I have some conservative friends who put Dick Cheney on a pedestal and believe he's some kind of comic book hero type of patriot. I think they are either willfully ignorant about the man and his history or so blinded by partisanship they cannot fathom that Cheney is actually one of the most loathsome (18% approval rating upon leaving office), unethical and dishonest men to have ever served in the highest echelons of government.
Dick Cheney played a major role in involving this country in an unnecessary war of choice which has resulted in the deaths of 5000 U.S. soldiers, tens of thousands more injured and maimed, the deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqi civilians, and the tarnishing of America's image the world over with his pro-torture views. And just like his 5 draft deferments to get out of Vietnam duty, his multiple DUI offenses, his deceitful manipulation of the process in choosing George W. Bush's Vice President (he chose himself), and his role in outing a covert CIA agent's identity (it's called treason in my dictionary) he steadfastly refuses to accept one iota of accountability for his actions. The man is worthy neither of respect, accolades or media attention. Long after we are all pushing up daisies, honest historians will not have much good to say about Dick Cheney the man or his destructive legacy. Period.
TFG
Very good summary of Cheney. There is also the highly questionable Haliburton (along with its many bogus branches like Blackwater) that Cheney said he severed his ties with before "accepting" (like you said, he appointed himself [with Daddy Bush's help]) the VP job, but why would anyone believe what Cheny has to say about ANYTHING?...he is simply too low on the "humanity-scale" to even measure (plus insider reports point to Halliburton's staggering profits during both Bush terms). You nailed it!...Cheney does not even fit the basic mold of a human being much less a would-be statesman so why go further with the tons of other garbage that could be dug up on him.
ReplyDeleteYou know, it is shameful enough (by basic human standards) that Cheney wrote a book about his "honorable" political career, (by my measure he should be too ashamed to even leave his home), but people will actually buy the thing and read it...? Ugh!...this is comparable to saying, "there is little hope for a fair portion of our species."
You are spot on MNbob. Cheney's slimy tentacles extend deep into the turgid belly of the Military Industrial Complex (MIC). And if there is one thing any sane and honest student of history knows, and which an outgoing President Dwight D. Eisenhower warned us of, was that the MIC cannot subsist without perpetual war and destruction. Cheney and Rumsfeld for certain, and maybe even the whole Bush administration, ought to be sitting in a docket at the Hague for war crimes and crimes against humanity. But this country isn't ready to admit that kind of culpability just yet. Americans are still under the delusion that "everything" we do around the world is virtuous (much of it is obviously, but much isn't) and so holding leaders accountable for their transgressions that cause mass misery only applies to other nations at this point in our history.
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