Cheney's Back. Do You Care?

By Mark Riley

Former Vice President and top fear monger Dick Cheney is back in the news this week. And guess why? He's up to his old tricks again. Cheney was always the most fierce defender of Bush Administration policies. After all, he crafted many of them.

So it should come as no big shock that he's amping up the same scare tactics that were a hallmark of the Bush years. Close Guantanamo Bay, move away from torture, he bleats, and the Obama Administration is inviting another 9-11 terror attack.

Nation security experts disagree about the efficacy of many Bush era initiatives. We do know this, however. Torture is banned by international law. Bush's inner circle tried throughout his eight years in office to get around that simple fact.


When some in Bush's own chain of command argued against what was going on at GITMO they were shouted down. In many cases, behind the scenes, Cheney's voice was the loudest. And now he's back, implying that by terminating the most obnoxious Bush policies, President Obama is backtracking on protecting Americans.

When Bush was criticized about the Iraq war, about his tacit support of torture, about his naked attempt to consolidate presidential power, his supporters called critics traitors. What should we call Dick Cheney?

In truth, he's no different than Rush Limbaugh.


Both are trying to remain relevant in a world that's changing before their eyes. The American people have rejected their way of doing things, and in fact their view of the world. Neither Limbaugh nor Cheney know what to do with themselves as a result. So they talk trash.

Is anybody paying attention to Dick Cheney's nonsense? Are you?