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Generals: Dick Cheney, Liz Cheney Are Scaremongering
“It’s up to all of us to say these arguments advanced by Cheney and his acolytes are nonsense and that really what they’re doing is undermining our national security by delaying the date at which Guantanamo is closed,” retired Brig. Gen. James Cullen, a former chief judge of the Army’s Court of Criminal Appeals, told POLITICO Tuesday.
Former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney in this file image from May 21, 2009.
(REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/Files)
“Some of the fear issues that are being raised in this are really unfortunate. It gets people excited about things they shouldn’t be excited about and impedes doing what is critical to this country. Get that damn symbol off the table,” said retired Gen. David Maddox, a former Army commander-in-chief for Europe. “We take a setback every time somebody, whether it’s the vice president or his daughter comes out and says the things that they say….We have to get out there again and just keep pounding.”
The former vice president and his daughter declined comment on the criticism.
The former military officers, whose Washington visit was organized by Human Rights First, argued rather bitterly that the Cheneys have exaggerated the risks of bringing Guantanamo prisoners from Cuba to the United States.
“Can you imagine getting a terrorist from Guantanamo convicted and put in a federal penitentiary in your town?” Maddox asked. “Have you ever checked who the hell’s in there already? Have any of them gotten out? The person who we’re putting in is probably a heck of lot less dangerous than most of them who are already in there.”
Administration officials recently acknowledged that Guantanamo may not be closed by Obama’s deadline of Jan. 22. But retired Army Maj. Gen. Tony Taguba, who investigated the Abu Ghraib prison scandal in Iraq, said the president was smart to set a mark.
“It forces us to have an end state,” Taguba said. “It cannot be open in perpetuity because we’re having this so called long war against terrorism.”
The retired officers met Monday with Attorney General Eric Holder and planned to confer later with Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair and Deputy Secretary of Defense William Lynn.
Holder gave no indication of when the administration might settle on a U.S. site to relocate Guantanamo prisoners, the former military leaders said.
Obama announced the one-year-closure plan on his second full day in office. But the administration lost control of the legislative process in April when the Senate voted 90-6 against funding for the closure. Democrats joined Republicans, who argued that it was a foolish risk to bring suspected terrorists into the United States.
“Closing Guantanamo is of a strategic value,” Taguba said. “Seeing people in orange jumpsuits and whatever have you creates such an excitement for people to be jihadists and terrorists…It’s not helping us.”
- Posted in
36 Comments so far
Show AllGee, a new family dynasty in the making. As they say; the road apple doesn't fall from the horse's a**.
Why are these homocidal looting liars still at large?
As my Congressional Representative Sander Levin told me at a town hall meeting, while Cheney was still in office, and I brought up impeachment, "Democrats feared appearing weak on terrorism". Levin didn't say he feared being weak on terrorism...his fear was the appearance; goes along with the railroaded Taguba's statement here of "...this so called long war against terrorism". There's got to be some kind of inciting a riot law, with all his fear-mongering, that could put Cheney away for awhile.
The Cheneys are Mad Dogs and constantly bark. Mad Dogs that constantly bark are removed from the community and eventually euthanized, a service which is deemed a Public Good. We now have a new Mad Dog barking about Iran named Obama.
Terrorists are murderers, we catch them , give them a trial and jail them if they are guilty.
Did we forget a couple of steps at Gitmo?
Between the fear mongering, the hidden truths of 9/11, the finacial disater, two wars of occupation, loss of jobs to the gobal push of the new world order, and the Patriot Act,
America and our Republic/Democracy is in danger of complete colapse thanks to the poor leadership of our government.
But , then again, maybe its all part of the grand plan.
Its about time we have some Military folks get real loud and protect the constitution and our country from these greedy politicians and corporate war mongers.
The left and the right in this country need to find common ground of agreement to save our constitution, and our country, enough division, join forces.
Excellent deductions bornfreeman,
That is our key. We must bring the left and right together or our free nation is lost. Lefties must give up on gun ownership. The founders put that in the constitution for a reason. The Right Wing must vow to memorize other ten amendments besides the second amendment.
Cheney and his conflicted daughter are Stark Raving Mad. Publicly advocating barbarism such as torture and trial-less incarceration lasting decades..... !
The truth is that they are terrified their many war crimes and high atrocities will see the light of day in a public trial.
They are both traitors to the Constitution in my humble opinion, and both should be shipped to GITMO indefinitely along with the bushmonkey and his entire family.
