Watch Vice President Cheney's reaction to MoveOn.org's Petraeus 'betray us' ad.
KANSAS CITY, Missouri (CNN) - Vice President Dick Cheney on Monday waded into the week-old controversy over a newspaper advertisement that criticized the top U.S. commander in Iraq, using a speech at a Republican fund-raiser to call the ad "an outrage."
Republicans have blasted the full-page New York Times ad by the anti-war activist group MoveOn.org, which questioned whether Gen. David Petraeus was "cooking the books" in his report to Congress last week. GOP lawmakers have demanded that Democrats disavow the Sept. 11 ad, which was titled "General Petraeus or General Betray Us?" (Related video: Strategy Session: Was MoveOn out of line?)
"Like most Americans I admire the integrity and the candor that General Petraeus showed in his hearings before Congress," Cheney said during a fund-raiser for Missouri Republican congressman Sam Graves. "The attacks on him by MoveOn.org in ad space provided at subsidized rates in the New York Times last week were an outrage."
The Times said last week that MoveOn.org paid $65,000 for the page - the normal rate for an advocacy ad from a non-profit group, according to newspaper spokeswoman Catherine Mathis. The newspaper had no additional comment Monday.
Cheney was one of the leading advocates of the 2003 invasion of Iraq and remains one of the now-unpopular war's most outspoken supporters. Fellow Republicans have used the MoveOn.org ad to attack Democrats who now support withdrawing American troops from the conflict.
"It's bad enough when politicians turn their backs on a war they voted for and supported when it was popular," Cheney said Monday. "But no one in politics, regardless of party, should hesitate to object when an American soldier at war is mocked and insulted."
Democrats have repeatedly attacked the vice president's credibility on Iraq. He told CNN in 2005 that the now 4-year-old insurgency was in its "last throes," and said in 2001 that it was "pretty well confirmed" that Mohammed Atta, the lead hijacker in the al Qaeda attacks on New York in Washington, had met with an Iraqi intelligence official in the Czech Republic.
The independent commission that investigated the attacks later found that Atta was in the United States when the meeting was supposed to have taken place.
From CNN Politics
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WHATEVER DID THE GOOD PEOPLE OF
THE UNITED STATES EVER DO TO SUFFER THIS IDIOT.?
Well i'm sorry for the fools that still trust Cheney. There's two more lies exposed. Somebody please argue with that without incinuating some ridiculous conspiracy. The general didn't cook the books, the White House took the data and spun it. He had to serve as a mouthpiece because the President is his commander.
"The attacks on him by MoveOn.org in ad space provided at subsidized rates in the New York Times last week were an outrage."
The outrage is the fact that we went to Iraq! You and your puppet "W" are responsible for the biggest mistake in American foreign policy. When you were the SecDef you fired General Dugan for speaking the truth, same would have happend to Petraeus.................
Its a joke that this draft dodger and a war monger is even opening his mouth to the controlled audience. Its a known fact that the Petraeus's reduction of 30,000 troops is a spin by the 'W'. As the military at current level can't sustain that many troops without bringing them home. Its a hogwash on American people and distraction to put the blame on moveon.org and to the democrats. Everyone knows how much this joker cares for his country! He and 'W' want to extend the war as much as possible and blame democrats when they come on power.
Cheney advised against going into Iraq in 1994, knowing the dangers that we would face, even though we had a 500,000 man Army, only hours from the boarders of Iraq, after defeating the Iraqi Army. But in 2003, the dangers were still the same but with less than 200,000 soldiers Cheney was gung-ho, to send American Soldiers into battle, this from the 5 deferment man.
The only outrage is that Congress and the American public have not demanded impeachment for Cheney and Bush for lying our country into a war that has made their friends even wealthier while trashing America fiscally and globally, for willfully breaking FISA laws, and for fighting tooth and nail to block the 9-11 Commission from even forming, then hog tying it to avoid the whole truth coming out. We MUST impeach them both before we wake up to a headline that, as we slept, they launched yet ANOTHER pre-emptive war against an oil rich Muslim nation, this time Iran. How both men look in the mirror or sleep soundly at night utterly escapes me.
