Cheney: Stop The "Dithering" As Troops Face Danger

WASHINGTON — Former Vice President Dick Cheney on Wednesday night accused the White House of dithering over the strategy for the war in Afghanistan and urged President Barack Obama to "do what it takes to win."

"Make no mistake. Signals of indecision out of Washington hurt our allies and embolden our adversaries," Cheney said while accepting an award from a conservative national security group, the Center for Security Policy.

Cheney disputed remarks by White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel that the Bush administration had been adrift concerning the war in Afghanistan and that the Obama administration had to start from the beginning to develop a strategy for the 8-year-old war.

To the contrary, Cheney said, the Bush administration undertook its own review of the war before leaving office and presented its findings to Obama's transition team.

"They asked us not to announce our findings publicly, and we agreed, giving them the benefit of our work and the benefit of the doubt," Cheney said. The strategy Obama announced in March bore a "striking resemblance" to what the Bush administration review had found, the vice president said.

Emanuel told CNN on Sunday that the decision regarding what to do in Afghanistan is more complex than whether to send more troops. The U.S. commander there, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, has reportedly asked for as many as 40,000 additional troops to combat the Taliban insurgency and al-Qaida fighters.

"When you go through all the analysis, it's clear that basically we had a war for eight years that was going on, that's adrift, that we're beginning at scratch, and just from the starting point, after eight years," Emanuel said.

Cheney said the Obama administration seems to be pulling back and blaming others for its own failure to implement the strategy it had embraced earlier in the year.

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"The White House must stop dithering while America's armed forces are in danger," the former vice president said. "It's time for President Obama to do what it takes to win a war he has repeatedly and rightly called a war of necessity."

Cheney criticized Obama's decision to drop plans begun in the Bush administration for missile defense interceptors in Poland and a radar site in the Czech Republic, calling the move "a strategic blunder and a breach of good faith." The administration said it will instead pursue a higher-tech system that is also more cost-effective.

"Our Polish and Czech friends are entitled to wonder how strategic plans and promises years in the making could be dissolved just like that with apparently little if any consultation," he said. "President Obama's cancellation of America's agreements with the Polish and Czech governments is a serious blow to the hopes and aspirations of millions of Europeans."

Cheney said those who try to placate Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and accede to his wishes will get nothing in return but trouble.

___

On the Net:

Center for Security Policy: http://www.centerforsecuritypolicy.org/

Comments

[thebluestater]

As Obama dithers, more soldiers just died! These deaths are on Obama's hands.

[guilatty]

With his track record Mr. Cheney should have the good manners to please be quiet for a while. Let's see. Here is a guy whose information is over a year old. He is not being briefed and has no idea what is really happening. Yet, he flaps his gums. And the last time we ran headlong into military conflict without having our facts straight, heck, that worked out great!

Research Mr. Cheney's history. He became a multi-millionaire without ever having a private industry job until his Halliburton windfall. Avoided the military with 5 deferments during Vietnam era. Latched onto coattails of powerful men since he was a kid, using the political system for his entire career. A poor student with a drinking problem. From whence all this savvy? He seems shallow, caricatured to me. And that effected, bureaucrat way of speaking is put on. Move on, Mr. Cheney. You flopped. You failed. You got beat. Deal with it.

[hhayden]

Yet you don't mind weighing in on the subject with far lass imformation and experience.

Obama has become a millionaire without holding an industry job.

Has Obama served in the military?

[grf67]

Why is the great coward of the Vietnam generation even out of jail?

[hhayden]

We have that pesky thing about convicting someone of something first. You guy don't seem to mind that Ted Kennedy stayed out of jail. What is Cheney's crime really? Not agreeing with you?. I guess we should jail anyone who disagrees - correct?

[zeezan]

War crimes?

[dukeuch]

He disagrees with me? I'll take the Republican tact:

"He's Un-American!"

[K.J. Dwyer - Huffpost Blogger]

That Cheney, of all people, should accuse anyone of "dithering" on Afghanistan -- when he intentionally diverted attention away from Afghanitstan for eight years and waged an illegal, unjustified war in Iraq that resulted in the displacement of 5.4 million Iraqis and either directly and/or indirectly caused the deaths a million more -- shows unbelievable gall on his part.

