Once a Dick always a Dick

Forgive me as this doesn’t really fall under pop culture but hey it was on The Daily Show so it kinda counts right? There’s been a ton of talk this week about the a 1994 CSPAN video of then Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney discussing the dangers of removing Sadaam Hussein from power during the first Gulf War. He talks about the chaos it would create in an already unstable region. He talks about the different factions in Iraq that would seek to split the country or control it. He talks about the increased troop loss the US would face after escaping the Gulf War with relatively small casualties. In short he predicts everything that has happened in the last 4 years. A lot of people in the media have been arguing that while it’s certainly a chilling glimpse into the future, you can not tie Cheney’s 1994 comments to the actions he took almost a decade later. So much has changed they say and they point to 3 major events or as I like to call them excuses. Number one, the neo-con movement rose to power and converted Cheney. Number two, Sadaam became a bigger threat. Number three, the mother of all game changers…9/11. Join me please as I call bullshit on the media and of course Mr. Dick himself.

Excuse #1: The neo-con movement rose to power and converted Cheney.
Its true as Secretary of Defense Cheney of 1994 was clearly not as brash and bold as the Cheney of today. Furthermore I accept that the neo-con movement did not exist at that time. That being said, leopards don’t change their spots. The administration Cheney served in at that time was run by Bush Sr., and while he was popular during the war his presidency was already on the decline due to the failure of his predecessors social and economic policies. The administration did not have a mandate and unlike today Congress was still a legitimate check to the White House’s power. I’m sure that while Cheney, Bush Sr. and others in that administration were aware of the risks involved in removing Sadaam, the one that held them back the most was the political risk. Does anyone really think that someone as arrogant and stubborn as Cheney would be converted to a movement such as the neo-cons? Really the neo-con movement just allowed Cheney to emerge from his cocoon of evil in broad daylight.

Excuse #2: Sadaam became a bigger threat.
Well I must admit I can see how this is true however it’s just not true in the way the media and Cheney’s defenders would have you believe. Their argument is that Sadaam had the WMDs or at least WMD programs and that he was aligned with terrorists. How many times do we have to cover this?!?! There were no WMDs and no overt ties to terrorist organizations. Sadaam was despised outside of his own country (and inside as well). His list of allies was almost non existent because after Kuwait no one could trust that he wouldn’t either turn on them or bring down the wrath of the US military on the region. Sadaam was however a bigger threat to this administration because he was a maverick. When it comes to controlling oil the US knew that they could not rely on Iraq while he was in power. Furthermore Sadaam was put in power by many of the senior officials that served in Junior’s administration which was embarrassing enough but when Sadaam started flashing home movies on Al Jazeera of him and Rummy going down a Slip N Slide on a hot summer day that was too much. Truth is Cheney and the rest of the administration viewed Sadaam as a threat to their personal interests and not those of this country.

Excuse #3: The mother of all game changers…9/11.
Doesn’t anyone realize that the more we use 9/11 in this way the more it discredits the pain and loss we as a country suffered that day? It’s a disservice to the survivors and to the families who lost someone that day. Did 9/11 change our world? I’ll say yes but only in that it allowed Cheney and Bush to institute a series of initiatives designed to undermine our freedom and the Constitution. Without that did 9/11 change anything else? I’d argue no. Terrorists will always target us whether Bush, Clinton or FDR is in power. As a superpower and a bastion of “freedom” it makes sense that we’re targets. Sorry kids those are the breaks if you don’t like it move to Belgium. Now I’m hardly saying we deserve to be hit but the fact is 9/11 was one terrorist success and we haven’t had one since or for that matter before on such a large scale. We live in a country were terror is a constant threat of living and the only thing that 9/11 changed is that it scared enough people into handing over their rights and minds to Cheney and company. Yes 9/11 changed the environment so that it was a much better time for Cheney to move into Bagdad and remove Sadaam but only because he had carte blanch from this country.

The most frustrating thing about this aside from the fact that we got ourselves in this unwinable war is that Cheney never bothered to share this info in the run up to the war. While I’m still quite sure I would have opposed it, wouldn’t it have been nice for anyone in the administration to admit going in that this will not be easy and that post Sadaam Iraq will be difficult to deal with. I think the bloodlust in this country was still at such a high that approval still would have been given but more importantly it would have shown an openness to discussion that this administration and Cheney in particular so desperately lacks. Once again by withholding information that could have prepared and educated the nation’s public Cheney has added to a deepening chasm of trust between we the people and our elected officials. What a Dick…