Let's send Cheney to Iraq.
Cheney is a traitor to this country. Anytime he opens his mouth it only helps the people who oppose him.
Our soldiers are dying because of Bush Cheney WMD lies, and this nutcase is bothered by a couple words.
This guy needs to be wiped out of office.
I agree with you Mike 100%. The problem is if democrats try to impeach these crooks, they will loose in general election in 2008.
Given the fact that VP Cheney has been wrong about virtually everything he has predicted about the war in Iraq, and Move 0n has been for the most part right on the money, I`m gonna have to say.... if the shoe fits....
Cheney has argued that he isn't part of the Executive branch anyway so who cares what he thinks? Also, I had no idea that "most Americans" admired the "integrity and the candor that General Petraeus showed in his hearings before Congress." I'm willing to bet that most of us didn't watch the majority of those hearings because "most Americans" actually work during the day instead of sitting around and watching CNN or Fox News.
Cheney "rears his ugly head" only when it's not about "him" but when it is about him he has "no comment". The majority of Americans believe Gen. Petraeus is an honorable man.
Leave it to Cheney and the Neocons who got us into this unnecesssary war, to change the focus of attention away from themselves and onto anyone but them. It can't come soon enough that these BUMS are out of power and back on the Board of Haliburton making profit from dead soldiers.
Disaster George Bush, D. Cheney and Company cooked Gen. Petraeus report the same was they cooked the reasons for going to war in Iraq. Someone should be accountable for the death of over 3760 GIs, the finest of AMERICAN BOYS, over $600 billion of money siphoned from our tax money, thousands of disabled and thousands of broken families. How could G. Bush, D. Cheney and Company sleep at night, when America"s hemorrhage is going worse? Who knows, may be republicans think that they are better citizens than the rest of the U.S. citizens, WE, THE PEOPLE.
Oh my God! How will MoveOn.org raise money, now that they have been sanctioned by Cheney! This is terrible, the end of era! All they can do now is hope for Carl Rove to come to the rescue.
I have an idea. How about we send Cheney to Iraq without any body armor and see how long he lasts. I'm sure the Iraqis would give him the appropriate reception.
How on earth do people trust "moveon.org" more than General Petraeus. I do not understand the huge distrust people have for the military; maybe if more people participated in it they'd understand the HONOR of such an institution.
When we entered World War II it was hugely unpopular and many were against participation. We imprisoned every Japanese and German national we could find without due process, and it was one of the most essential actions to shaping the world today and defeating Nazism. Now we have a similar fight, and everyone is worried about the rights of the terrorists and too scared to commit to the war. Bush and Cheney should've drafted 4 years ago and done this right, instead of pandering to the liberals.
Saddam was a NUTCASE. If ANYONE has one good reason for leaving him alive instead of allowing him to be convicted in a trial by HIS OWN PEOPLE please bring it forward. Only in America can you topple a dictator and be viewed as a war-monger for it.
By the way, we haven't taken a DROP of Iraqi oil.
Tell Cheney it is called Freedom of Speech and Freedom of the Press. We don't like him telling us we are winning the war in Iraq either. Does Betray Us want another star
Anything Cheney says, reverse it and you'll get the truth. He's wrong on the war, he was wrong on Atta, he was wrong on whether the Republicans would hold on to the House and Senate, and he's wrong about MoveOn.
The vice president is about as popular here as he is everywhere else. Is it possible to have an approval rating BELOW ZERO?