TJ
"All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent." - Thomas Jefferson
"The left and the right in this country need to find common ground of agreement to save our constitution, and our country, enough division, join forces."
The political spectrum isn't a straight line with ends, it's a broken circle with the ends closer to each other than to the middle.
We need to make this picture real for everyone. Left and Right could run this country. Nader/ Paul /Kucinich on one ticket to toss the bums out.
Gerstein sez: "The former vice president and his daughter declined comment on the criticism."
***
To politico.com, maybe. Switch over to Faux News and they'll tell you all about what they think.
I know he's a mass murderer but I liked Cheney's work in THE BIG LEBOWSKI.
Why is anyone listening to this creep? His time is over, the show is done, the curtain drawn.
Shouldn't he have gotten a job at Walmart greeting shoppers like his "boss"?
I am so sick and tired of the attention Cheney keeps getting.
Surely our tax dollars are not supporting a government retirement or a security detail...
So George's Dick, Cheney and his lesbo daughter are out prosyletising aye? Well SHE is speaking of a portion of the human race that CAN NEVER HAVE A PLACE in her father's degenerate world, nor can she, blacks, any people of color. Seemingly, Male, White, Land owning Rich Men are the entirety of the population. You know, like the framers of the Constitution. It doesn't matter one muon what a republican says, they are liars until proven otherwise. These republicans have NO concern whatever for the middle and lower class. They can't conceive of a single payer plan for medicine so that everybody gets at least some because it doesn't put profit ahead of everything else.
No charges have been filed against any of the Bush Cartel. Vince Bugliosi is supposedly working on one for George for murder. Lets see if it ever flys, much less get it's wheels up. Then lets make cigarette smoking a crime, obesity as well, children that are born to parents who never gave a thought to the cost of children before diving into bed. Dick isn't the only pervert out there you know.
Just FYI: MARY Cheney is Dick's lesbian daughter. The other daughter, LIZ, is the one that scare/war mongers with her daddy and the one that the article makes reference to.
>>These republicans have NO concern whatever for the middle and lower class.<<
You are correct.
"children that are born to parents who never gave a thought to the cost of children before diving into bed."
I agree, we shouldn't give the rich elite any more slave workers. Starve the beast, as it were. How long before the powers that be start begging us to have more kids? Many couples who wait to have children before they can afford them find it's too late or are unable to conceive. Makes me think of Japan not too long ago when the women there were refusing to have children as a protest against their treatment.
Gays and blacks can't have positions in the elite power structure? Poppycock. And didn't Dick move to Dubai?
>>
It doesn't matter one muon what a republican says, they are liars until proven otherwise. These republicans have NO concern whatever for the middle and lower class. They can't conceive of a single payer plan for medicine so that everybody gets at least some because it doesn't put profit ahead of everything else.
<<
I agree wholeheartedly. The same goes for the democrats which is why "No charges have been filed against any of the Bush Cartel."
If we're gonna keep the damn place open, can't we at least throw Lon "Dick" Cheney and his posse in there???
Why don't this effing turd and his goddam daughter just get the hell out of the public space already?
Question: What would it take to get Cheesedick Cheney to stand in front of a MADS when it is lit up?
Walk in peace.
I do not understand, why army personal at high Rank and File cannot comeout with force against a person who refused to join Armed forces 5 times ?
What kind of power Cheney possess that not many are coming out and dismissing him outright ?
My fellow liberals....
More than anything we need to educate all Americans.
Please talk to, or write to, everyone you know and teach them the following facts....
1) Be hyper-aware of how the Right-Wing people say that they are afraid of "fill in the blank". Right Wingers so very often use phrases such as "danger", or "we need to be afraid of", or "scared". )See the above article.) They are cowards and bullies and don't fit with "America, home of the brave."
2) We Liberals need to teach others about the many, many crimes and damage that the Bush Administration did to America. IN FACT, Bush, Cheney and their Administration have done more ACTUAL damage to America than anyone else, EVER.
(Even the historical villain, Hitler, did not do as much ACTUAL damage to America than Bush/Cheney/Rove and their cohorts. If Hitler had won World War II, then perhaps he would have done more damage to America than The Bush Administration, but that didn't happen.)
If justice is served, shouldn't the amount of imprisonment be dependent upon the ACTUAL damage that a person does? If so, we either need to imprison Bush, Cheney, Rove, etc. or else we need to let all current prisoners go free. All current prisoners have done less actual damage to America than the main people in The Bush Administration. Eric Holder and The Department Of Justice need to put their priorities with prosecuting these men. In large part, I base my factual information on that given by Thom Hartmann, Mike Papantonio and Ralph Nader; all three are true heroes and patriots.
