Dick Cheney is at it again. He now warns Americans that if President Obama should dismantle policies designed by Bush/Cheney, the nation is likely to be attacked by terrorists employing biological and nuclear weapons.
What an outrageous comment...and an even more outrageous political set up!
If we are attacked, he will say something like, “So? You won’t question me again, will you?. My advice is: elect only Republicans if you want to be safe in the future.”
If we are not attacked, Cheney, of course, will disavow his Cassandra alert.
What does it take to get this guy off the stage…completely, utterly and forever!!!
2 comments:
Your post reflects something that isn't just a behavior by Cheney. Recently former Bush speechwriter Marc Thiessen wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post that also seemed to be setting up for an "I told you so." (see http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/21/AR2009012103215.html)
In it, Mr. Thiessen lays a dangerous, partisan and totally fallacious foundation to justify future criticism of President Obama. He asserts that Bush’s policies have prevented terrorist attacks since 9/11 and that any attack on Obama’s watch would prove that altering those policies puts him at fault.
First, Thiessen’s hypothesis that the absence of attacks was because of Bush policies is just that: hypothesis. It cannot be proven true or false. To give it credence is both a dangerous logical fallacy and a continuation of the kind of fractured, self-serving “reasoning” typical of the past eight years.
Second, Bush didn’t prevent the 9/11 attacks, a full nine months into his presidency. For most of us, there was an element of surprise on that awful day – for Bush, there had been specific warning of bin Laden’s determination to strike. Bush disregarded that warning, was negligent, and three attacks happened on his watch on that day. The presidency is not an inconsequential job where accountability can be delayed more than nine months until one gets up to speed.
I won’t use Thiessen’s deceptive “logic” to claim Bush could have prevented the attacks, but the former president was wrong for not taking action.
We all need to beware of the partisan fear-mongering by people like Cheney and Thiessen, and we and the media need to call them out every time they play their dirty game.
I have not read the Thiessen piecein the Post, but am sure I would agree with most. I also agree with your comment about the need by all of us to avoid partisan fear mongering. That may be the most important lesson for responsible people to take from the Bush/Cheny years.
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