Cheney is firing up his lie machine again. He is/has positioned America to go to war with Iran very soon. His behind the scenes activity is already yielding open conflict within the boundaries of Iran with U.S. Special Forces and he is pressing hard for support to begin overt bombing within Iran by U.S. forces. NOTHING makes him happier than to see a strong diversionary story like moveon.org occupy the mainstream media and keep the focus off the real story. Note that very soon he (with the help of Rice and Gates) will expand his rhetoric beyond the Iranian nuclear issue to something saying 'the war in Irag can never be won without expanding it to include a strong military incursion into Iran'. And watch to see how he pulls in Kurd special forces and British special forces. Some form of smoke and mirrors attack or skirmish to get the fear campaign going in the U.S.
ANYTHING Cheney says should be considered a cornerstone for 'the rule of the hidden agenda.'
Cheney also said Ahmaad Chalabis was "our guy". And then there was the 5 times he told his local Draft Board that he was too busy to fight Communism w/a gun.
The right wing, and their chief hit man Cheney continue to attack the Move-On ad, and Move-On itself as a distraction from their bankrupt policies in Iraq. They do not attack the facts of the ad, they cannot. They instead, in typical right wing fashion, attack the ad itself. Where were they when the "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth" lied about John Kerry? Where were they when the Georgia Republican Party equated Mx Cleland with Osama Bin Laden? AWOL, that's where, just like when their time came to fight in Vietnam.
WHO CARES WHAT CHENEY THINKS? HE IS LIAR AND A THIEF HIMSELF.
I think Dick Cheney provides the best chance we have of getting out of this mess in Iraq. We simply have to figure out how to get the insurgents to go quail hunting with him.
Bush didn't disavow the Swift Boat attacks against Senator Kerry during the '04 elections, so why do the Republicans expect Senator Clinton to disavow MoveOn? Frankly, the Bush administration has lied so much about this war that I'm not surprised the public no longer believes anyone representing them. Let's not be hypocrites, puh-leeeze!
The MoveOn.org ad was right on and moved me to contribute. We need truth now more than ever and corporate media has proven it can't be trusted. Regarding Cheney, he's a disgusting & totally amoral individual.
Let's see: Cheney is a traitor, having outed a CIA agent; a corporate criminal, with the most amazingly corrupt relationship between Halliburton, Cheney's company that still pays him, and the White House. Cheney set up a secret energy policy with the advice of *energy companies*, and was too much of a coward to allow those meeting notes to go public. Cheney forced George Tenet and the CIA to lie about nukes and other WMD in Iraq.
Yeah, I put a lot of stock in what a criminal traitor and liar has to say.
I cannot belive how low we have fallen in this country. The level of political hate has reached such a point that we will attack anyone and everyone if we think that it might further our agenda. By all accounts Gen. Petraeus is an honorable man serving his nation in a true and honorable fashion. Yet we are willing to attack and destroy him if it gives us a shot and hurting the current administration, this is a sad day for America. This is not just directed at the Left but at all sides of the political spectrum, if we directed as much of our energy at solving our nations problems as we direct at hating and destroying each other we might accually fix some of the issues we face.
I dont want to jump the gun but I'm kinda relieve the US made it the 8 years w/ GW and Cheney at the helm. Honestly, we were very vulnerable for those 8 years. Granted in 50 yrs we'll see the real impact of their joint arrogance/stupidity, but for now there is hope that not the next president but we the people can turn this thing around!
I could care less what Dick Cheney says or does. He is a disgrace. Just because moveon.org took out an ad in the NYT doesn't mean the Democratic party had anything to do with it. The General has received criticism from Republicans on the Hill whether he deserves it or not so it's hypocritical to ask Democrats to denounce the ad. Get over yourself Dickey boy and go back to your usual "undisclosed location" and stay there.
I see that a picture of Cheney (or Karl Rove) will bring out the loony left to make comments!
I do get a laugh out of seeing the anger – calling for impeachment, calling Bush/Cheney liars, traitors, etc.
Does it drive you crazy Bush won twice, and those of you that voted in this last election for democrats because they "promised a change" in Iraq... that your leaders have publicly said Impeachment is off the table, and have done effectively NOTHING but make noises about Iraq?
