the Big Mattress - Freeform Interactive Radio on the Net

"Intelligence officers of the United States were not trying to rough up some terrorists simply to avenge the dead of 9/11. We know the difference in this country between justice and vengeance"

"To completely rule out enhanced interrogation methods in the future is unwise in the extreme. It is recklessness cloaked in righteousness, and would make the American people less safe."

"If fine speech-making, appeals to reason, or pleas for compassion had the power to move them, the terrorists would long ago have abandoned the field. And when they see the American government caught up in arguments about interrogations, or whether foreign terrorists have constitutional rights, they don’t stand back in awe of our legal system and wonder whether they had misjudged us all along. Instead the terrorists see just what they were hoping for – our unity gone, our resolve shaken, our leaders distracted. In short, they see weakness and opportunity?

"Yet having reserved for himself the authority to order enhanced interrogation after an emergency, you would think that President Obama would be less disdainful of what his predecessor authorized after 9/11. It’s almost gone unnoticed that the president has retained the power to order the same methods in the same circumstances. When they talk about interrogations, he and his administration speak as if they have resolved some great moral dilemma in how to extract critical information from terrorists. Instead they have put the decision off, while assigning a presumption of moral superiority to any decision they make in the future."

"This recruitment-tool theory has become something of a mantra lately, including from the President himself. And after a familiar fashion, it excuses the violent and blames America for the evil that others do. It’s another version of that same old refrain from the Left, “We brought it on ourselves.” It is much closer to the truth that terrorists hate this country precisely because of the values we profess and seek to live by, not by some alleged failure to do so. Nor are terrorists or those who see them as victims exactly the best judges of America’s moral standards, one way or the other."

"In the fight against terrorism, there is no middle ground, and half-measures keep you half exposed. You cannot keep just some nuclear-armed terrorists out of the United States, you must keep every nuclear-armed terrorist out of the United States. Triangulation is a political strategy, not a national security strategy."

http://tinyurl.com/plwkp9
Try this website..I hope the link works...If the Boston Herald..a known right wing leaning paper is reporting this...it must have legitimacy...TORTURE dosen't work !!!! No matter how much the right wants to rationalize and report how "9/11 is different"...listen to the men and women that did the interrogations not Sean Hannity and Dick Cheney...

The above quotes from Dick Cheney are not convincing. One man's view that I did not often agree with over the last 8 years.

The writer fittingly hides behind the character Prufrock.

Thanks for the link Peter.

It's very telling that aside from Political posturing when vise-president, Cheney
comes out of the closet (or spider-hole or whatever) to defend the rancid and illegal
war policies of the War Against Islam.
Iraq was not a strike back at a "terrorist" enemy but George W. Bush's personal fatah. Just as Al Quaida has continued with strength since 9/11 so hath these neocons. we need protection from both!

That poser using all the Cheney quote-oids ( J Alfred whoever) makes me guess that it is actually Wingnut Danny who (not unlike the last 11 Japanese holdouts during the second world war) is still standing in the mud trenches of the Dark Side spewing out the same crap he's been trying to fool us with ever since I discovered this blog.
Tell us, Charles- Is it one and the same?

Former Gov. and Navy Seal Jesse "The Body" Ventura had the best analysis of waterboarding, "Give me a waterboard, Dick Cheney and one hour and I'll have him confessing to the Tate murders"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoqmH49VBC0

Yes, Helen. You are either very astute or just a good guesser. In any case, it is one and the same Danny Boy.
(and stay tuned- the rest of the tattered WingNut cavalry will be signing in shortly to give him the supporting comments he so direly needs.)

Proofrock should take himself and his reptilian neo-con buddies, ya know, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Perle, Wolfowitz, and, (don't let him fool you) Powell to the Wasteland. Eliot? ehch. Defending these guys at this point is so passe. People like this keep trying to push the boundaries of sorcery so far that we forget that without 9-11, these bastards would still be thinking of a way to fool the people into giving their power away and be complicit in destroying innocent people over seas.

How many times did Cheney get a deferral because he was too much of a soulless prick? As a veteran, I take particular offense at those who look at service people as worthless sheep who are expendable while using them as fodder repeatedly. I will never serve this rotten system again.

I owe you an amend Charles. Amends, to me, means doing things differently.

I haven't drank the kool-aid yet, though it is nice for the ol' psyche to not have to see georgie boy as much. I'm sure karma gives him a good scrub, too bad our government didn't have the balls to. Anyone who thinks these guys contain any sort of honor is mind-boggling.

Back to Kool-Aid, I want to see a bigger difference between the two puppets, er administrations. I am glad that some of the lefties are taking obama to task. Too bad fix news couldn't at least try and pretend to be other than sycophants. Over and out.

Charles – does it make you feel superior to hide under your rock only to come out and use derogatory statements such as “tattered WingNut cavalry. Why is it you need to bash and attempt to belittle anyone who does not have your narrow little view of the world. Did you have a bad childhood – did all the other boys and girls pick on you and call you names.

Condemning “derogatory statements”
Hypocracy in Action- Part 3:

“It's s-o-o cute watching all of the little sheeple clambering over each other to pay homage to the great one...”
-rich (4-29-09)

“Obama is lucky there is another distraction – it gives the liberal media something else to cram down the throats of the sheep while they ignore this administrations inept movements.”
-rich (4-28-09)

“you really need to expand you reading past the usual yellow liberal journalism ( and I use the term journalism loosely)”
-rich (4-28-09)

Charles has hit the nail on the head :"just remember- you are deciding the fate of thousands of American prisoners, civilians and allies in all future conflicts."
Our reasons and excuses will come back to haunt us when an enemy has the same excuses for illegal torture.

There were many instances in past history where the enemy has tortured prisoners- The Japanese tortured Americans; the Russians tortured Germans, the Terrorists cruel treatment of hostages, etc. In the face of all that, many treaties have been signed by many nations to try to eliminate- or at least mitigate somewhat- the amount and frequency of these unlawful acts. Rather than fall back to the Dark Ages of “anything goes” treatment of dangerous prisoneres, better to keep enhanced interrogation illegal and put on trial those found to have used torture- even if those happen to be Americans.

Yes Charles – I have had some faux pas in my life – I have reacted to your biased posts in the derogative – but I can admit when I’m wrong – I can agree with the other side from time to time. But I do not believe you have that capacity. You continually ridicule anyone who does not see he world thru your jaundice eyes. You attack when there is no threat, you belittle instead of responding. So answer the question Charles. What makes you superior – what makes your opinion fact – Why does anyone who disagrees with you deserve ridicule – give me a reason to agree with you – and stay away from the intelligent responses like “it’s my blog – my opinion” or “George Bush………..” – tell me why you are right and my opinion of Obama, Biden, Pelosi and the rest of the gang is wrong. Did you have a bad childhood?

Yes. A terrible childhood. It was awful. I was taught that- if he came back- Jesus was a liberal and wouldn't have a chance with the hypocritical ultra-conservative "hate" movement of today. I was taught that a moderate mix of socialism and pragmatism would not be acceptable to the WingNut fringe of America- and they would resort to name calling, false and transparently-phony character accusations, hypocrisy, and using “amateur psychology” to insult their opponents in any way they could.
.. And it seems that those who taught me were pretty much on target.
Now, your two-comment maximum is over limit. I'll let you have the last word- but then you have to promise to go away until football season.

Typical demorat response - you can answer a question without answering the question and at the same time deflect the discussion with obscure comments, a cynical outlook, an ability to place faults on others and a keen ability to ridicule the opposition thru slander and name calling.