It is mystifying to me how the American press has not hammered former Vice President Dick Cheney for his claim that he, former President George W. Bush and other Republicans have kept Americans safe and that President Barack Obama is making us less safe.
Let us examine the facts.
One, the 9/11 attacks happened on Cheney and Bush’s watch. They happened partly because, as Richard Clarke famously wrote in his book, Cheney had no focus on the terrorism threat in the months leading up to 9/11.
Two, it is not true that America has not been attacked since 9/11. After we invaded Iraq, that country became our colony, ruled for more than a year by a de facto American governor-general. Iraq was a part of America, and it was attacked, time and again. The enemies have killed more than 4,000 Americans and tens of thousands of our finest have been maimed, injured or psychologically damaged for life.
Three, even granting that the American mainland has not been attacked, the reason is not because of Cheney’s or Bush’s brilliant handling of intelligence matters. The reason is it was much easier to attack Americans in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and other hot spots of the world. Iraq was the place to attack Americans, not the United States, which has always been protected by oceans and its troops at home.
Discussion:
No comments:
Post a Comment