubt you’re willing or able to think outside your box, but I like to extend the benefit of the doubt.

I mean good grief, didn’t he see “A Few Good Men”? Nicholson’s character couldn’t keep his mouth shut and ends up paying the price, just as Cheney will.
So not only will a few CIA agents come under scrutiny, but eventually it’s gonna get back to Cheney and maybe even Bush. All the idiot had to do was shut the eff up, but he obviously is not able to keep his mouth shut.
Obama obviously was trying to ignore it, hoping it would go away. But if Cheney wants to shoutingly insist that breaking the law was OK, well then, I guess we’ll have to take it to trial and see. From Obama’s standpoint it is not “political” in any way because he didn’t want to have anything to do with it. He just wanted to move forward. But big-mouth Cheney is trying to make it political.
What a dope.
Posted by: Al Oliver | Aug 31, 2009 12:10:43 PM
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:>) Seriously. What is up with the dude?And his daughter??

-Did we Americans torture people looking for a justification to invade Iraq? Now 4100+ US service men and women are dead and countless Iraqi civilians because Bush Inc. needed to get some oil and give Halliburton something to do. I can’t believe that some Americans are OK with that. Talk about spending….how about two trillion+ tax dollars down the drain for some failed corporate hacks. Republicans have become Marxists, in the sense that they support propping up our economy with constant defense spending.-
Afghanistan: Just as bad if not worse. How many dead so that Barry can look tough and the US can pull up poppies?

Drone,
I seem to recall Bush and Co. starting the war in Afganistan.
Not BO.

Hey toe tappers and propagandists!
Okay, so instead of tossing out all our freedoms and attacking the wrong country in obvious panic, like the GOPers, Obama is showing courageous faith that a nation can live by rule of law and still defeat its enemies. That makes him your hero, right?
‘…the enhanced techniques that the CIA used against some of the highest valued detainees in the war on terror were “amateurish” and that their use “plays into enemy hands”, “ignores the endgame” and “diminishes the moral high ground.”‘ (former FBI agent who witnessed the procedures.)
Well, gee, that sure flies in the face of the self-adduced “expert opinion” of a man – Cheney – who has NEVER served or been formally trained in the military or in any law enforcement capacity or procedure. Cheney knows about as much about effective interrogation techniques as couch-potato bubba knows about triathlon training! This is what we get when we let two DRAFT DODGER CHICKEN HAWKS run the country and try to run two wars!
Please hacks!
Security from terrorist attacks is conducted by paralleling complex criminal investigations. The search for radioactivity, tracking the sale and use of things that can be made into a bomb, securing nuclear sites, inspecting imports, doing background checks on would-be pilots, tracking the sale of arms within and into our country, and so forth.
Securing the people of our country from terror is about being smart, not paranoid.

>Afghanistan: Just as bad if not worse. How many dead so that Barry can look tough and the US can pull up poppies?
Really, that’s is just too inane a comment to even respond to, isn’t it?
It’s just so deliciously Republican. Such a fine example of demented reasoning. Really, everyone should look at that comment and ask if they really want to be associated in any way, shape, or form to people of that mind.
That’s what got Bush/Cheney elected twice!!!!

I’m glad that’s so in your case, but the right-wing propaganda machine successfully markets their version of the truth all the time.

Does the American left ever get their rage on for anyone other than fellow Americans?

Does the American left ever get their rage on for anyone other than fellow Americans?
Posted by: Foghorn Leghorn | Aug 31, 2009 12:38:53 PM
OH….that’s what we need!!
More Americans “getting their rage on”.
See…that’s the problem with you toe taping republican propagandists…..YOU ARE MAD AT EVERYTHING, and if it doesn’t make you mad then it is “weak”.
You really think that you are going to get information from someone who really hates you, by torturing them?
Only fools would think that torturing someone who already is willing to blow themselves up in the name of their ideology, would be fruitful.
The truth is, torture most likely hardens the resolve of those folxs we are ignorant enough to torture.

Posted by: Daniel |
Again with the putting words in my mouth and turning me in to Rush in four easy sentences.

“Does the American left ever get their rage on for anyone other than fellow Americans?”
You have to admit it’s a loaded question. What would an acceptable answer be? Yes?
You’re really making an implication couched in a question.

