Details the myriad illegal, immoral, and unethical activities of Dick Cheney when CEO of Halliburton, his obstruction of justice, and lies to the American public since his appointment as Vice President. For information on an equally corrupt politician, see link to Tom DeLay-Corporate Whore. Be sure to visit our cavernous vault of archives.

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Vice President Cheney tackles 'Darth Vader' image in Newsweek interview

RAW STORY
Published: Sunday January 28, 2007

From a Newsweek press release.

ON HAGEL’S IRAQ WAR CRITICISM: ‘Let’s say I believe firmly in Ronald Reagan’s 11th Commandment: thou shalt not speak ill of a fellow Republican. But it’s very hard SOMETIMES to adhere to that where Chuck Hagel is involved’


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ON FORMER FRIENDS AND COLLEAGUES WHO HAVE CRITICIZED HIM: ‘WELL, I’M VICE PRESIDENT AND THEY’RE NOT’


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ON THE WAR IN IRAQ AND AGAINST AL QAEDA: ‘IT’S A PROBLEM THAT I THINK WILL OCCUPY OUR SUCCESSORS MAYBE FOR TWO OR THREE OR FOUR ADMINISTRATIONS TO COME’

New York-In Vice President Dick Cheney’s first print interview since the GOP lost control of Congress, he talks to Newsweek Senior White House Correspondent Richard Wolffe about Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel’s harsh criticism of the administration’s Iraq policy. “Let’s say I believe firmly in Ronald Reagan’s 11th Commandment: thou shalt not speak ill of a fellow Republican. But it’s very hard sometimes to adhere to that where Chuck Hagel is involved,” says Cheney in Newsweek’s February 5 issue (on newsstands Monday, January 29). Responding to other comments-including criticism from Brent Scowcroft, and others who have worked with Cheney in the past-he says, “Well, I’m vice president and they’re not.”

Cheney also tells Newsweek he has no regrets about statements made before the war that U.S. troops would be greeted as liberators. “The comments I made were based on the best information we had. There’s no question that the struggle has gone on longer than we anticipated, especially in Baghdad … It does not, though, lead me to conclude that what we’re doing in terms of our overall effort, taking down Saddam Hussein’s regime, standing up a new democracy in Iraq, isn’t a worthy objective. I think it is. I think we have made significant progress … The conflict we’re involved in-not just Iraq, but on the broader basis against Al Qaeda, against the threat that’s represented by the extreme elements of Islam on a global basis now-is going to go on for a long time. And it’s not something that’s going to end decisively, and there’s not going to be a day when we can say, ‘There, now we have a treaty, problem solved.’ It’s a problem that I think will occupy our successors maybe for two or three or four administrations to come. It is an existential conflict.” He adds, “Obviously, there was flawed intelligence prior to the war … but we should not let the fact of past problems in that area lead us to ignore the threat we face today and in the future. It would be a huge mistake.”

Cheney doesn’t think U.S. involvement in Iraq is causing allies to worry we are too extended to respond to an Iranian threat, he tells Newsweek. “Most of the nations in that part of the world believe their security is supported, if you will, by the United States. They want us to have a major presence there. When we-as the president did, for example, recently-deploy another aircraft-carrier task force to the gulf, that sends a very strong signal to everybody in the region that the United States is here to stay, that we clearly have significant capabilities and that we are working with friends and allies as well as the international organizations to deal with the Iranian threat.” When asked about the possibility of airstrikes against Iran, he says, “We are doing what we can to try to resolve issues, such as the nuclear question, diplomatically through the United Nations. But we’ve also made it clear that we haven’t taken any options off the table.”

While discussing the recent national mourning for President Gerald Ford, Cheney’s mentor and friend, the Vice President says he does see similarities between Ford’s term and the current political turmoil in Washington, reports Newsweek. “I was delighted to see the outpouring of tributes to his leadership … and praise for the tough, tough decisions he made-in particular, for example, the pardon,” Cheney says. “I reflected back on where we’d been 30 years ago when he made those decisions and, obviously, suffered for it in the public-opinion polls and the press, and how history judged him 30 years later very, very favorably because of what he’d done. He had displayed those qualities of leadership and decisiveness, steadfastness, if you will, in the face of political opposition.” Is there a parallel to now? “There may well be,” says Cheney.

Cheney also speaks out about his “Darth Vader” image and whether he feels he gets treated fairly by the media. “By the time I leave here, it will have been over 40 years since I arrived in Washington, and I’ve been praised when I didn’t deserve it, and probably criticized when I didn’t deserve it,” he says. “And there aren’t enough hours in the day for me to spend a lot of time worrying about my image.”