WASHINGTON (CNN) - Sen. Carl Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, says former Vice President Dick Cheney's claims - that classified CIA memos show enhanced interrogation techniques like waterboarding worked - are wrong.
Levin, speaking at the Foreign Policy Association's annual dinner on Wednesday, said an investigation by his committee into detainee abuse charges over the use of the techniques - now deemed torture by the Obama administration - "gives the lie to Mr. Cheney's claims."
The Michigan Democrat told the crowd that the two CIA documents that Cheney wants released "say nothing about numbers of lives saved, nor do the documents connect acquisition of valuable intelligence to the use of abusive techniques."
"I hope that the documents are declassified, so that people can judge for themselves what is fact, and what is fiction," he added.
From CNN Politics
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I'm always amused with the irrelevance of the arguments Republican delusionists keep throwing out on these threads.
"Release Obama's birth certificate," one cries, ignoring the fact that it has already been released.
"What about all those Republican Chrysler dealerships Obama is closing down," wails another, apparently ignorant of the fact that car dealership owners are overwhelmingly Republican, so any randomly selected group of them would include more GOP than Dem supporters.
You're entitled to your own opinion, but only if you bother to inform yourself of all the facts. Google is your friend, but only if you look at something other than the articles that reinforce your prejudices.
Why would any one be suprised at Cheney's lying?
Here is a scumbag who started out in Washington in the Nixon Whitehouse and came out of it like a greased pig with out one connection to watergate.
Why don't they just put Cheney on a constant diet of cheeseburgers and french fries. His heart will take care of the rest.
I am not really sure who is lying here, but if I had to pick the liar I would go with Cheney. Perhaps he really is not lying but has deluded himself into thinking that he is telling the truth.
How consistent of Cheney – to lie again.
This is not the issue. Torture is indefensible. It is a morally reprehensible crime. And you people out there who try to defend torture are no better than the people who commit the transgression and it saddens and disgusts me to see you do it.
The entire Bush Administration should be brought to justice for their various crimes.
9/11 happened on Bush's watch and it was due to his incompetence.
The PATRIOT ACT was a mad grab at our constitutional rights.
Warrantless Wire tapping.
These guys outed an undercover CIA agent. THAT'S HIGH TREASON!
AND TORTURE!
AND YOU MEAN TO TELL ME WE CAN'T GET JUSTICE FOR ANY OF THIS?!?!
Let's just hope this pathetic ratbag, Deferment Dick, will finally go away. I just can't believe anyone, other than some Republican morons, would actually pay any attention to what this small man has to say! When does he stop feeling guilty about being a draft-dodger?
We should prosecute this sleeze ball and take Junior Bush down with him. Throw in the three R's [Rumsfield, Rove and Rice] while we're at it. Collectively, their administration was easily the worst [and most corrupt] in my life time.
They entered a war for all the wrong, misguided reasons and put our economy in the toilet in the process. The past 8 years speak for themselves. There is no rebuttal. Prosecute them.
Cheney is writing his memoirs and wants to use a lot of classified docs in his tell-all book. He knows there's no 'smoking gun' because he would have blabbed the gist of it to an unknown source and leaked it to the media: "We waterboarded x and he told us y" would have been enough to make his point, IF IT WERE TRUE.
But by now we know the truth isn't in him, and Cornyn says that since he's not an elected Republican he should shut his blinkin' pie hole. Pains me to agree with Cornyn about something, but when he's right, he's right, and also correct.
Dick is a pathological liar. Remember the lies about "we will be greeted as liberators" in Iraq, the oil revenue will pay for the reconstruction of Iraq, proof of WMD is a slam dunk, there will be a "mushroom cloud" in Iraq if we don't invade, and "we are in the last throes" of the insurgency? All proven to be lies.
He IS the weakest link!
Doctor Death needs to go away...
Steve M Killeen, TX May 29th, 2009 12:50 pm ET
I would not believe DICK Cheney if he told me the sky was blue.
