Cheney formally requests release of two CIA memos on detainees
posted at 5:25 pm on April 24, 2009 by Allahpundit
When he talked to Hannity about this, I thought he meant he had general recollections that coercion had produced good intel and was going to ask the agency to review its records and declassify anything it found. Nope — he’s got two documents very specifically in mind, which means he must be awfully confident they’ll say what he thinks they say. The One’s strategy here pretty clearly was to give his base a satisfying Two Minutes Hate by releasing last week’s memos and then to declare that we don’t need any prosecutions or investigations because it’s time to move forward. Instead, the base and the media blew up and Cheney came out swinging to defend his legacy and now Obama’s got a royal clusterfark on his hands that’s only going to get more regal if/when the docs Cheney requested are released. No wonder the White House has suddenly lost its appetite for torture show trials. If 71 percent of the public is already willing to condone torture at least on rare occasions, what’ll the number be if those two memos prove Cheney right about waterboarding having prevented attacks?
At the Telegraph, Gerald Warner says good going, President Pantywaist:
That is why he opened Pandora’s Box by publishing the Justice Department’s legal opinions on waterboarding and other hardline interrogation techniques. He cynically subordinated the national interest to his partisan desire to embarrass the Republicans. Then he had to rush to Langley, Virginia to try to reassure a demoralised CIA that had just discovered the President of the United States was an even more formidable foe than al-Qaeda…
Obama promised his CIA audience that nobody would be prosecuted for past actions. That has already been contradicted by leftist groups with a revanchist ambition to put Republicans, headed if possible by Condoleezza Rice, in the dock. Talk about playing party politics with national security. Martin Scheinin, the United Nations special investigator for human rights, claims that senior figures, including former vice president Dick Cheney, could face prosecution overseas. Ponder that – once you have got over the difficulty of locating the United Nations and human rights within the same dimension.
President Pantywaist Obama should have thought twice before sitting down to play poker with Dick Cheney.
As Karl noted in the Greenroom, the only prominent Democrat left who wants to delve further into this subject is Pelosi, and after the beating she took yesterday for her “lame excuse,” expect her to have a change of heart too. Presumably the plan going forward is to let the matter drop and then, when Cheney gets his docs, to accuse him of trying to refight old battles from which the country’s moved on. Savor the irony.
Blowback
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Sic’em Dick…
RalphyBoy on April 24, 2009 at 5:28 PM
And if they refuse nothing can be brought against anyone involved and have any validity.
Speakup on April 24, 2009 at 5:29 PM
Cheney is the MAN! He is a man, Obama should take notes.
JAM on April 24, 2009 at 5:30 PM
Sic ‘em, Mr. Vice-President. You Da Man!
I wish we had someone with your backbone occupying the Oval Office.
kingsjester on April 24, 2009 at 5:30 PM
“Sue me” Cheney.
the_nile on April 24, 2009 at 5:30 PM
If they so much as spit in Condoleeza’s direction, I will cry racism!
JAM on April 24, 2009 at 5:31 PM
Thank you, Mr. Cheney. Do not let this go.
myrenovations on April 24, 2009 at 5:31 PM
Why oh why didn’t Cheney run to be POTUS?!
Sheerq on April 24, 2009 at 5:31 PM
It’s nice to see President Cheney come out and defend his administration that kept us safe after 9/11.
portlandon on April 24, 2009 at 5:31 PM
Releasing memos that say we torture = political, places country at risk.
Releasing memos that say “here is the actionable intelligence we got from detainees, please don’t arrest Cheney” = not political, A-OK, etc
Thanks for the clarification, Dick.
e-pirate on April 24, 2009 at 5:31 PM
if obama and pelosi seriously thought that they couls get away with this crap without somebody calling them out, they are even bigger idiots than i thought.
and that’s sayinig something…
homesickamerican on April 24, 2009 at 5:32 PM
Cheney’s most appealing quality is his ability to to make Lefties heads explode.
Tear ‘em a new one, Dick!
Bruno Strozek on April 24, 2009 at 5:34 PM
Albert Einstein
“Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the the universe.”
the_nile on April 24, 2009 at 5:34 PM
Obama started the “political” game by releasing the memos to begin with, then redacting the pertinent parts that affirm actionable intelligence.
Even a hack can understand that. Let this be a lesson to the ONE, mess w/the bull, you get the horns.
JAM on April 24, 2009 at 5:34 PM
Cheney rules. I got my picture with him from back in 96 on my wall still.