He should frankly shut his neo-conservative trap and count himself lucky that he lives in a country with such a remarkably feckless judicial system that it allows him to continue to walk free rather than spending the remainder of his time in prison.

To Cheney and all the rest of Bush apologists: STFU.

[hhayden]

We all still have free speech for the moment, even people you don't like. I imagine Obama has other plans for that as well. Apparently having a gold banner dosen't help your thought process. Obama is "dithering". It's a fact no matter who brings it up.

[K.J. Dwyer - Huffpost Blogger]

Whether or not you think that the president is "dithering" (he would say reviewing all the various components of the Afghan strategy; infrastructure, political stability, etc.), is frankly beside the point of this particular article.

There are plenty of people, both conservative and liberal, who are of the opinion that to commit to sending more troops to Afghanistan without first establishing the results of Afghanistan's run-off and examining the growing threat in Pakistan (where the vast majority of Al Qaeda evidently resides) is rash and requires more reflection and opinion than just that of McChrystal.

What is salient about this article, which seems screamingly obvious to me, is the fact that Cheney and the rest of the neo conservative cabal who created and exacerbated this mess are the last people to be weighing in on the President's Afghan response. If you can't glean that simple fact and are not galled by Cheney's shameless hypocrisy, then I don't know what I can say to you.

[WeMustSpeakOut]

You are correct about free speech and D|ck has every right to blather, but we also have the right to vent after being subject to his actions for years.

[WeMustSpeakOut]

You took the "venting" right out of my mouth! Well said.

[1tourist]

Additional dithering on Iraq might well have been a good thing instead of the slam dunk that was proported.

[RobBob]

Hey, mister ex-Vice President. You know that thing you do with you mouth and gums? You know, where you make sounds similar to words? Yeah, that one. You should stop that.

[hhayden]

So, you don't like free speech. What other freedoms are you against?

[Cleo Creech]

Isn't it pretty obvious though that they were holding the troop support as a bargaining tool to push for Karzai to agree to new elections? If they'd thrown a bunch of troops in, without regards to the legitamacy of the election, then we'd have a bunch of soldiers in harm's way with a corrupt unpopular government that had little accoutnability to anyone, not the Afghan people not the US, nobody.

[hhayden]

And you are fine with our putting the troops there in jeopardy in order to use reinforcements as bargaining chips? How many will di'e unnecessarily while the president plays at politics.

[Cleo Creech]

So I take it then you're fine with blindly throwing bodies at the problem now, without any strategy involved to insure a legititmate Afghan partner who we can count on to take over this mess us and help us get out in a timely and somewhat dignified manner. War is always based on positioning, bargaining and politics, especially the war in Iraq, which resulted in classic neo-con thinking. Where were these voices for the past 8 years when the Bush white house was "dithering" in Afghanistan - it's totally disingenuous to call foul on this now. Cheny reminds me of some little kid that's broken a vase, then points over to the next kid "it was him, honest".

[freethinkergirl]

Retired General Paul Eaton, senior adviser to the National Security Network"

The record is clear: Dick $heney and the Bush administration were inc0mpetent w@r f|ghters. They ign0red Afghanistan for 7 years with a cru.de approach to counter-insurgency w@rfare best illustrated by: 1. Deny it. 2. Ignore it. 3. B0mb it. While our intelligence agencies called the region the greatest thre@t to America, the Bush White House under-resourced our mIlitary efforts, shifted attention to Iraq, and failed to bring to justice the m@sterminds of September 11.

The only time $heney and his c@bal of foreign policy 'experts' have anything to say is when they feel compelled to protect this f@iled legacy. While President Obama is tasked with cleaning up the considerable mess they left behind, they continue to defend t)rture or rewrite a legacy of indifference on Afghanistan. Simply put, Mr. $heney sees history throughout extremely my)pic and partisan eyes.

[patriotrebel]

Obama dithers, our military withers.

[hhayden]

Obama showed his true colors when he tried make us run in Iran. Even after were were winning.

[freethinkergirl]

HUH???? IRAN???? WINNING???

