Constitutional Law
Cheney Weighs In On Probe of CIA, Calls US Terror Tactics Legal & Necessary
Posted Aug 31, 2009 11:29 AM CST
By Martha Neil
Reacting to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder's appointment of a special prosecutor last week to look into the legality of interrogation techniques used on suspects by the Central Intelligence Agency following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, former Vice President Dick Cheney called the probe a political witchhunt by left-wing Democrats.
Speaking on Fox News Sunday, Cheney described the probe of controversial interrogation techniques including repeated waterboarding of some suspects and threats to use a gun and a drill as an “intensely partisan, politicized look back at the prior administration,” reports the New York Times. He called such counterterrorism tactics legal and necessary, and noted that neither the gun nor the drill had actually been used on detainees.
“It’s clearly a political move,” said Cheney of the investigation of the CIA. “I mean, there’s no other rationale for why they’re doing this.”
Transcripts of Cheney's remarks on Sunday and in another program on Friday, Special Report With Bret Baier, are provided by FOX News.
Additional coverage:
ABAJournal.com: "AG Names Prosecutor for Detainee Interrogation Probe"
Vote Blog (Christian Science Monitor): "Cheney on interrogation: Obama should’ve asked for pointers"
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Comments
AndytheLawyer
Aug 31, 2009 11:42 AM CST
Richard Nixon famously and wrongly claimed: “If the president does it, it’s not illegal.” Now, in effect, Cheney is asserting the same thing for the Vice-President.
I don’t blame him for cowering in the face of a Justice Department probe. Anyone with his sorry history of executive malfeasance would.
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J.D.
Aug 31, 2009 1:25 PM CST
Obama threatens public safety. It’ll be interesting to watch the left’s response if and when (heaven, forbid) a terrorist attack occurs on our soil once again. Last time, the far left blamed 9/11 on Bush, as if the entire plot was cooked up within the 7.5 months he was in office.
Now that Obama is backtracking on security, there is much more of a logic argument in blaming him for anything that goes wrong. But I suspect the far left will somehow blame Bush and Cheney once again.
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Paul
Aug 31, 2009 4:23 PM CST
I think the responsibility lies at the top of the administration that asked for torture to begin by renaming it as “enhanced interrogation techniques”, (even Ronald Regan, called the practice of torture “abhorrent”), is anyone surprised that Cheney is now crying about the investigations.
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B. McLeod
Aug 31, 2009 10:08 PM CST
Obviously he is desirous of not having certain practices traced to their true origin. I wonder what was used on the detainees who reportedly died in custody. I hope those are among the incidents under investigation.
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Tom Degan
Sep 1, 2009 5:10 AM CST
Thank you, Dick Cheney, for saving the United States of America. But seriously, folks….
It sure is fun watching poor old Dick Cheney stumbling all over the right wing airwaves, desperately trying to poison the jury pool and dodge a VERY long stretch in a federal prison. I only saw clips of his “interview” with Chris Wallace on FOX Noise on Sunday. Someone described it as a starry-eyed teenage girl interviewing one of the Jonas brothers.
It sure is funny observing the meltdown of Dick and Liz (Cheney – not Burton and Taylor). The trillion dollar hammer is about to hit the fan. They’re like cornered rats. Oh, man! I’m lovin’ this!
Don’t take your eye off the Cheneys. For your best entertainment bargain, these two are the show that should not be missed. We’re talking essential viewing here!
http://www.tomdegan.blogspot.com
Tom Degan, Goshen, NY
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J.D.
Sep 1, 2009 9:28 AM CST
“Oh, man! I’m lovin’ this!”
When jihadists who want to kill you and your family have the same mindset as many on the political left, one realizes that we are in for some dark times.
If society concludes that putting a caterpillar in a terrorist’s cell, blowing smoke in their faces, dripping some water on their hair, and playing loud music is “torture,” we’ve become such wimps that the jihadists will certainly win this war in the long run.
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associate
Sep 1, 2009 9:40 AM CST
Today is September 1, 2001.
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T.R.
Sep 1, 2009 11:12 AM CST
I will start believing what Dick Cheney says right after we find the WMDs in Iraq.
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J.D.
Sep 1, 2009 1:34 PM CST
There’s nothing wrong with these practices. To show this, Dick Cheney should even volunteer to be deposed using enhanced interrogation tactics. That’d show those jihadist loving wimps that its no big deal.
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J.D.
Sep 2, 2009 9:27 AM CST
^ Liberal attempt at posing as the real J.D. in #6.
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