He is way way way way way way better than any other prominent republican we have had since Reagan…with the exception of Mitt Romney….who he unofficially supported in the last republican primary….you know, since he is smart and not a douche.
The Wall on April 24, 2009 at 5:34 PM
You go, Big Time!
thebookkeeper on April 24, 2009 at 5:35 PM
I am sure Obama has his Photoshop expert on the case.
izoneguy on April 24, 2009 at 5:35 PM
Just a guess but in 1996, it was Mary and his ticker. In 2000 it was his ticker. In 2008 it was because he had been the best vice president we have ever had.
myrenovations on April 24, 2009 at 5:35 PM
Cheney to the hard left: “You want me on that wall; you need me on that wall.”
BuckeyeSam on April 24, 2009 at 5:36 PM
The Sith are always the strongest
DarkCurrent on April 24, 2009 at 5:36 PM
FIFY, Mr. Warner.
Dusty on April 24, 2009 at 5:36 PM
Hey peeps–real quick clarification pls–the pics that were released in the Abu Ghraib (sp) fiasco were taken by soldiers that had their cameras confiscated, yes?? so the next set of pics that are supposed to be released…Who took them?
Equality 7-2521 on April 24, 2009 at 5:36 PM
LOL, these two are the BIGGEST idiots in America. History will prove that.
History will also vindicate Bush & Cheney.
izoneguy on April 24, 2009 at 5:36 PM
pwnded
like I said before, if they don’t release these I hope the Bushies have leakers for just such cases to leak to the Press like the Clintonistas did.
jp on April 24, 2009 at 5:37 PM
Some of no quit in them, thank heavens.
Sergeant Tim on April 24, 2009 at 5:37 PM
anybody think that Cheney doesn’t have personal copies of these somewhere?
jp on April 24, 2009 at 5:37 PM
It’s a bit more accurate to say Cheney & gang started the gang by torturing people.
If you don’t want future administrations to release memos your team wrote to justify torture, then don’t torture in the first place.
e-pirate on April 24, 2009 at 5:37 PM
lol
Savoring the accurate record made public is its own victory.
Cheney made it clear prior to departure from office that he was devoting himself to writing/publishing as first goal upon retirement, and officially requested the documents long before the current brouhaha from Obama’s presidency.
maverick muse on April 24, 2009 at 5:37 PM
Be careful what you wish for Obama
Defector01 on April 24, 2009 at 5:37 PM
Because he would have been crushed?
e-pirate on April 24, 2009 at 5:38 PM
Yeah, please make sure that we are required to play by a more stringent set of rules than you guys.
BTW, it’s more of a security risk to tell the enemy what to expect during interrogation (you see it allows them to conduct “resistance” training) than to divulge what was averted.
hawkdriver on April 24, 2009 at 5:38 PM
e-pirate on April 24, 2009 at 5:37 PM
“Olby to Hannity: I’ll give you $1,000 per second to be waterboarded”
Make your argument there.
maverick muse on April 24, 2009 at 5:40 PM
And the shredders are working overtime.
ctmom on April 24, 2009 at 5:40 PM
When your opponent not only calls your bluff but tells you specifically which cards you’re holding, it’s time to fold. And fold fast.
Look at this puppy!…
LastRick on April 24, 2009 at 5:40 PM
Actually it’s more accurate to say what started “it” was the collapse of the WTC and 3000 murdered.
darwin on April 24, 2009 at 5:41 PM
I thought he had already made a formal request for these memos?
Skywise on April 24, 2009 at 5:42 PM
I am sure Cheney has his own log on the case.
maverick muse on April 24, 2009 at 5:42 PM
A lot of it is the timing, so yeah he probably would have, but my guess is he would have done better than McCain.
Dusty on April 24, 2009 at 5:42 PM
I’d say Obama doesn’t play poker very well.
Kini on April 24, 2009 at 5:42 PM
Since releasing memos that say “here are torture techniques we no longer use” doesn’t say anything about what techniques captured terrorists can expect, your argument is irrelevant.
e-pirate on April 24, 2009 at 5:43 PM
Obama plays deaf, mute and dumb on cue.
maverick muse on April 24, 2009 at 5:43 PM
On Morning Joe (MSNBC) this morning, after showing clips of Pelosi and then Boehner from yesterday, there was an overwhelming consensus among Scarborough, crazy Pat Buchanon, and even Mika B. and their guests that Pelosi is on very thin ice while Boehner had the goods on her.