Oh Look hhayden you were just joined by another talking point Tr||ie, have fun tonight you two.

[Daniel Leyva]

Winning what?

[freethinkergirl]

Retired General Paul Eaton, senior adviser to the National Security Network:

The record is clear: Dick Cheney and the Bush administration were incompetent war fighters. They ignored Afghanistan for 7 years with a crude approach to counter-insurgency warfare best illustrated by: 1. Deny it. 2. Ignore it. 3. Bomb it. While our intelligence agencies called the region the greatest threat to America, the Bush White House under-resourced our military efforts, shifted attention to Iraq, and failed to bring to justice the masterminds of September 11.

The only time Cheney and his cabal of foreign policy 'experts' have anything to say is when they feel compelled to protect this failed legacy. While President Obama is tasked with cleaning up the considerable mess they left behind, they continue to defend torture or rewrite a legacy of indifference on Afghanistan. Simply put, Mr. Cheney sees history throughout extremely myopic and partisan eyes.

[freethinkergirl]

$heney let it wither in Afghanistan for 7 years, good luck with your delusi0ns.

[patriotrebel]

Socialism is a mental disorder. Ig no ra.nce is a cri me.

[lafayette2009]

I have been to Afghanistan three times and know a little about the country and its environment and have a question for you. Please try to answer the question and not give one of your one liner irrelevancies.

What do you know about Afghanistan and its' weather?

[patriotrebel]

My Marine son can tell you all you need to know about Afghanistan's weather, terrain, culture...

[lafayette2009]

patriotrebel

"We all know about Afghanistan's terrain and weather. We all know about the difficulty getting supplies in. My Marine son could enlighten you about everything you need to know, including the weather. Which makes Cheney's point all the more urgent that this president not "dither."

Don't make yourself look foolish by asking silly questions."

Yet another example of your insulting manner of discussion. I do not need your son or anyone else to tell me about Afghanistan but thank you for the offer.

Goodbye!!

[BambooHarvester]

You watch next week we get to hear from dickless cheney !
~ liz

[hhayden]

Should we call the presiden Baryuck Obummer? Hardly seem productive.

[doublels]

geez hhayden...you don't even get the joke

[doublels]

oh! I love that!!

[freethinkergirl]

hhayden:
Pork is pork and shouldn't be there.

How about "No unemployment over 8.5%"?

Here you go:

Bush On Jobs: The Worst Track Record On Record

http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2009/01/09/bush-on-jobs-the-worst-track-record-on-record/

[hhayden]

4.5% unemployment tells the tail. When will Obama create 3 million jobs? One would be a start outside government jobs.

[freethinkergirl]

Tail?

[1tourist]

A tale of teaching English would also be a good start.

[freethinkergirl]

Once a cr00k, alsways a cr00k.

$heney's relentless quest for power and profits at the expense of our soldiers and the American taxpayers.

As Defense Secretary, $heney commissioned a study for the U.S.D.D. (by Kellogg/Brown/Root, a subsidiary of Halliburton). It recommended HALLIBURT0N TAKE OVER support programs for worldwide U.S. military operations.

$heney linked Department of Defense contractors with Halliburt0n and became CEO. Halliburt0n was the principal beneficiary of Cheney"s privatization efforts for military logistical support. Cheney was paid $44 million over five years.

Under $heney, Halliburt0n had 58 subsidiaries in OFFSHORE tax havens, BILKING taxpayers. Halliburt0n utilized off-shore subsidiaries to contract for services selling BANNED equipment to IRAN, IRAQ and LIBYA. (Illegal if done directly by Halliburton.).

With $heney, Halliburt0n"s tax payments went from $302 million in 1998 to ZERO in 1999, they also received a REFUND of $85 million from the IRS.

Halliburt0n earned $40 million/year for oil field work for in IRAN. Their subsidiary in the Cayman Islands has no office/employees, a bank forwards all mail to Halliburt0n headquarters in Houston. Halliburt0n created the subsidiary allowing itself to do ILLEGAL business IRAN, AVOIDING TAXES.

Halliburt0n, before the Iraq War, was 19th on the list of contractors, became 1 in 2003, making
$4.2 BILLION FROM THE U.S.