I'm not sure what is worse – belonging to a party where the President is called liar, traitor, bumbling, etc ... or being angry and impudent about it as are liberals?
Too bad that Cheney and other "republicons" are indignant about the wrong things – they shgould be indignant about TORTURE, BIGOTRY against gay and lesbian people and the abridgement of CIVIL LIBERTIES.
I think the fact that Cheney admires Petraeus' integrity and candor negates any hint of integrity and candor that Petraeus may have had at any nanosecond of his life. He's a liar. Period. Cheney has betrayed us. Bush has betrayed us. Rice has betrayed us. This whole ugly administration has betrayed us. Petraeus has most certainly betrayed us.
I don't agree with the war in Iraq. We should be finding OBL in Afghanistan/Pakistan. But I also don't agree with this ad and its play on Petraeus. The buck stops with Bush and that's where all heat should be directed.
Well, it's not like what Dick Cheney thinks still carries any weight with approximately 70-75% of the American public anyway.
He can be outraged all he wants. I know most Americans can think of a lot of other things Cheney-related that they can be outraged about instead. The PATRIOT Act, for starters.
Poor Dick, has such a short memory.
2000 Cheney and Bush bad mouthing
Sen. McCain a so call war hero, Remember Colin Powell and Remember
John Kerry, you have the nerve to bad mouth MOVEON.ORG.
Like anyone still cares what Dick has to say. This whole admin. needs to just go away already, away for a long time somewhere with bars on the windows. The public is not fooled by their BS anymore and when they talk is sounds like the "Blah Blah" noise I use to hear in the Peanuts cartoons whenever adults would talk. I am a former Marine and I support moveon.org's ad. Good job & keep up the great work in exposing these criminals and their BS.
Now let me see... the Swift Boat Ads back in the 2004 campaign were not "an outrage"??? Hmmm, seems Cheney's idea of free speech is only that speech which supports his failed administration and the fact that him and the president will be noted in history books as the worst administration ever........
The lack of respect being shown here for Dick Cheney is absolutely appalling.
Think about what the poor guy has been through.
How many of YOU have ever shot a Republican? And kept the story quite for five hours so you could leave the scene of the crime/accident. And gotten the shootee to back up your version of events from his hospital bed? No Democrat could ever do something like this.
How many of you could stand being cooped up in an "undisclosed location" for lengthy periods of time? Only to be brought out when your medication kicks in or your pacemaker needs a new battery. All the while hearing your boss say, "Bring it On!" or "Mission Accomplished." I bet his Secret Service detail is tired of keeping him from getting out, joining the military and kicking ass in Iraq.
I mean every time poor Punxatawney Dick pops his head out, you people take pot shots at it.
No wonder we don't see the poor guy that much.
BTW-Someone please tell Cheney that he is only supposed to make an appearance on Feb. 2. Looks like six more months of war.
the current admin has no credibility what-so-ever. So to speak out against freedom of speech, Mr. Cheney needs to see what a mess he has caused. Too bad he isn't in Iraq....he's used to shooting people!
Cheney, Go slither back under your rock and count your blood money!
This coming from a crook. Please spare the American people from this and resign. Cheney is a disgrace to the office.
As if the Vice President has any credibility anymore.
So sick of hearing what a crook and bad guy Cheney is and how corrupt Halliburton is. Anyone with any knowledge of how halliburton and KBR really operate would know that there is an entire floor of independent cost consultants that have to approve all spending on these "Cost Plus" contracts. Also, like many other CEO's in our country, Dick Cheney chose to take a deferred compensation plan for tax reasons, just as any fiscally responsible person would do. There is nothing the slightest bit crooked or illegal about it.
Has everyone forgotten that Saddam was given ample opportunity to PROVE to the international community that he no longer posessed WMD? He CHOSE not comply with a UN resolution! The US was and Britain were pretty much the only ones to realize that letting him get away with non-compliance made the UN obsolete. Why do the members of the UN agree to pass a binding resolution if they are not prepared to enforce it. So...we were, and still are justified in being in Iraq. If we leave, the insurgency will just follow our toops home.
