You Don't Know Dick

Dithering:

A highly nervous, confused, or agitated state.

According to former Vice President Dick Cheney, on the subject of Afghanistan, President Obama "...must stop dithering while America's armed forces are in danger." Like most comments by Dick, this one has left me a bit confused. When someone makes a statement like this, they had better be an expert on international affairs. Now, you may be thinking, this guy has held some pretty major posts in his history of public "service," and you'd be right.

Along with being Vice President from 2000-2008, Dick was Assistant to the President under Gerald Ford (insert your Dunder Mifflin/Dwight joke here). He represented Wyoming in the House Of Representatives from 1978-89, advancing to the position of House Minority Whip. Then, George H.W. Bush appointed him to Secretary of Defense in 1989. A position he held until 1993. So, Dick certainly has a lot of experience. But when college basketball coach John Calipari took over the downtrodden University of Memphis team in 2000, he was once told by a reporter that he was inheriting a lot of "experience" because of the large number of returning juniors and seniors . He replied, "yes, but it's all bad."

How bad is it you might ask? Well, consider some of these sage decisions by Dick. In 1979, Dick voted against a bill that would have made Martin Luther King Jr's birthday a national holiday. He voted against the creation of the Department of Education. He voted against funding Head Start. He voted against instituting economic sanctions against the Apartheid loving South African government. Hell, he even voted against a non-binding resolution that demanded the release of Nelson Mandela.

But wait, there's more. As Secretary of Defense, he downsized the military by 19%. He advised President George H. W. Bush against supporting Russian Premier Mikhail Gorbachev. Dick later made a deal with the Saudi's to put US military bases on their native soil. A decision that has stoked anti-US sentiment by Islamist extremists for years. In fact, Bin Laden has been quoted as saying that those bases are on Muslim holy ground and their presence "inspired" the 9/11 attacks.

Of course, the really good stuff comes after the election of the Bush-Cheney ticket in 2000. As the shrub's Vice President, Dick stated that the invasion of Iraq (post 9/11) was necessary because of the ties between Iraqi leader Sadaam Hussein and al-Quaeda, as well as Iraq's stockpile of weapons of mass destruction. Dick insisted this was true despite the Pentagon's claims to the contrary. Even if you throw out the fact that most of the "evidence" came from a CIA informant who was given the code name "curve ball" due to his unreliability, it makes absolutely no sense that Bin Laden and Hussein would be in cahoots. First and foremost, Iraq, for better or worse, was a secular government under Sadaam which chafed Bin Laden to no end. I'm sure you've heard about this Bin Laden being a radical Muslim extremist, and well, it be so. And if there's one thing a radical Muslim extremist hates (even more than us Americans), it's a secular middle-eastern government. By the way, what ever happened to those weapons of mass destruction?

Ok, so fine, he bullshitted us into a pre-emptive war against a country that didn't attack us and scarcely had the means to do so even if they wanted to. But, how about that war planning? Here are a few of Dick's finer observations about the conflict in Iraq:

"My belief is we will, in fact, be greeted as liberators." --March 16, 2003

"We know he's been absolutely devoted to trying to acquire nuclear weapons, and we believe he has, in fact, reconstituted nuclear weapons." --March 16, 2003

"In Iraq, a ruthless dictator cultivated weapons of mass destruction and the means to deliver them. He gave support to terrorists, had an established relationship with al-Qaeda, and his regime is no more." –Nov. 7, 2003

"I think they're in the last throes, if you will, of the insurgency." -- on the Iraq insurgency, June 20, 2005

It's been nearly 4 1/2 years later and we are only now looking at exit strategies. And here's the fascinating thing--- during the first Gulf War, Dick stated that occupying Iraq would be a "bad idea" that would lead to a "quagmire." Once again, what good is experience if it brings you no benefit?

With Afghanistan, like everywhere else, Dick is playing fast and loose with the facts. Dick seems to think that Obama should follow the advice of his Commander of Afghanistan Forces, General McChrystal, and give him the 40,000 troops that he is requesting. While reasonable minds can debate the wisdom of that advice, it's worth mentioning that during the last 8 months of the Bush presidency, a similar request by then Commander of Afghanistan Forces, General McKiernan languished on the President's desk without response. In fact, it was newly elected President Obama who added 21,000 soldiers in Afghanistan earlier this year.

So, Dick, a man who made an art out of dodging the draft during the Vietnam war by taking 5(!) deferments is criticizing the Obama administration for "dithering" over Afghanistan and being "too afraid" to make a decision. This from a man who has been wrong so often in his conclusions about middle-eastern nations that you would think he were a long lost spelunker. If only there had been some "dithering" prior to the invasion of Iraq.

Now, a reasonable person might think that someone this plainly and consistently discredited would find that special cave, disappear into it and not come out of it until another Bush (Jeb) runs for the Presidency (oh, the horror). You might think that, but then, you don't know Dick.

Sumo-Pop
October 30, 2009