Cheney Silent On Obama Counterterrorism Gains

Mother Jones:

On Tuesday, President Barack Obama visited the National Counterterrorism Center outside Washington and declared that "because of our efforts" al Qaeda and its allies have "lost operational capacity." He cited recent arrests of terrorist suspects in Colorado, New York, Illinois, and Texas, asserting that these actions have made the nation safer. Afterward, his critics responded with...silence. Since Obama was sworn in, conservative hawks, led by former Vice President Dick Cheney, have been pounding the president for being weak on national security, accusing him of leaving the country vulnerable to another catastrophic attack. But this chorus of scaremongers tends to go mute when the Obama administration scores apparent counterterrorism successes. Cheney, for instance, hasn't said anything publicly about the arrest last month of Najibullah Zazi, the Denver airport shuttle driver, and others accused of planning an al Qaeda bombing operation.

Read the whole story: Mother Jones

Comments

[ray01]

What refreshing news...Che­nney being silent for once...not artifically raising the terror alert levels
for his selfish gains or those of his defense companies. Let him fade into obscurity in Wyoming.

[ReedYoung]

Sore loser.

[DocSyracuse]

I'm glad that Obama has largely kept in place the same counter-terrorism measures started after 9/11. This includes the Patriot Act. I also agree with his ending water-boarding. Keep up the good work, Barack!

[AllenD]

I would think Dick Cheney would be the first to salute President Obama for being the first president of the 21st century to complete his 8th month in office without allowing a terrorist attack to happen on US soil resulting in over 3,000 American deaths!

[tiredlady]

He's in his 'undisclosed, safe location' hanging by his toes with his wings folded over his blankie, and one of his little vampirebat thumbs stuck in his mouth- sulking.

[stargazer13]

I actually day dream about this man wearing black and white stripe,s

yeah it,s what get,S me though the DAY !!

[tj101]

hehehehe

[DocSyracuse]

Not a very serene thought. You should let go of your anger- it would be healthier.

[JiminNC]

Anger and contempt are not the same. Justice and revenge ... also different

[AntonioR]

LOL. well all we can do is dream of that day, bcuz it will never come...at least i don't think it will... :-)

[ResidualSelfImage]

The real question is why Obama would infect his administration with both Holder
and Greg Craig, both of whom are not merely politically tainted, but have acted as
defense agents for the Bush administration and the GOP more generally. (See
Simpson's article on Craig, which I think you may have sent around:
http://pubrecord.org/special-to-the-public-record/3263/white-house-should-craig/ ).
Can the Dems really be this clueless?

[stargazer13]

if you look closely there all from wall street

[ResidualSelfImage]

Why isnt he indicted yet?

Who is this MEGA PAID GOP LAWYER?

AG ERIC HOLDER'S TIES TO THE RNC

[JEP57]

Maybe Cheney is silent because he's glad for any inroads Obama's making towards terrorism which was his ultimate motivation for the things he did. Did anybody ask Cheney what he thought of this progress? I'm sure he would give credit where it is due. And does anybody really believe that the only reason Cheney advocated enhanced interogation techniques was for sadistic pleasure? No, nobody really thinks that. People with their own agenda want us to believe that.

[tj101]

No. He did it because he has no respect for the Constitution or International Law.

Torture is illegal and immoral.

[patricksmom]

No, if Cheney would give credit where credit is due he would have already spoken up. No one has had to ask him how he felt about anything else.

[ObamacratInCA]

"And does anybody really believe that the only reason Cheney advocated enhanced interrogation techniques was for sadistic pleasure?"

Torture was used to justify the invasion of Iraq. It was used to get human affirmation in support of a policy agenda conceived in neo-conservative think tanks.

That is sadistic. Whether Cheney derived pleasure from torturing others is a matter of debate, that he or any other human being endorses torture for any reason is sadistic and is not a matter of debate.

[stargazer13]

they sexually terrorized these people

[stargazer13]

WAKE UP you dreaming again !!!

[JiminNC]

Maybe ... and maybe he is silent because he knows that 5 minutes after Health Care, Energy, Financial reform and the repeal of DADT/DOMA ... it will be his turn in the barrel.

[HLL]

"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..." ~ Andrew Sullivan

'Nuff said.

[frappe]

Did Cheney go "silent"..­.or would it be best described as "covert"?

[jordan327]

You whine when he talks, you whine when he doesn't talk.

[Hoosierbrad]

No, he whines when he talks. We whine when you talk.

[lungfish]

booya!

[patricksmom]

Hey Jordan,
Wake up. It is all part of the same with Cheney.

[iamjones]

no, we are disgusted when he talks and we recognize when he does not because his silence speaks volumes. like the seminal line from "a few good men" says, he "can't handle the truth!" - the truth that terrorist plots are being squashed under obama's administration without torture, bombs, or nation building.

[JiminNC]

same old drool

[Hoosierbrad]

Thank you for a very well written article Mother Jones. This is a topic that should be covered on the Sunday news shows, but will probably be ignored. From his comments, one could conclude that Cheney hates America; people around the world just scratch their heads about this guy. I don't scratch my head, I believe him to be a thug, period.

[aquarius64]

Cheney is silent because he does not want to be publicly forced to eat crow. He is still afraid how history (or the Justice Dept. or the Hague) may judge him, especially since this administration is apparently getting the bad guys the right way.

[lungfish]

Yes, as an individual he is a frighted, small man and I am certain he is feeling the rage and realizing that he could be accountable for his crimes...

[Alarmist]

Cheney is a foul-weathered foe.
He comes out to criticize when things go wrong, and he must also have terribly low self-esteem, because he uses these opportunities to boost his own image and self-worth to himself. How sad.