Finally, we wouldn't be in the mess that we are now with the "privatization" of our military had our military industrial complex not been cut to a shell of it's former self under the Clinton administration. Without the Halliburton's, KBR's and Blackwater's; we would have absolutely no chance of defending ouselves abroad. That is not the fault of "W".
I heard Cheney rode in a swiftboat to get to KC on time to give that speech.
Bill, Streamwood, IL : September 17, 2007 4:50 pm,
Thanks for the laugh this afternoon, but how could you compare Punxsutawney Phil with Cheney? What did that fat, little critter ever do to deserve such a critique.
I don't recall Bush, Cheney, or many Republicans disavowing the Swift Boat ads of 2003, just before the election. Any one of those ads are much worse than the one Betray Us ad.
The GOP wants the Dems to disavow the ads? These is the same GOP that stood silently by while the Swift boat attack ads on Kerry ran during the 2004 campaign?
Sadly, I am no longer surprised by the blatant hypocrisy of politicians of all stripes.
I'll listen to Cheney/Bush talk about "sacrifice" when either one of them has a son/daughter/grandchild in uniform and in harm's way.
Where were Cheney and his fellow white, puffy, neocon friends when Senator Kerry was swiftboated?
I think Cheney's hypocrisy, lies, overstepping his limits as vice-president, attempting to undermine the Constitution, leading us into an unwinnable, unsustainable, indefensible war against whomever he dislikes at any moments' notice, without any checks and balances, and against the majority of Americans' wishes an outrage!!!!
How else can you take the general's report? The figures that he used didn't line up with other reports from other government and private agencies. Vice President Cheney has also played fast and loose with the truth. This war was sold to both congress and the american people. If the truth would have been known we wouldn't have been in this mess. The congress voted for and supported the war because they were lied to. Cheney also still insists that there is a tie between Iraq and 9/11 which he knows to be false. They knew there was no wmd and they still attacked a country. The "betray us" tag also applies to the president and vice president.
The organization "MoveOn" has lost any respect that I might have had for them. To suggest that General David Petraeus had somehow betrayed our country and our military by suggesting that his presentation to congress was a form of "cooking the books" is an outrage! General Petraeus risks his life and the life of his troops attempting to find solutions to an unbelivably complex problem in Iraq. He is at least working on a solution. I wonder what the staff and members of "MoveOn.org" are doing to solve the Iraq problem other than shoot their mouths off and offer vague suggestions of improper reporting by General Petraeus.
I spent 20 years in the US Navy and have worked befor and fter my time in the civilain world and I can tell you even with all the reported scandal in the military, that General Petraeus and person in uniform have more integrity than I have seen in dealing with the civilain population and especially politicians. To those who keep bringing up the swiftboats and John Kerry, the Senators biggest problem was and still is his calling Viet Nam Vets,like my dad "war criminals and baby killers" while testifying infront of Congress in 1971. It was this attitude that resulted in my dad being spit on and called a "baby killer" at S.F aiport while coming home for his 9 year old sons funeral.
MoveOn.org is just one more tool utilized by the "Left-Wing Conspiracy."
Most of you seem to need a trip down memory lane....
Swift Boat ads – these were soldiers that had served in Vietnam aside Kerry. These soldiers were disputing Kerry's account of actual events.
Moveon.Org ad – liberal rich kids sitting behind their desks attacking a decorated General who is on the ground in Iraq – leading our soldiers.
VERY DIFFERENT.
But no doubt most of you won't understand and will go back to your "swiftboat" mantra. And assuming your version (swift boat ad = wrong) some how liberal "swiftboating" is ok when a 4-Star general is attacked but cry and cry when it was done to Kerry?
