Liz Cheney On Iraq: "We Made Mistakes ... No Question About It"

Liz Cheney admitted on Monday that when it came to her father's handling of the occupation of Iraq by U.S. forces, "certainly we made mistakes."

"There is just no question about that," said the former state department employee and ubiquitous defender of the Bush administration's national security policies.

Speaking at the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center for the Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute's Conservative Leadership Seminar, Cheney pinpointed the errors as stemming from a fundamental misjudgment about the strength of Iraq's political institutions.

"I think that when we were in the months and years right after Saddam was deposed, there are things that I probably would do differently now," she said. "We had this sense that one could go into a nation like Iraq and if you sort of either arrested or removed from office the top layer of leadership that other Iraqis would sort of rise up and take over. I don't think we expected the population to be so traumatized. But I think what we saw is that after decades of Saddam's rule nobody was willing to step up and take over. People waited for instruction for everything."

The remarks, which went relatively unnoticed, reflect a willingness for introspection on Iraq that few of the war's most ardent defenders have allowed. The former vice president himself has admitted that mistakes were made, but primarily in posture, not policy. For instance, he has said it was wrong for him to have declared that the insurgency was in its last throes when it clearly wasn't. He has been decidedly less reflective about the troop levels that were deployed to the war in the first place and that had to deal with that insurgency.

Despite calling America's invasion of Iraq "by no means perfect," Liz Cheney, like her father promised that history books would declare the invasion to be a tremendous success. Already, she declared, the war had proven to be "a huge service for humanity, a huge service for security, a huge service for the Middle East, for the people of Iraq."

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Comments

[cesarportugal]

simple mistake.?
but you (usa), invaded Iraque to put down Sadam and export democracy and especially to get OIL and to stolen Dolars from Americans peoples (citizens) to some personalities like Cheney, became multi-super-RICH.

this last two goals are the real motive for Iraque wAR and in the end, millions of Iraqis MENS, WOMENS AND CHILDRENS ARE DEAD and you must remember that with this lies you have Lost more than 4.000 americans, only in Iraque, plus, millions of disable americans that will became, in a near future, a very big problem in USA, like others vets.

what was the VICTORY ? WHO HAVE WON ? USA ? Iraque? the people?... No, of course the Winers are SOME people and some companies and if you do not see this you are..........!!

[decora]

"if you sort of either arrested or removed from office the top layer of leadership that other Iraqis would sort of rise up and take over." oh you mean hundreds of thousands of people in the iraqi army, like how you removed them from office? hospital officials, teachers, nurses, cops, traffic engineers, sewage system managers... yeah ....can't figure how that would have been a bad idea.

[Skott1]

"I think that when we were in the months and years right after Saddam was deposed, there are things that I probably would do differently now," she said.

I would probably do differently now?!!! Liz, all this time, people have been accusing your father of secretly running the country and now we find out it wasn't him . . . IT WAS YOU!!!!

This low level twit is so full of herself, why is anyone giving her air time?

[BBC9nch]

. "We had this sense that one could go into a nation like Iraq and if you sort of either arrested or removed from office the top layer of leadership that other Iraqis would sort of rise up and take over. I don't think we expected the population to be so traumatized. But I think what we saw is that after decades of Saddam's rule nobody was willing to step up and take over."



This is a very savvy political technique, admit failure but then attribute it to someone elses shortcomings. It's not really an admission of failure at all. She is basically saying if those Iraqis had just stepped up and took over after we deposed Sadam we would have had a perfect plan.

[moxieme]

Now all we need is Bristol Palin's take on the Iraq invasion. Every word that is coming out of the mouths of Repubs sounds more and more desperate. Why don't they just go behind closed doors and develop their strategy. The first thing they need to do is silence Michael Steele...or not. He's ensuring they get very few minority votes. Does that help the "average white men"?

[lthuedk 1]

Mistakes? Let's see...there's:

Treason, by outing a CIA agent and her front company
Murder, by fraudulent preemption
24/7 deception, Leo Strauss style
Torture and constant physical-mental harm to SUSPECTS held without cause or trial.
Subversion of the United States, including illegal, totalitarian-style wiretap to protect the Cheney junta.