---------------------------------–
Therein lies he problem with so many in this country. Ideology clouds (pardon the pun) the ability to effectively process information.
All this uproar about reportedly only 3 guys being waterboarded, yet no big outcry at the killing of 3 Somali teenagers on a boat.
The difference?
Those screaming for Obama to release the docs, do you people not read the entire article?
"CIA spokesman Paul Gimigliano, in a written statement, said the two documents Cheney requested are the subject of two pending lawsuits seeking the release of documents related to the interrogation program, and cannot be declassified."
Typical republicans, read only what suits you, huh?
So Cheney only waterboarded 3 al Qaeda detainees. And got valuable intelligence from them. And that those actions proved beneficial to the U.S.
Hmmmmm. So, if I robbed just 3 banks and gave all the money to charity to help feed the hungry, would you still prosecute me for bank robbery?
Anyone who thinks Cheney hasn't committed a crime doesn't understand the laws under which we live.
@Pierre Changstien-
It doesn't matter whether it was 1 or 100. Once the world found us out we were tainted and scores and scores of terrorists have been and will be recruited just by pointing to what we did to those 3 guys.
Our beloved Country went from leading the way morally to becoming Nazi Germany, or Saddam's Iraq... and all of it happened just after 9/11 when we had the sympathies of almost the entire World... on our side.
Hope you're proud of what your party and the Bush administration did to our Country. Defending them is unconscionable. It also completely discredits any arguement you'd make in their defense.
For a guy who wouldn't comment on his energy policy sources, who was one of the most secretive people in the executive branch, who even said that he was not in the executive or legislative branch but between the two, he certainly has a lot of bull to say today. I say, "Good riddance to the guy!" He is one of the worst of the worst... And, no, I am not going hunting with him, although he came to my county in NY many times to do that and clogged up the roads...
what are we waiting for ? Why isn't an investigation, and independent one where we can learn all the facts and the truth of who did what and when..this is far to important to ignore.. Some people should be held accountable and should face consequences..There was clearly a violation of our treaty and the will to cover it up..I might suggest since Cheney is so eager to talk openly on all the talk shows, then why not let him talk in front a investigative committee under oath..Then and only then will we finally get the truth !!
I love the timing on these unfolding of events because this means that George Bush's recent statement backing Cheney up is a complete fabrication as well. Big surprise there – Bush and Cheney manufacturing information to serve their own agenda!!!!
I'm in Shock and Awe!
Yes Cheney Is a Liar........But more than that He needs to be prosecuted by someone with a backbone!!!!!!
lie?? say it isn't so
Instead of moving forward the pathetic liberals keep looking back to somehow shame the last Administration. Stateing that Bush policies damaged our reputation and national security, never considering the damage that they are doing to our Nation, reputation and national security with this side show political witch hunt.
So release them. Release them all, it isn't like the Dems care one bit about national Security when they are willing to publicly humiliate are troops with photos and acusations.
By the way, explain how every CIA director and several of the interrogators all say it worked (except of course the one interrogator CNN used as an "expert" even though he spent less than a month as one and was only involved in one session).
Cheney has a truly mean spirit...it is obvious. Torture suits his personality even if it doesn't work, but he'll continue to claim it does until the end of time with all the evidence to the contrary piled in front of him.
The commenters here are pretty irrational and uneducated. Wonder if any of them has ever had to make a big decision in their life. Cheney, a war criminal? Bush a Traitorous destroyer of the Country? It is to laugh.
If they are criminals, then the evidence would have been found by now. 8 yrs of CNN trying to lie thru their teeth about what really went on, or they would have found some evidence of a real crime here. If those two guys are guilty of crimes, then the Messiah as President is already guilty of impeachable offenses in lying about his plans for the economy, and taking over American car companies without due process and without justification. He makes Bush look like a competent rocket scientist by comparison. And making politics part of the US Government is the worst crime there is.
You folks are largely idiots with no reason in your body.
Subsunk