Cheney Hits Back After Obama’s Nonsensical Address

The President’s address to the nation today was ostensibly about his national security policy instead, he harangued the American people on the errors of the previous administrations ways.  “Decisions that were made over the last eight years established an ad hoc legal approach for fighting terrorism that was neither effective nor sustainable – a framework that failed to rely on our legal traditions and time-tested institutions; that failed to use our values as a compass,” the president said. “And that is why I took several steps upon taking office to better protect the American people.” It’s nonsense.

The Bush administration’s national security policies of the last eight years were effective and are clearly sustainable, Obama has not changed many of them. The arrogant and self-righteous rhetoric that Obama chooses over clear political discourse makes both him and the nation look weak in the face of our enemies.

Although the president talks about looking forward not back, I can’t help but think that this is a set up. The Obama administration seems to be setting the ground to blame the Bush administration for the next attack when he calls the detention center at Guantanamo Bay “a rallying cry for our enemies.” Gitmo was never any such thing, the rallying cry was 9/11, the rallying cries were the successful attacks carried out in London and Madrid that led to their government’s capitulation–and the next successful attack on the United States, where we can only hope Obama flip-flops again rather than turn to appease our enemies.

Full video of Obama’s long address

[Full Text of Obama's Address]

Only moments after the president’s address, Dick Cheney spoke at the American Enterprise Institute and “set forth the strategic thinking behind [the Bush administration's] policies.” Cheney came out fighting. He was not defensive; the speech was powerful and well argued.

“When President Obama makes wise decisions, as I believe he has done in some respects on Afghanistan, and in reversing his plan to release incendiary photos, he deserves our support,” Cheney said. “And when he faults or mischaracterizes the national security decisions we made in the Bush years, he deserves an answer.”

On enhanced interrogation: “Yet for all these exacting efforts to do a hard and necessary job and to do it right, we hear from some quarters nothing but feigned outrage based on a false narrative.” Cheney said. “In my long experience in Washington, few matters have inspired so much contrived indignation and phony moralizing as the interrogation methods applied to a few captured terrorists.”

Cheney answered–the dueling speeches are incomparable.

Full Video of Cheney’s Speech

[Full Text of Cheney's Speech]