Perhaps daughter-as a lawyer-would like to bring informed people into court and enjoy a very brief moment of righteousness asserting a willfully false claim, only to be brought down with the facts. She wouldn't be the first to go to bat for a criminal many times over only to eat dung with the first witness.

Lizzie's' Father is all the above and much, much more. So, please, let's get all the facts about daddy on the table and shut down the militant corporatist propaganda mill, whether G.E. and likes it or not. Come on MSM: Just stop the abuse of our senses and start acting responsibly and fairly. Militant corporatism is the problem.

Producers must know we know and that we shall not waver from indicting them as complicit in propaganda delivery of the boldest kind. Jamming Lizzie in our face is not a good look for producers and their networks and only goes to affirm what we have been seeking for some time now; that We the People want truth, not corporate spin to protract global militant corporatism.

http://www.light-to-dark.com/benedick_bush.html

Prosecute now!

[Kingstone]

Now she goes on to lie on CNN. What happens to MSNBC. Pathetic !

[Deja Peterson]

yeah, the biggest mistake was going to iraq in the first place.

stupid bytch.

[Tom Joad]

...with apologies to Dr. Seuss:

Miz Liz, Miz Liz!
Tell me, tell me do!
Miz Liz tell me,
What would you not do?

Tell me Thing 1
and tell me Thing 2
Do tell me, Miz Liz
What would you not do?

Would you not slither from under a rock?
Would you not invade Iraq?
Would you not lie about WMDs?
Tell me, Miz Liz, oh, please,please, please, please!

Would you not speak false words?
Would you abandon waterboards?
Would you not or would you do?
Tell me, Tell me, What would you?

[freethinkergirl]

Love it!!!!

[MajorKong]

The Cheneys never met a war they didn't like. They're a bunch of ghouls.

[Subtle]

"The Cheneys never met a war they didn't like."

Well, except the wars in which they would do the actual fighting.

[BabblingBrooks]

Made mistakes? SURE! It was a human endeavor, and humans are not infallible!

This is NEWS?

[TJCole]

Campbell Brown insisted on letting Liz Cheney just lie her you know what off tonight, I happened to catch some of it, it's like CNN is working for the Cheney's now, lies blatant lies things even the Pentagon and the interrogators have refuted it's disgusting, what has become of our country..?

It's not the days of Cronkite any more, and people here are attacking Rachel Maddow you should be kissing her feet for being there...!

[GlennB]

Just one more thing ... Don't you just get under your skin when people keep telling you something you already know? For God's sake, Liz...we know the Bush Administration made a mistake(s) in and about Iraq! The citizens of the United States has been saying that for years now! OMG! Have you been sleeping on your laurels? Or did you just have your head in some dark place for almost a decade?

FYI: That old administration made mistakes in other areas of government too. Go back home, Liz. Go back home!

[GlennB]

What? Who cares that "Liz Cheney admitted on Monday that when it came to her father's handling of the occupation of Iraq by U.S. forces, "certainly we made mistakes?" What does she mean, "WE made mistakes?" Was she in on the briefings?

Like I said in my comment about Dick Cheney saying he thinks everyone should be free to marry, etc....Mr Cheney is just saying all of this because he's setting his daughter up to have a voice while she prepares to run for some office, somewhere, to find her place in a governmental position. Please, she's already saying "We" like she was there to cast her vote for the US to go into Iraq.

Yep, we're gonna see this girl a lot more as the next year or so progresses - and she's freshning her makeup and buttoning up her designer suits for the ride! I like it only because at least she's honest about the fact that she's a lesbian. At least the media won't have to sniff that one ouf (sorry)!

And, lest anyone forget...We [gay people] vote by big margins.

[AmorDeCosmos]

Just so you're aware, Mary Cheney is Dick's lesbian daughter. Liz Cheney is married and has five children, according to Wikipedia.

[dutchess2]

Well......­.....sever­al weeks of shock and awe might have traumatized a few....

Lying about them being terrorists might have traumatized a few more...

Then, of course, having whole communities rounded up and ultimately landing in Gitmo or
similar didn't help much, I spect...