Eagleburger Mocks Cheney As "Benighted" (VIDEO)

Lawrence Eagleburger mocked Dick Cheney on Tuesday, saying that the former vice president, whom he dubbed "benighted," has long exaggerated his position as a partisan in favor of removing Saddam Hussein from power during the first Gulf War.

Eagleburger, a GOP elder statesman who was in President George H.W. Bush's inner circle during the war, said Cheney and others who say they were "screaming and yelling" for Hussein's removal only did so when it was obvious Bush had the capacity to do so. When the real decision was being made, Eagleburger implies, Cheney sang a different tune. Eagleburger answered questions at a Brookings Institution forum.

Cheney has recently taken center stage as a spokesman for a GOP hard line. Eagleburger, a former secretary of state, is the highest-ranking Republican to challenge him.

"The arguments that were made later by some of the benighted people--oh, never mind. I will just say screaming and yelling about how the president should have gone after Saddam at that time were only made once it was a fairly clear that he could have done so. If he had done so it would have been taking the advice of certain people who became vice presidents later on," said Eagleburger.

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Comments

[desertdweller]

12:37 PM on 05/29/2009

Eagleburger is the only person that I have ever seen hold a cigarette in one hand and an asthma inhaler in the other and suck alternately on both....

[rockyersocksoff]

07:24 AM on 05/29/2009

He even LOOKS like Sam, the eagle from the Muppet Show.

[tompoe]

06:13 AM on 05/29/2009

Cheney is an admitted war criminal. He needs to be silenced. He lost his right to be called, former vice president, years ago.

[jsgaetano]

12:54 PM on 05/28/2009

At least one Gooper can admit the GOP is filled with "Revisionist Historians", as George Dubai Bush so aptly named them.

[bibimimi]

03:13 PM on 05/28/2009

'George Dubai-oo Bush'

very clever, that!

[Vyvjala]

11:08 AM on 05/28/2009

BEEKER!

[urnumbersix]

09:07 AM on 05/28/2009

Don't forget the gay daughter. Cheney loves her -for real.
Suppression, projection -- it's ALL there

Too bad she won't speak out!
\

[Waltfl]

07:31 AM on 05/28/2009

Like him or dislike him, for a Republican his points of views are always fairly balanced and fact-based. Even though he attacked Obama during the election, I remember him also saying last October that Palin was unprepared for top office.

[lompe]

06:28 AM on 05/28/2009

Lawrence 'Obama is a con-man' Eagleburger is respectable?

Ha.

[roshni]

05:02 PM on 05/28/2009

He endorsed Obama in the last election, if I am not mistaken.

[valleygent]

06:27 PM on 05/28/2009

none of these characters on the right side of the aisle are "respectable" in any plausible definition of the word

[davispty5]

03:45 AM on 05/28/2009

be⋅night⋅ed
  /bɪˈnaɪtɪd/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [bi-nahy-tid] Show IPA
–adjective
1. intellectually or morally ignorant; unenlightened.

A perfect definition of Cheney.

[ibwilliamsi]

01:18 AM on 05/28/2009

Benighted - I like it.

[danielet]

12:30 AM on 05/28/2009

Eagleberger was Henry's protogee and as such trucked no influence with the Bushies. Bush feared responsibility, making him quite an UNdecider. Rumsfeld took over through the good offices of "Vice," that devil's servant demon. Bush said NO to two wars at once-- Afghanistan and Iraq; as suspected by Powell, after he left Bush, Rumsfeld came late at night and said: remember the Pentagon's "lost" copy of your National Guard records that the Texas National Guard "lost"? I found it. Suddenly the Iraq war was on. Why did Rummy want war? When Bush offered him SecDef post he said he had had that, didn't want it, wanted only CIA because DCI gets to make policy. Neocons then said to Rumsfeld: Bush is a one term putz like his father; look at how he already defers decisons to Cheney. Take the job, start war in Iraq, win quick, becoming a hero, and then you can run in his place in 2004-- we'll back you all the way. Iraqi Sunni insurgents had another idea and the war did not end. After re-election Bush cleaned out the neocons but couldn't dump Cheney. He kept Rumsfeld to use later as scapegoat. This is our Republican Party, full of self-serving fools. If Eagleberger knew all this he'd have said it just to be one up on the Powell's people, too scared to tell the nation these details. We need Congressional hearings to see what "Republican" really means.

[SPQR1775]

12:28 AM on 05/28/2009

Cheney is so "dark" and full of negative energy that he wanted Ascroft to sign off on ending the US Constitution "literally" on what was almost his deathbed. Cheney now say Colin Powell should stay in the GOP, what? I bet he needs Powell so the GOP can look inclusive, yeah right, General Powell should have been Bush's V.P in 2000 and 2004, but Bush was not only dumb and dumber, but also showed a lack of knowledge of any issue. Bush just follow orders and those orders came from Cheney. Imagine Bush for the first 4 years did not even take advise from his Father because to him Cheney knows best. The funny thing is, I can't wait until the democrats win an even bigger congressional majority and expand to 335 seats in the House and 82 in the Senate, then America will have all the CHANGE we need to ensure a more secular and truly spiritual nation build on the principles of the devine with no religious domas. One nation under God, but God is the Universe and we are the Universe. BE THE CHANGE PEOPLE, lets ensure Cheney get censored!

[danielet]

12:19 AM on 05/28/2009

Sorry, Mr. Eagleberger, but you were Henry's protogee and as such truck no influence with the Bushies. Bush feared responsibility responsibility, making him quite an UNdecider. Rumsfeld then took over through the good offices of "Vice," that devil's servant demon. Bush was sure that two wars at once-- Afghanistan and Iraq-- were too much; as suspected by Powell, Rumsfeld came to Bush late at night and said: remember the Pentagon's "lost" copy of your National Guard records that the Texas "lost"? I found it. Suddenly the Iraq war was on. Why did Rummy want it? When Bush offered him SecDef post he said he had had that, didn't want it, wanted only CIA DCI because it gets to make policy. Then neocons said: Don, Bush is a one term putz like his father; look at how he defers decisons to Cheney. Take the job, go to war in Iraq, win quick, becoming a hero, and then you can run in his place in 2004-- we'll back you all the way. Well, the Iraqi Sunnis had another idea and the war did not end. After re-election Bush cleaned out the neocons but couldn't dump Cheney. He kept Rumsfeld to use later as a scapegoat. This is our Republican Party, full of self-serving fools. If Eagleberger knew all this he'd have said it just to be one up on the Powell's people too scared to tell the nation these details. We need Congressional hearings to see what "Republican" really means.

[Puller58]

11:22 PM on 05/27/2009

Eagleburger also dissed Oliver North long ago, so he is a lot smarter than the current GOPer.

[factotem]

01:10 AM on 05/28/2009

Yeah, but he only finds his voice to criticize the GOP in the ensuing Dem admin. Funny how quiet dissent was from conservabots under Bush.

[deanimal]

10:24 PM on 05/27/2009

I knew the Republicans were in bad shape but I didn't realize it was this bad until I saw posts suggesting that Eagleburger represented the old respectable Repubs. Does anyone remember how bad he was?

[RRG64]

11:19 PM on 05/27/2009

Entire legacies are about to unwind, someone had to come out and "spank" Dick in public.
There was a reason for it.

[adrianinflorida]

10:55 AM on 05/28/2009

Yep, makes you wonder what is about to hit the fan. Maybe more on the photos depicting rapes in abu Gharib.

[toppermost]

11:46 PM on 05/27/2009

ha! I remember when Ashcroft seemed like the worst they had... he seems down right adorable now.