Moveon.org is asking the questions that the American Press should be asking. If there are facts or sources of information that conflict with what Gen. Petraeus says, someone (WH or Gen. P) should be addressing that.
Bush (& Cheney for that matter) have no credibility with the American public (for good reason) so they put Gen. Petraeus before Congress because the US military doesn't have the same integrity issues that the White House has (We know why and they know why that is the case).
But it puts our military leaders in a position where they have to justify a war that they did not create and show indirect support of Bush's failed/failing policies. Why is a military commander and not the Commander in Chief asked to justify/support failed policies for this war?
It's unfortunate that Petraeus is inconsistent (at best) with his facts and I personally would like to see him either retract his statements or justify/clarify them given the facts contrary to them (see Moveon.org among other sources).
Cheney is not fooling anyone. He wants the Dems to be associated with Moveon.org and his tactic of giving a speech to a group of 'supporters' (lackeys) to address important issues shows his cowardice (the same cowardice he demonstrated during the Vietnam conflict). He would never engage in honest debate with these issues because he knows it's not a winnable argument and not a winnable war given the same failing policies and the same failed arguments for it (if I hear one more time about how much "progress" is being made in Iraq despite the obvious facts, I'm going to scream–Just because you repeat it doesn't make it true).
This is all a distraction anyway. The real issues concerning the war are deflected once again with a focus on an administration that misleads and deflects from the truth.
Go MoveOn Go...Dick Cheney and the Swiftboaters for truth are liars...
"I'm not sure what is worse – belonging to a party where the President is called liar, traitor, bumbling, etc … or being angry and impudent about it as are liberals?
Posted By Henry Tucker, Ga : September 17, 2007 4:40 pm"
It's the former. Surprisingly, many conservatives and other people with memories and working frontal lobes feel the same anger as those liberals about the mess this, "bumbling, liar", and his henchman, Dick, "the Penguin", have wrought.
Two posts here sadly reaffirm that the only way these days to be pro-Bush/Cheney is to be woefully misinformed, like the astonishing 30% of Americans who STILL are swallowing the Bush/Cheney mantra linking Saddam to 9-11. For example..."the U.S. has not taken a single drop of Iraqi oil"....guess you somehow missed that one of the U.S. "benchmarks" to Irag is that they pass the U.S. oil firm-designed "Hydrocarbon Act" that in effect gives U.S. and British oil firms control of that country's oil for THIRTY YEARS! Sad to see another poster here STILL parroting Bush's long disproved claim that his attack just gave teeth to U.N. resolutions that Saddam was "ignoring". Hmmm, guess you missed the facts that Iraq was SWARMING with U.N. weapons inspectors whose head said that Saddam WAS in compliance,that those inspectors were DRIVEN OUT by Bush's attack order, and that Khofi Annan said that it was the U.S. INVASION that violated the U.N. charter. Sad that some of the loudest "patriots" choose to remain so misinformed, or worse, to parrot the lies of Bush and Cheney.
OK James, lets forget swiftboat veterans against truth- how about career soldier General Eric Shineski- when he testified to Congress before the invasion that an occupation of Iraq would require a minimum of 400,000 troops? Rumsfeld publicly mocked him for that. Was Cheney outraged by that? Did people demand that Republicans apologize for that? Seems to me that when it comes to defending the reputation of military leaders the GOP has very flexible standards, depending on whether or not the general's views can be used to support their policy. After all MoveOn is just a group of private citizens but Rumsfeld was somebody chosen by Bush & Cheney and confirmed by the Republican Senate. They should be apologizing themselves for his remarks about Shineski before they start casting stones at anyone else.
It's a shame and an embarrassment to this country the complete lack of respect shown by liberals and democrats to our elected leaders and honerable military generals who bravely defend our country from terrorism.