Damn, where's a rogue and fully armed predator drone flying over dick's house when we need one?
What a disgusting family... really hope Lez quits politics
Make no mistake....There can be no other reason for Dracula to emerge from his coffin but to legitimize what HE and his sick perverted co-conspirators have done. It looks like the military men ARE coming out in force against him, just not ENOUGH of them. It is in fact a VERY sad thing that the many LOGICAL, critically thinking people in high places in this country, have stayed absolutely silent for so long. The people with any clout at all are the MOST responsible for the fall of the republic. MOST OF ALL, our so-called representatives!!!!!!!!!!!! Keep Kuchinich, Paul, and Greyson, and OFF the rest of them! I seethe with anger at anyone who goes with the "those who attacked us on 9/11" CRAP! MOST of all our 'Professor of Constitutional Law' president! The most sickening thing of all is that they think we are still falling for the lies.
Who's Dick Cheney?
...and why is anyone giving him any air time? He belongs at the end of a rope, the same as he and his pack of thugs gave to Saddam.
You remember, he's the psychopath who has killed millions of people and still is walking around free, spouting rancid BS. You remember, him and his trained psychotic
monkey. So don't get too upset about "maybe" terrorists getting put in prisons in the CONUS, worry instead that this mutt won't get what he deserves.
Remember!
Does Cheney's company have a contract to operate Gitmo?
"The only means of strengthening one's intellect is to make up one's mind about nothing, to let the mind be a thoroughfare for all thoughts." - John Keats
"a foolish risk to bring suspected terrorists into the United States"
Yes, especially when there is no space for more here. What with the obvious known (not even suspect) terrorists in Washington already conducting illegal wars in Iraq, occupations in Afghanistan, and financing racist war crimes in Palestine, not to mention assassinations, bombings, murders and abductions, America has got its hands full right now, they may even have to delegate a strike on Iran to their affiliates in Tel Aviv!
Anyway, these guys in safe custody at Guantanamo, are really frightening; the worst of the worst! And 9/11 was a plot by Al Qaeda, authorised by Bin Laden from his base in Afghanistan and carried out by 19 suicide extremists with box cutters after learning aircraft by training lessons in a Cessna,
Ya sure! That the retired generals feel embarrassed and know which lies can fly even when the audience is totally gullible, must tell you something! East Germany at the height of the Stazi had more thinking people than the entire USA put together it seems. They really will buy anything they are told. It is like selling "Cheerios" to kids with cartoons. God, I hope they don't digress to "popular democracy" before they get a little more street smarts. Talk about terror?
how about this after we supposedly close gitmo we can
dissappear cheney and his big mouth daughter and flip them
in there!leave a few (terrorists) to keep them company
so to speak and no medical staff either! get the cia to render them from wherever bunker he's hiding in now and let them know
what its like to suffer like these prisoners are! oh
and one last detail we could change the name to the
dick cheney war criminal prison facility with its
namesake as its first permanent prison. he doesn't need a heart doctor he doesn't have one!
Growing up, reading history, I never thought I would see the day when politicians are to the right of the military. The military brass looks positively sane compared with these guys.
Cheney et al and much of Congress are the allies of the WAR PROFITEERS, a group that has never cared about soldiers, civilians, law, taxpayers. They will create panic and deliver substandard goods as long as it enriches them. They have established quite a flow of cash for themselves. Now they are going to the front lines, so to speak, to protect their arrangement.
If Obama actually wants to correct this and not buy in, he has been far too prissy and delicate at nibbling around a few corners. Dig in! Close Guantanamo. Fire Blackwater.
Joe
I really like that photo of the Dick; the emblematic poster for a schizoid nation.
Dr Stangelove, I presume?
"The only means of strengthening one's intellect is to make up one's mind about nothing, to let the mind be a thoroughfare for all thoughts." - John Keats
Of all the stupid things Dubya did, perhaps the stupidest was to allow Dick Cheney to choose himself for vice president.
Stoopid peeple need someone two look up too.
Why is this ugly turd still on the screen? C'mon CD, can't you find SOMETHING to put in the column to drop this off the end of the boarder? Please?
I've asked the same question before. I'm so beyond sick and tired of seeing the face of this scumbag. Why does it continue to haunt the pages of CommonDreams? Is there some morbid obsession with continually gawking at the death mask of this demented idiot?