Overall approval for Obama has now reached 46%, with 53% disapproving.  Strong disapproval now comes within five points of overall approval, almost within the margin of error:

Congress will be looking at a much different playing field than when they left for their recess.  At that time, Obama’s job approval ratings were mixed, and even Rasmussen had it as more or less an even split, with only a point or two between overall approval and overall disapproval.  Four weeks later, every pollster has Obama’s numbers heading south quickly, and Rasmussen has Obama seven points under on overall approval/disapproval.  Only the politically suicidal would not take a lesson from this August.  Expect even more resistance to ObamaCare and the public plan in September.

Fascist Hyena defaults to some poll.
Polls not taken near election times are worthless.
Seek and yee shall find. Polls help us do both.

This is nothing more than the current “junkyard dog” marking his territory; however, more than likely, we will all end up paying the price of having the carpets cleaned in the future………..

Here’s where I see a bit of irony: In his interview with Chris Wallace on Fox News, Cheney acted like his feelings were all hurt or something (“offended the hell out of me,” he said) by the Obama WH because he hadn’t been consulted. That just cracks me up. Like he’s done such an awesome job!! Sure, if we just totally blow off the events of 9/11, the anthrax attacks, the terrorist attacks against U.S. allies, the terrorist attacks against U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Bush Admin’s failure to capture Osama bin Laden, the distortions and contortions which got us into the Iraq war which inspired more terrorists, the success terrorists had in exploiting the Bush Admin’s international unpopularity, and Abu Ghraib, Gitmo and the torture policies which became such a powerful symbol and excellent recruiting tools for the terrorists– well then, yes, yes, if we blow off al that the Bush/Cheney record on counter-terrorism was awesome and I can see why his feelings would be hurt that he wasn’t consulted.
Sigh.
On top of that,he admitted the rule of law is meaningless to him.
As a slight tangent, I loved Andrew Sullivan’s description of the interview. You should all check it out. Here’s an excertpt: “[T]here are softball interviews; and then there are interviews like this… Even as propaganda, which is its point, it doesn’t work – because it’s far too cloying and supportive of Cheney to be convincing to anyone outside the true-believers. When it comes to Cheney, one of the most incompetent vice-presidents in the country’s history, with a record of two grotesquely botched wars, war crimes and a crippling debt, Chris Wallace sounds like a teenage girl interviewing the Jonas Brothers.”
:>) Spot on.

with a record of two grotesquely botched wars, war crimes…
Posted by: Alyson |
Does Sully think Gulf War I was grotesquely botched?

Does Sully think Gulf War I was grotesquely botched?
Posted by: Foghorn Leghorn | Aug 31, 2009 3:24:11 PM
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I don’t know– I think he’s talking about W’s two wars in that quote, no? Afghanistan being botched byway of the distraction via Iraq– but I’m just projecting there. You’d have to research it yourself. I just love the Jonas brothers quote because it was quite the softball interview. I also love Ryan’s response.
:>)

Cheney admitted that he doesn’t care if laws were broken by the CIA, which is pretty much an admission that he and others, should the investigations proceed, will find that he and others in the Bush administration broke the law.
What we know looks bad enough…. the rest will no doubt be more terrible than we can imagine.

Posted by: Kathy | Aug 31, 2009 6:44:15 PM
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Personally I think it’s important that the world knows that as Americans,citizens of the land of the free and the brave with liberty and justice for all, we are who we say we are– a country with amazing military troops, diplomats and secret agents who need not rely on illegal, immoral practices to succeed, a country that believes in freedom, liberty, the rule of law, human rights, elections — and that we don’t throw our principles out the door the second the waters get murky. That we don’t sell our souls to become like the fearmongerers who wish to destroy us, but rather rely on our principles, enduring American principles, while ensuring liberty and equal opportunity lives on in the land of the forever free and forever brave Terrorism and adversity will never break us or change our value system.
Thomas Paine:
“An avidity to punish is always dangerous to liberty. It leads men to stretch, to misinterpret, and to misapply even the best of laws. He that would make his own liberty secure must guard even his enemy from oppression; for if he violates this duty he establishes a precedent that will reach to himself.”

When I clicked on the video clip to hear what Cheney had to say, a commercial for Kool-aid played first. Right wingers should be pre-warned so they don’t OD on the double dose of Kool-aid.