Spreading democracy and toppling evil dictators is what has made this country great since our founding. Our 4 fathers are truly rolling over in their graves at this lack of unity and anti-United States liberal attitude. Someone should remind these idiots that it is the United States and what we stand for that his given them their freedoms to share their hateful comments of their own country. Sad indeed!
i am so sick of this babble about how we toppled a dictator. like we stepped in for the people of iraq. J thats not how business works and this was all business. there are maaaaaaaany other dictators that are actually a threat to the united states and we take out the one we already beatdown in a months time already. i respect the honor of the military, but the military does not run the military. the military is run by politicians. and when those politicians are corrupt the military are used as their weapon...
You know, you people could have left Cheney as another greedy CEO of a corporation BUT NO! you had to select and elect him as vice-president! Why oh why is the American voter so ignorant!
Cheney is the most evil man on the planet!He has done more to hurt America and Americans than every terrorist,including Bin Laden,COMBINED!This man should either be hung or dropped out of a C-140 transport plane over the Pakistani mountains!His poisionous venom has infected our whitehouse and Congress long enough!The stench of this vile man will take DECADES to remove!Immediate action should be taken to forcibly remove him from office YESTERDAY!Bush is just the stupid puppet.Cheney is the puppeteer!He is the most evil man that has ever been in our government BAR NONE!It's a shame that his hunting partner didn't return fire!
Calling people into question for doubting the opinion of a governmental figure, Cheney?
"LAST THROES," anyone?
Today, Alan Greenspan, lifelong Republican and advisor to several Presidents, noted for his fiscal and political conservatism, said bluntly what any informed, conscious, conscientious, and informed American has LONG known....the U.S. invasion of Iraq was about ONE thing only....oil. Now let's watch and see if the Neocons "Swift Boat" HIM and portray him as an "America-hating, MoveOn.org style liberal left wing wacko!"
The "outrage" is Cheney and Bush. Nice try Cheney, but you will NEVER stop freedom of speech in this country, or turn it to benefit you and your cronies. The american people are wise to you and Bush. Just seems to me that if your lips are moving...you are lying!
I personally think Dick Cheney is one of the most honorable man I have ever encountered. The attacks by the defeatocrats are ridiculous. The modern Dems have no ideas, solutions, or thoughts of their own and only chant want is told them by Rosey, Move On, or the Daily Kooks. Can any of you have a real idea or thought?
I have to respond to "Spreading democracy and toppling evil dictators is what has made this country great since our founding."
I don't know when you last took an American history course, but your statement is unfortunately quite false. Our history is one of Empire. In the 20th century alone, we toppled many legitimate governments in Latin America and supported puppet governments that implemented our interests. During the Cold War, we helped destroy many governments in favor of dictators who pledged to resist communism. We even supported Saddam Hussein at one point because he was fighting against Iran. And what about Pakistan and Saudi Arabia? They are our allies, aided by our weapons and tax dollars, and yet the former is a dictatorship and the latter is nothing like a democracy.
While we should all love our country and seek unity, let us not have any illusions about our own history.
Cheney is clueless about serving your country, since he didn't.
When the Swift Boats ads came out against John Kerry and denagrated his military service, Cheney never complained. That whole group allowed Max Cleland's service to be denagrated as well. HYPOCRACY, CHENEY. Give me a break!
I was NEVER for this war. I didn't like the way it was presented, the inability to follow the guidelines given to Saddam; he did give a written report about what he had, no weapons were ever found, and there was NEVER a connection to 911. I saw Cheney lie on Meet the Press, stating he had information the 911 commission didn't have, and yet never let anyone know what it was. This man is a class A liar who benefited more from this war than any one given person. Haliburton's no bid contracts made Cheney quite a fortune. Cheney, I don't believe a thing you say. I do support the troops, afterall they didn't have a choice as far as what they have been asked to do. So, don't spin that age old statement on me. I thought the move on add was over the top, but I did feel that Petraeus would say exactly what you all wanted him to.
"Spreading democracy and toppling evil dictators is what has made this country great since our founding."
-------------–
Really? What evil dictators did the founding fathers seek to topple, and what other countries did they spread democracy to?
