Mr. Cheney, What About This 'Executive Assassination Squad'?

Dick Cheney is not going to fade away.

George Bush may have retreated to Texas to clear brush and ponder how
things went so horribly wrong. But Cheney, who failed out of the
university from which Bush graduated, has never been so reflective as
the former president.

Bush may actually be embarrassed, or scared, about the mess that was
made of international affairs, the economy and our system of
constitutional governance during his eight years in the White House.

Cheney isn't.

There will be no apologies from the former vice president.

And there will be no withdrawal from the political frontlines by the
man who spun out of the Nixon White House to become Gerald Ford's chief
of staff, parlayed that role into a seat in Congress where he served as
Ronald Reagan's House floor leader, exploited personal and political
ties to position himself as George H.W. Bush's secretary of defense and
then effectively nominated himself to be George W. Bush's vice
president.

Cheney, whose ambition has always exceeded his knowledge and skill,
is determined to defend the political misdeeds, policy machinations and
power grabs that -- thanks to George W. Bush's ignorance about the most
basic workings of the White House -- briefly made him the most powerful
man in the world.

That was evident last week, when Scooter Libby's unindicted co-conspirator appeared on CNN.

Asked by John King if he thought President Obama "has made Americans
less safe," Cheney responded with the solemn concern of a man who
dodged the draft five times: "I do."

Griping that Obama had backed off the most brutal excesses of the
previous administration's torturous tenure, Cheney defended detention
and interrogation techniques that have been broadly condemned by the
international community and civil libertarians of the left and right at
home. Despite extensive evidence to the contrary, the ex-veep described
waterboarding and worse as "absolutely essential" to keeping Americans
safe, declared rough interrogation "a great success story" and defended
as legal and "in accordance with our constitutional practices and
principles" actions that top lawyers and constitutional scholars
describe as high crimes and misdemeanors.

For good measure, the former vice president who made it the primary
purpose of his first two years in office to get the United States
bogged down in a war in Iraq, put a "mission accomplished" sticker on
the Iraq file.

"We have succeeded in creating in the heart of the Middle East a
democratically governed Iraq, and that is a big deal, and it is, in
fact, what we set out to do," said Cheney.

There is not much point to correcting Cheney. He won't hear it, any
more than he did when more responsible members of the former
administration challenged his most abusive actions. (The former vice
president still is not speaking with Colin Powell, a mild dissenter who
served as the Bush administration's first secretary of state.)

Should we mind that Cheney intends to stay in the fray?

Not at all.

Cheney should be welcomed to the microphones.

Indeed, his determination to remain in the limelight should make it easier to invite him to explain a few things - under oath.

Where to begin?

How about with investigative reporter Seymour Hersh's allegation
that the Bush-Cheney White House operated an "executive assassination
ring" that reported directly to Cheney's office?

Speaking March 10 at the University of Minnesota, the Pulitzer Prize winner writer for The New Yorker
explained that: "Under President Bush's authority, they've been going
into countries, not talking to the ambassador or the CIA station chief,
and finding people on a list and executing them and leaving... It is a
special wing of our special operations community that is set up
independently. They do not report to anybody, except in the Bush-Cheney
days, they reported directly to the Cheney office. . . Congress has no
oversight of it."

An elite assassination squad run out of the vice president's office?

That certainly sounds like an interesting point at which to begin an official inquiry.

And since the vice president is so willing to talk about his time in
office--as evidenced by his recent media appearances--why not invite
him up to Capitol Hill to engage in it?

Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich has a suggestion that might get the ball rolling.

Kucinich has asked New York Congressman Edolphus Towns, the chairman
of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, to begin an
immediate investigation into Hersh's allegations.

Here's Kucinich's letter to Towns:

As you may already be aware, recent media reports
indicate that investigative reporter, Seymour Hersh, while answering
questions before a public audience at the University of Minnesota
divulged information about what he calls an "executive assassination
ring" operating under the George W. Bush Administration.

If substantiated, the allegation would have far reaching implications
for the United States. Such an assertion from someone of Hersh's
credibility that has a long and proven track record of dependability on
these issues merits attention. Mr. Hersh is within a year or more of
releasing a book that is said to include evidence of this allegation.
However, we cannot wait a year or more to establish the truth. As such,
I request that the Full Committee immediately begin an investigation to
determine the facts in this matter.

Mr. Hersh made the allegation before an audience at the University
of Minnesota on Tuesday, March 10, 2009. He stated, "Under President
Bush's authority, they've been going into countries, not talking to the
ambassador or the CIA station chief, and finding people on a list and
executing them and leaving."

Mr. Hersh continued, "It is a special wing of our special operations
community that is set up independently," he explained. "They do not
report to anybody, except in the Bush-Cheney days, they reported
directly to the Cheney office... Congress has no oversight of it."

If true, these operations violate longstanding U.S. policy regarding
covert actions and illegally bypass Congressional oversight. Current
statute governing covert action (50 U.S.C. 413b) requires a
presidential finding and notification to the appropriate congressional
committees. Additionally, Executive Order 12333 clearly states that "no
person employed by or acting on behalf of the United States Government
shall engage in or conspire to engage in assassination."

I urge the Committee to explore Mr. Hersh's allegation.

Kucinich is right.

The charges against Cheney demand an inquiry.

It ought not be delayed.

And it should be presumed that Dick Cheney, who is so very willing to discuss his tenure in the White House, will testify.