If even some quarters of MSNBC ain’t backing her, she’s in trouble…and no amount of ranting by Schultz, Matthews, Olby, and Maddow is going to change things.
Did anyone else notice how Cheney’s breathing in his interview with Hannity sounded a little like Darth Vader’s?
BuckeyeSam on April 24, 2009 at 5:44 PM
This assumes that torture was the inevitable result of America being attacked, which is, of course, an invalid assumption.
e-pirate on April 24, 2009 at 5:44 PM
And it’s even more accurate to say that Bush and Cheney kept this nation free from attack in the years following 9-11.
If you don’t want future administrations explaining why it was necessary to allow Americans to die, then you better allow the necessary to be done.
redshirt on April 24, 2009 at 5:44 PM
Wow, getalife’s sister showed up.
In 2000, Algore didn’t lose to Bush because of Florida-he lost to Bush because he was rejected by the voters of his own home state of Tennessee.
Speaking of Gore, did anyone see him get bitch-slapped in the hearing today?
Del Dolemonte on April 24, 2009 at 5:45 PM
That’s a pretty low bar to hurdle ;)
e-pirate on April 24, 2009 at 5:45 PM
It’s pretty embarrassing when the Brits have to say these kinds of things about our leadership, isn’t it?
Attila (Pillage Idiot) on April 24, 2009 at 5:45 PM
Obambi is about to be schooled. Big time.
Fletch54 on April 24, 2009 at 5:45 PM
Wonder if Chrissy Matthews is getting a tingle up his leg by watching real HARDBALL?
Cheney is a MAN, Mr. President, grow up
originalpechanga on April 24, 2009 at 5:45 PM
So are you. The point is that it describes actions which are non-life threatening in any of the techniques. You can train to that.
On your way now.
hawkdriver on April 24, 2009 at 5:45 PM
He did!!!
In 1996, he entered the republican primary and quickly exited…dont know why but he wasnt gaining traction…maybe health but he was thinner back then.
He came and spoke to our group, I was with GE at the time, before GE turned evil, and I got my picture with him. We chatted for awhile…dude is a stud…sincere…geniuine nice guy…and a Mitt supporter too.
The Wall on April 24, 2009 at 5:46 PM
Cheney unleashed! Freed from the shackles of Bushism.
Watch out, commies; he’ll live up to your worst smears, heheheh.
Feedie on April 24, 2009 at 5:46 PM
Killing civilian Americans , only creates more torture..
the_nile on April 24, 2009 at 5:46 PM
Obama is such a lightweight
Wade on April 24, 2009 at 5:47 PM
e-pirate on April 24, 2009 at 5:37 PM
Ok, like some suggested on the waterboarding thread, let’s go back and try FDR for his past crimes against Japanese Americans. Lets commission the “truth” on the Dresden carpet bombings, Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Let’s try Truman. Let’s try LBJ b/c our troops were “baby-killers” under him. Nixon, yeah that’s the ticket. Or how about those high-level bombers Clinton used in Bosnia. Is it torture to “kill” someone? Deprive them of their life?
This shall not turn into another Waterboarding is torture, no it isn’t, yes it is thread. You are an idiot.
Here’s the quote that jp I think has posted three times. Read it and conprehend.
“Strict observance of the written law is doubtless one of the high duties of a good citizen, but it is not the highest. The laws of necessity, of self-preservation, of saving our country when in danger, are of higher obligation. To lose our country by a scrupulous adherence to the written law, would be to lose the law itself, with life, liberty, property and all those who are enjoying them with us; thus absurdly sacrificing the ends to the means.”
-Thomas Jefferson
JAM on April 24, 2009 at 5:48 PM
Hey. PBO was just following standard Democratic operating procedure. It’s right there on the teleprompter!
irishspy on April 24, 2009 at 5:48 PM
Just watching G Beck. He has the right idea, “request the entire minutes of the briefing given to the representatives”. Once and for all find out if the CIA or Pelosi is the liar. I know who I would bet on.
hillbilly on April 24, 2009 at 5:49 PM
hawkdriver on April 24, 2009 at 5:45 PM
If it were possible to train up some kind of resistance to techniques like waterboarding, don’t you think we would have exceeded that limit ourselves by waterboarding the same guy 183 times in one month?
“Well he didn’t tell us anything in the previous 182 go-rounds, but this next one will surely break his spirit”?
e-pirate on April 24, 2009 at 5:49 PM
Revanche!