Didn't George Washington say something about avoiding foreign entanglements?
What's "an outrage" is a turkey who "ran from Vietnam and military duty"; yet has the gall to LIE to his country in order to start a war that has cost almost a trillion dollars and ended hundreds of thousands of lives. Now that's "an outrage"! Why does Cheney/Bush send his daughters and the two drunk twins to Iraq? Neither Cheney, Bush, nor Condi has ever seen war (except on TV and video games); yet they are so eager to declare war and continue this needless killing. Sick, very sick (and outrageous).
I served my country while this hemorrhoid was getting a deferment. He spouts profanities on the Senate floor, lies to constituents and has attempted to destroy the US Constitution.
Get some Preparation H and vanquish him post haste!
Mocking a soldier at war, like Betrayus, isn't as bad as mocking someone who is begging for mercy to spare their life like Bush did with Carla Fay Tucker.
We should say the truth even the mouth is twisted, but Cheney's mouth is opened, that's a lie. Dick is a human devil, he doesn't fear Americans and God, God will judge him eventually. I hope he doesn't show up on public, especially on TV, please don't take his picture. My stomach is upset and BP goes up when I see his face.
Eric Kansas City, MO, please show me the part in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution where the Founding Fathers wrote that it was the mission of the United States to spread democracy (which they knew was an evil form of government) and topple evil dictators? On the contrary. John Quincy Adams, who had a long history of public service before becoming 6th President of the US, said that the US "goes not abroad, in search of monsters to destroy." Instead, he said that we would "commend the general cause by the countenance of (our) voice, and the benignant sympathy of (our) example."
Since when is it a novelty that Americans would show a "complete lack of respect...to our elected leaders and honerable military generals?" What country and whose country is this anyway? Perhaps you should heed the words of Theodore Roosevelt: "To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public."
You need to read more history because you obviously don't know what this country is about nor why it was founded.
..Remind me again why this VP of the past 8 years is not running for president?
With some respect to J Houston of TX, there was some segments of the U.S. population that was against going to war with Germany; mostly because they had some sympathies with Nazi ideologies. Once December 7, 1941 happened, the majority of the country went to support the war.
As to the people who were detained without due process, those were American citizens of Japanese ancentry. Most of them supported the U.S. without question. We don't have a similar fight with terrorists. It is a different war because it is between countries and an international non-state terrorist group intent on spreading hate and violence across the planet until all are like them.
As for Saddam, yes he was a sick man. He needed to be tried for the crimes he committed and ordered. It was a good thing that he was removed from power. The problem with toppling when we did and how we did it are many fold. First, he was somewhat contained in Iraq. Second and more importantly, we were still working on Afganistan where the real problem was going on and not fully resolved. Third, there was a limited amount of support from the rest of the world. I think Alan Greenspan was correct in his statement stating that war was mostly about oil. The oil which we use so much of is often a point that we need to take into account when foreign policy is made.
It is too bad that we don't have the political, economic, and scientific will to advance our technology to the point where we don't need oil. If we could do that and hold onto to the rights to the technology, we could become a wealthy country.
I distrust Dick Cheney so much that I just made a contribution to MoveOn.org- we all need to do whatever we can to stop this insane administration.
Obviously Mr. Cheney knows nothing of intergity nor candor. His deceptive behaviors have provided a clear picture of his motivations. He need not say a word and that would be a good change for him to make.
RVM
To qualify to be a general officer you must be competent, intelligent and a politician. Gen Petraeus is all of these and we know that he will not prosper if he does not please his boss. I have no doubt that he can prepare and present a report to support any argument. His report could just as easily be used to justify withdrawing but he was able to spin sufficiently to stay the course a little longer.
Anyone who thinks that we are winning are encouraged to sign up quickly so they can be in the victory parade.
I didn't know generals were so sensitive. I feel sad knowing that General Petraeus is crying himself to sleep at night because of what that mean MoveOn said.