Never one to miss a party, Dick Cheney proudly proclaims that he aided torture, just after saying "we don't do torture":
Did you authorize the tactics that were used against Khalid Sheikh Mohammed?
CHENEY: I was aware of the program, certainly, and involved in helping get the process cleared, as the agency in effect came in and wanted to know what they could and couldn't do. And they talked to me, as well as others, to explain what they wanted to do. And I supported it [waterboarding].
Of course, his contradictory statements all depend on how you define "torture"–according to the Geneva Conventions, which we supposedly ascribe to, or according to whether the plucked feathers of Cheney's pet grouse point southwest while you elevate the waterboard.
In his endless drive to satisfy the Rooster Cogburn proclivities of many a rightwinger (including, of course, some of our frequent color-commentary folks who'll probably fly over soon, flapping like grouse), Cheney has once again thrown down the gauntlet before the pro-civilization faction of the American populace.
Of course, if there was any chance that the laws and prosecutors could develop the brass to enforce our laws, Cheney probably wouldn't have opened his trap. But since he did, at least we've had the evidence served up on a silver platter. Let's hope the political will to actually be "a nation of laws, not men" still exists. Cause the nation cannot be served by ignoring people–even people in high office–who commit illegal acts.
I guess Cheney feels pretty cocky these days–after all, he shot a man in the face and didn't get so much as an investigation. "Laws not men" indeed.
In other news: The Ten Gallon ten gallon is in need of its annual dry cleaning, so I'll be on a wintry retreat of a week or two starting tomorrow. The posts won't dry up, but they'll be a little less frequent. So Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukak, Jolly Kwanzaa, Jovial Festivus, Happy St. Stephen's and Merry Whatever Else You've Got On the Calendar!
