DICK Cheney and State Sponsored Torture

VP DICK Cheney appeared on CBS’ Face the Nation this morning.  This interview wasn’t substantively different from any of the others he’s done in the past month:

Cheney also urged the Obama administration to continue the Bush administration’s interrogation policies.

“I would hope [Obama] would avoid doing what others have done in the past, which is letting the campaign rhetoric guide his judgment in this absolutely crucial area,” Cheney said. “We were very careful, we did everything by the book, and in fact we produced very significant results.”

So many problems with that statement, DICK.  There are a great many smart people, including former members of the Bush Administration who warned you and David Addington about getting too carried away with agressive interrogation techniques.  Chief among their concerns was something we patriots like to call the U.S. Constitution.  There’s also this other little concern known as the Geneva Convention.  You can argue all you want that our foes in the war on terror are not lawful combatants, but the rest of the world needs to somewhat agree, or, it looks like selective application of an international human rights treaty.  And, what about the old bromide that we’re not going to stoop to their level.  There’s so much more than campaign rhetoric behind the criticisms of the Bush Administration’s endorsement of torture.

DICK, you also say you were very careful.  Jane Mayer, author of The Dark Side, and others have documented the many instances of false intelligence received through interrogation techniques that the FBI and Defense Department didn’t even want to be a part of.  In at least one instance, an innocent man was yanked off of a European street and deposited in an Afghani prison.  If that’s what you call careful, I’d hate to see reckless.

And, finally DICK, when you say by the book, what book are you refrencing?  I notice you don’t mention the Constitution.  Are you referring to a book one of your sychophantic aides produced after you told them what the contents should contain?

This great country’s standing among nations is less because of politicians like Dick Cheney.  The legacy of his state-sponsored torture program is a dark stain that may take years to erase.  They say they produced significant results, but we’ll never know, because they cloak those results in secrecy.  Essentially, they can say anything.  It’s whether or not we’re foolish enough to believe them.