G.O.P. insiders to Cheney: “Shut the f*ck up!”

A National Journal poll of top GOP political insiders and strategists finds that Republicans believe former Vice President Dick Cheney has hurt the party since leaving office.

Of 100 insiders polled, fully 57 percent believe Cheney has hurt the party, and only 33 percent believe he has helped. The poll also includes quotes from unnamed insiders.

“Anything that reminds the public of the Bush administration harms the party’s ability to turn the page. If he’d had any concern for his public image when he was in office, he wouldn’t have to worry as much about defending his reputation now.”

“There is nothing Dick Cheney can say or do to help the Republican Party today. The best thing he can do is disappear for the next 10 years.”

This isn’t a shameless attempt by Dick Cheney to remain on the public stage. It’s a shameless attempt by Dick Cheney to stay out of prison.–BEREZ

CIA official: Harsh techniques useless…. But fun!!!

WASHINGTON — The CIA inspector general in 2004 found that there was no conclusive proof that waterboarding or other harsh interrogation techniques helped the Bush administration thwart any “specific imminent attacks,” according to recently declassified Justice Department memos.

 

That undercuts assertions by former vice president Dick Cheney and other former Bush administration officials that the use of harsh interrogation tactics including waterboarding, which is widely considered torture, was justified because it headed off terrorist attacks.

The risks and effectiveness of waterboarding and other enhanced techniques are at the center of an increasingly heated debate over how thoroughly to investigate the CIA’s secret detention and interrogation programs.

So our torture experiment didn’t work out the way we hoped. We didn’t get any info and destroyed our moral standing in the world. That’s worse than paying your accountant extra to embezzle from you. To be continued-BEREZ

Torture memos reveal waterboarding, noogies, titty-twisters

 

As part of an ongoing court case, the Department of Justice released on Thursday memos issued by the Office of Legal Counsel between 2002 and 2005, detailing techniques used for interrogation of terrorism suspects. In doing so, President Obama declared: “While I believe strongly in transparency and accountability, I also believe that in a dangerous world, The United Staes must carry out intelligence operations and protect information that is classified for purposes of national security. I have already fought for the principle in court abd will do so again in the future. However, after consulting with the Attorney General, the Director of National Intelligence, and others, I believe that exceptional circumstances surround these memos and require their release.” 

So they’re not pressing charges against the CIA agents involved. I agree with that. These guys were following orders in an area that was made intentionally ambiguous. They weren’t putting people in gas chambers. They should be going after the guys that authorized the memos. And If I was Cheney or Gonzales, I wouldn’t be planning a trip to Euro-Disney anytime soon.–BEREZ

Ay Dios Mio: Spanish inquisition of U.S. inquisition over

 

MADRID — Spanish prosecutors will recommend against opening an investigation into whether six Bush administration officials sanctioned torture against terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay, the country’s attorney-general said Thursday.Candido Conde-Pumpido said the case against the high-ranking U.S. officials _ including former U.S. Attorney-General Alberto Gonzales _ was without merit because the men were not present when the alleged torture took place.”If one is dealing with a crime of mistreatment of prisoners of war, the complaint should go against those who physically carried it out,” Conde-Pumpido said in a breakfast meeting with journalists. He said a trial of the men would have turned Spain’s National Court “into a plaything” to be used for political ends.

Prosecutors at Spain’s National Court have not formally announced their decision in the case, but Conde-Pumpido is the country’s top law-enforcement official and has the ultimate say.

Coming less than three months after the Bush administration left office, the case was the first of several international efforts to indict former administration officials. Human rights groups have also tried to bring suit against Bush officials in a German court. In addition to Gonzales, the complaint named ex-Undersecretary of Defense Douglas Feith; former Vice President Dick Cheney’s chief of staff, David Addington; Justice Department officials John Yoo and Jay S. Bybee; and Pentagon lawyer William Haynes.

It alleged that the men _ who have become known as “The Bush Six” _ cleared the path for torture by claiming in advice and legal opinions that the president could ignore the Geneva Conventions, and by adopting an overly narrow definition of which interrogation techniques constituted torture.–AP

As my old friend Miguel used to say, “No f*cking bueno!”  Mr. President, turning your back on this wouldn’t just make you a typical politician, it would make you an un-indicted co-conspirator. This is a BIG thing and we elected you to make hard choices. The world is watching. Posterity is watching. Berez is watching. Step up!–BEREZ 

Poll: Obama keeping us safe; Cheney wrong,… again

WASHINGTON (CNN) — A new poll indicates Americans don’t agree with former Vice President Dick Cheney’s recent assertion that President Obama’s actions have increased the chances of a terrorist attack against the United States.The CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey also suggests that most people support the president’s plans in Afghanistan — up to a point.

Seventy-two percent of those questioned in the poll, which was released Monday, disagree with Cheney’s view that some of Obama’s actions have put the country at greater risk, with 26 percent agreeing with the former vice president.

In a March 15 interview on CNN’s “State of the Union with John King,” Cheney said the Bush administration’s anti-terror strategies “were absolutely essential to the success we enjoyed of being able to collect the intelligence that led us to defeat all further attempts to launch attacks against the United States since 9/11.”

Dr Evil always says “we kept this country safe since 9/11″ as if 9/11 was on someone else’s watch. Berez wants a President that’s gonna keep us safe since 1/20. Ya know, Inauguration day. Cheney’s ridiculous. Safe since 9/11. Please. That’s just like the old saying, “But other than that Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?” –BEREZ