Johan Klaus on April 24, 2009 at 5:50 PM
Thank you, Mr. Cheney. Do not let this go.
myrenovations on April 24, 2009 at 5:31 PM
+100
JustTruth101 on April 24, 2009 at 5:51 PM
Very nicely done Mr. Cheney. Well played indeed.
BardMan on April 24, 2009 at 5:51 PM
Damn, can’t we get a do-over?
Cheney/Palin ’08
mike_NC9 on April 24, 2009 at 5:51 PM
Your ignorance and stupidity are not irrelevant because you repeatedly thrust yourself into this discussion, though unprepared. You have yet to do your homework. Until you complete your research, quit asserting falsehoods as substance for our reflection.
Be off to the bilge, ye blackspotted hornswaggler.
maverick muse on April 24, 2009 at 5:51 PM
Shorter JAM:
e-pirate on April 24, 2009 at 5:51 PM
Release it ALL.
J’acuse.
Torture should be extralegal, spontaneous, and vanishingly rare.
Those obscene scumbags made an institution of torture in MY country, they legalized it and systemized it, and ginned up a whole bureaucracy to support it.
Let the DoJ, the Justice branch, deal with them.
Like the Founders intended.
I hope they hang ‘em high.
strangelet on April 24, 2009 at 5:52 PM
e-pirate:
Well actually I would say that AlQaida started it by declaring war on the United States. But I guess you feel more comfortable blaming Republicans than you do terrorists.
BTW, are you really so naive that you believe there was no such thing as coercive interrogation before the war on Terror?
Terrye on April 24, 2009 at 5:52 PM
Poor Barry. He’s not in Chicago anymore. He’s in the Big time now.
e-pirate – Why do you care more about our country’s sworn enemies than you do about the safety of your family and friends?
kingsjester on April 24, 2009 at 5:53 PM
“Paging Sandy Berger… Sandy Berger, you’re needed in the Oval Office…”
CynicalOptimist on April 24, 2009 at 5:53 PM
stranglet:
It is rare. We are talking about 3 people who were water boarded. How many Americans died on 9/11? Ah yes, a thousand times more.
Terrye on April 24, 2009 at 5:53 PM
The guy on the receiving end needs to be perfect at resistance. The interrogator just needs to be persistent.
It ultimately worked and averted an attack on LA.
hawkdriver on April 24, 2009 at 5:53 PM
Yeah and none of the US media, not even conservatives, have the same clarity as this piece in the Telegraph.
promachus on April 24, 2009 at 5:54 PM
Literally?
hawkdriver on April 24, 2009 at 5:54 PM
No that’s what Obama’s doing… diverting attention away from him while the country crumbles and he “rebuilds” it as his own personal socialist utopia.
Skywise on April 24, 2009 at 5:56 PM
Yep, that how it works. Keep up the pressure, never give up. Just like in conventional combat constant shelling breaks spirit and will. You don’t lob one bomb then stop.
Wade on April 24, 2009 at 5:57 PM
will the documents prove conclusively that they could not have extracted whatever information they got using traditional methods? FAIL.
sesquipedalian on April 24, 2009 at 5:57 PM
-
Oh yes… Let’s not forget to watch for the sloppy weasel in the chicken coop defensive tactic…
-
RalphyBoy on April 24, 2009 at 5:57 PM
You got it a little wrong:
I don’t live in a wildly irrational fear of terrorists, and as a result, don’t believe that the US government should sacrifice its moral standing in the world just because Dick Cheney is a bed-wetting coward who thinks we need to “torture or else.”
e-pirate on April 24, 2009 at 5:58 PM
e-pirate on April 24, 2009 at 5:51 PM
The point as you well know, is previous administrations didn’t play politics w/our national security like the most partisan, inexperienced, radical hack that currently occupies the WH. I hope he pursues it. He will be finished.
JAM on April 24, 2009 at 5:59 PM
e-pirate on April 24, 2009 at 5:49 PM
Which U.S. city would you sacrifice on 183.
Johan Klaus on April 24, 2009 at 5:59 PM
That evident by your sorry choice of handle.
Wade on April 24, 2009 at 6:00 PM
Cheney’s been asking since March!!
Boy,don’t piss off Cheney,or you might get Wolf
Blitzkrieg’d,tee hee!!!