Halliburt0n earned $10 BILLION IN IRAQ, and handed the first Katrina contracts and BUILT GITMO.

[hhayden]

Golly, all that and he's right about Obama. Go figure.

[freethinkergirl]

You need some reading comprehension lessons Tr0||ie, go figure.

[1tourist]

Define "Pork"., because someone is getting it.

[Daniel Leyva]

Chenney is so blood thirsty! If only a fraction of that negative energy would change into positive... the wonders!

[hhayden]

I doubt you know anything about Cheney except that the left loves to ha'te him because they always need a boogie man.

[freethinkergirl]

Typical delusi0nal $heney defense by a Tr0|| talking points poster.

[Daniel Leyva]

No, actually I know enough to believe that he is blood thirsty and that the country spiraled down to where it is right now as a result of his way to run the country behind the former president, who, at the same time, was his puppet. They claimed to "know" where the "weapons of mass destruction" were, but no one ever found them. I think you are in denial

[Safire]

7 years, 4 months, and 9 days.... Missing some months there... Let's see, oh it begins with a nine, and it was on your watch. mmmmm

[BLUEBIRD1234]

his gentleman seems to have no sense of assessing his present status in normal mental condition that he is no longer is the Vice President of the lone super power and that except for some of his lackeys none would like to see him come up with comments on government administration and activities.

It is on record and reported that during the previous regime the damaging record runs as follows: Severely damaging of the country's administrative system , Judicial system, opening the Guantanamo prison torture cell, that has still remained stuck in the throat emanating severe pain to absorb by the nation,

It is reported that during the previous regime responsible people divulged top secret information of the country to the press jeopardizing the life of a top CIA agent.

Now, the nation wants to know the right one has when that very person himself was a party to the wrong doing when in office..

American citizens questions about the mental condition, they options that the next time he speaks publicly should get himself checked up by a doctor of mental hospital and if suggest should get admitted for proper treatment. About his mental condition. He seems to be suffering very badly for mental disorder.

It is a shame for the nation to hear a person who created the world wide chaos that even a traitor wouldn’t do with the nation, including Iraq and Afghanistan now comes up to advise and claim what they did was right

[lafayette2009]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BEsZMvrq-I

Check this out from 2004 where he justified why we did not go into Baghdad and take Hussein out in 1991. This was, of course, before he became CEO without any previous business experience and remember he was the Secretary of Defense.

Under his leadership, Halliburton moves up from 73rd to 18th on the Pentagon’s list of top
contractors by 2000 when he headed Bush's VP Selection Committee, eventually accepted the VP Nomination while still CEO and then took a $20 million golden parachute from Halliburton.

You can check the record of no-bid contracts Halliburton and subsidiaries obtained following the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

[lafayette2009]

Typo - that should read 1994 as the date of his interview, not 2004.

[hhayden]

Whatever Cheney's history may be, good or bad, doesn't mean he isn't right about Our Dear Leader and he has the same right to free speech as you do.

[patriotrebel]

Poor laughingyet cannot get over his h8 of corporations.

[BLUEBIRD1234]

Hi! My Friend Lafayette2009, Thanks a lot for your kind and contributory comment on the BLUEBIRD1234"s comment. To extend a vote of thanks to you I may mention that your contribution has benefited the public to recapitulate the past misdeeds of these old man and the entire regime.

My Friend I have confident in you that your voluntary contribution to the article needs no checking as all your points are on record. and I am happy to let you know that your this valuable contribution will also remain on record for future reference whenever it will be needed. Thank you lafayette2009 my friend once again for the valuable contribution.

[One more Thing]

Cheney's time might be better spent counting the skeltons he created during his role in the Bush Administration.

[hhayden]

Cheney was simply the vice president. He had no more power than the current one - what ever his name is.

[lafayette2009]

I must confess ~ hhayden ~ you have given me a source of amusement tonight with your comments, none of which have any substance or substantiating proof to them but this one takes the cake.

If you genuinely think that Cheney was "simply" the VP, then you have been living in a cocoon for the past 8-years.

OK - have fun with the rest of your evening and posts.

Ciao