At the heart of evil

At the heart of evil lies an evil heart, and its name is Dick Cheney.

Of course, that’s my opinion, but it’s an opinion based on years of taking the measure of the man.

This is the man who brought the neocons’ dream into the White House and led it to fruition in Iraq.

During the eight years of the Bush administration, we learned of one breaking scandal after another with names like Valerie Plame Wilson, Abu Ghraib, Attorneygate, Halliburton/KBR and numerous others which led eventually, sometimes circuitously, to the vice president’s office.

This is a man who can go on Fox News this morning and brush off the atrocities of his administration by accusing any investigation into them of being simply “politically motivated.”

The CNN Wire (LINK) has just reported Fox News’ viewers got a dose of the smarmy veep who won’t go away defending once more “enhanced interrogation techniques” – a term weak-kneed news organizations prefer to calling torture “torture.”

CNN Wire:

“The attorney general’s decision to review waterboarding and other enhanced interrogation techniques is politically motivated, former Vice President Dick Cheney said in remarks broadcast Sunday.

“Cheney told FOX News Sunday in an interview conducted Friday that he opposed Attorney General Eric Holder asking a former prosecutor to review CIA interrogations of high-profile terrorism suspects outlined in reports released last week.

“Cheney made clear he believes President Barack Obama directed Holder to launch the review, due to pressure from left-wing Democrats. He called it a bad move that would undermine the willingness of CIA operatives to carry out necessary operations to protect the country. ‘I think it’s a terrible decision,’ Cheney said, later adding: ‘It’s clearly a political move. There’s no other rationale for why they’re doing this.’ “

No other rationale for why they’re doing this?

Well, that’s one way to cover your ass.

I suspect the public at large has no idea what “techniques” have come to light in recent weeks as various reports have been released.

The proof of valuable information gleaned at the hands of torturers – something Cheney has insisted the reports would reveal – has not emerged.

But, let’s move beyond the “deserving victims” argument some would make concerning suspected terrorists – with emphasis on the word “suspected.”.

The atrocities revealed in recent reports say to the world:

“This is the United States of America. This is what we’ve become. This is who we are.”

Army field manuals and Geneva Convention be damned.

I am not at all happy with the new American image. Are you?