Release,the dogs of Political War,Cheney,the
Dems are asking for it,me thinks,
a Lot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
canopfor on April 24, 2009 at 6:00 PM
Except there’s no evidence that:
a) there was a credible plot to attack LA
b) torture was the only way info could be gathered to stop any attack
c) torture didn’t cause an even greater amount of misleading, wasteful intelligence in addition to anything that may have led to helping prevent an actual attack
e-pirate on April 24, 2009 at 6:00 PM
After 9/11 fear of terrorism isn’t irrational in any way.
the_nile on April 24, 2009 at 6:01 PM
e-pirate on April 24, 2009 at 5:58 PM
Did you vote for Clinton? He has great morals.
The only way this country will sacrifice its moral standing is if we allow the relative morality and borderline treasonous behavior of The Left to turn this country into a European Socialist Nation.
kingsjester on April 24, 2009 at 6:02 PM
e-pirate:
No one is talking about irrational fears. But I remember after 9/11, the questions people were asking was how was this allowed to happen?
Bush did not blame Clinton. He did not publicly accuse him of negligence. He set about trying to stop any future attacks on American soil, and thus far there have been none.
The truth is you are playing with other people’s lives. You are assuming that you will not be the victim, so why should you care?
Terrye on April 24, 2009 at 6:02 PM
I’m still waiting for these magical methods you Donks keep referring to.
“Okay now, pretty please tell us where those cells are going to fly the next planes into.”
NO!!!
“Don’t you understand that if you allow this to happen that you’re just making yourself as evil as George Bush.”
I KILL YOU!!!
“You don’t want that now do you?”
YES!!!
Seriously, what is a “proven” method of getting vital national security information out of men that would sooner die than look at us?
hawkdriver on April 24, 2009 at 6:03 PM
Which U.S. city would you sacrifice
Johan Klaus on April 24, 2009 at 6:03 PM
Here’s a list of things you should be more afraid of than terrorists:
Maybe we ought to start torturing executives at Frito-Lay?
e-pirate on April 24, 2009 at 6:03 PM
Gee, Maybe that’s why Cheney is asking for those documents to be released!
redshirt on April 24, 2009 at 6:03 PM
As far as Dick Cheney being a bed wetting coward, if Clinton had done his job…there would not have been a 9/11. Bush might not blame him, but I do.
Terrye on April 24, 2009 at 6:04 PM
So, you predicted 9-11, or 9-11 never happened?
Johan Klaus on April 24, 2009 at 6:04 PM
Good point. Nobody has ever been interrogated prior to 9/11.
We’ve never had enemies or fought in any wars, so we have no experience interrogating people.
Thank god hawkdriver is here to set us all straight.
e-pirate on April 24, 2009 at 6:05 PM
Terrye on April 24, 2009 at 5:53 PM
Liar.
Padillo? Abu Graibh?
There was a ….WHOLE…..FARKIN’….SECRET… DEPARTMENT OF TORTURE…..
with procedures and protocols and legal justification memos and personnel and FUNDING!
You moron.
strangelet on April 24, 2009 at 6:06 PM
only if you waterboard me will i tell you, herr klaus.
sesquipedalian on April 24, 2009 at 6:06 PM
will the documents prove conclusively that they could not have extracted whatever information they got using traditional methods? FAIL.
sesquipedalian on April 24, 2009 at 5:57 PM
Will the documents prove conclusively that traditional methods would have worked?
I’d say “FAIL” but you already know you have.
Bishop on April 24, 2009 at 6:06 PM
There’s a differnce between terrorism and voluntary or necessary risk taking.
And if Bush didn’t try to stop terror , nukes would take big bites out of the population.
the_nile on April 24, 2009 at 6:07 PM
I have noticed that the left is in something of a pickle when it comes to terrorism. Either there is no such thing. Or it is our fault. Or it is not a big deal. Or we should invade Pakistan. Or we should apologize and institute sharia in Minnesota. Or something else. I forget. They just go round and round. and yet they never seem to get anywhere. like puppies chasing their tails.
Terrye on April 24, 2009 at 6:07 PM
Rule of law! (when it’s convenient for me … and I feel like it … and my party’s President is in office)
The new left is transparent all right.
TheUnrepentantGeek on April 24, 2009 at 6:07 PM
With all this Terrorist memo-nongate by the Liberals,and
re-release of the photographs as a courtesy to allow more
Lefty’s to tip them over the line to be either truthers,
or Moonbats,
one thing is absolutely clear,the Liberal Party are in
distractions over-drive,
and that is setting up another Perfect Terrorist Storm!!!
Just like the Clinton Administration that led up to the
Twin Towers Attacks!!
All Hail Hopeys Change!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Gack and Hurl!!!!!
canopfor on April 24, 2009 at 6:07 PM
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