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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsIf Cheney wants a conversation about Iran…
Posted with permission.
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/if-cheney-wants-conversation-about-iran?cid=sm_fb_maddow
If Cheney wants a conversation about Iran
08/24/15 04:10 PMUpdated 08/24/15 07:15 PM
By Steve Benen
Even most Republicans will concede that the GOP campaign to derail the international nuclear agreement with Iran is going poorly, and barring any major developments, the diplomatic deal will move forward over the objections of far-right lawmakers.
But Politico reports that one die-hard critic still has something to say.
Dick Cheney will speak out against the Obama administrations nuclear deal with Iran during a speech next month at the conservative American Enterprise Institute. [
]
Cheney will speak on Sept. 8 just a week ahead of the Sept. 17 deadline for Congress to vote on the deals authorization.
Cheney will speak on Sept. 8 just a week ahead of the Sept. 17 deadline for Congress to vote on the deals authorization.
The White House hasnt officially said anything in response, but I have to assume officials in the West Wing are delighted to see the failed former V.P. take the lead in condemning the agreement. It makes it that much easier to deliver a simple message to congressional Democrats: when it comes to national security in the Middle East, and the prospect of yet another war, do you want to partner with Dick Cheney or with President Obama?
But even putting all of the political wrangling aside, what the former vice president just doesnt seem to appreciate is the role he played in creating the mess that the president is cleaning up.
Revisiting our discussion from several weeks ago, lets not forget that Iran didnt have a meaningful nuclear weapons program until Tehran developed one during the Bush/Cheney administration. It was on Cheneys watch that Irans total number of centrifuges grew from 164 to 8,000.
What kind of price did Iran pay for taking these provocative steps? Actually, Cheney didnt do anything he was busy watching his Iraq policy destabilize the entire region while allowing North Koreas nuclear weapons program to expand without any pushback from Cheneys administration.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), an aggressive hawk and no ally of Democrats, conceded not too long ago, I think the Bush administration, they were a miserable failure when it came to controlling Irans nuclear ambition.
I suppose its possible that Cheney has scheduled his AEI speech to deliver a public apology and acknowledge the ineptitude of his approach. But I have a hunch that isnt what he has in mind.
About a year ago, Cheney appeared on a Sunday show and was asked about his stunning failures while in office. If we spend our time debating what happened 11 or 12 years ago, were going to miss the threat that is growing and that we do face, he replied.
In other words, the failed former V.P. cant be bothered to defend his own record probably because its indefensible. The fact remains, however, that Cheney stood by and watched as Irans nuclear program expanded, and its President Obama who didnt just talk about addressing the problem; hes actually doing it.
The less Cheney has to say on the subject, the better.
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If Cheney wants a conversation about Iran… (Original Post)
babylonsister
Aug 2015
OP
malaise
(268,933 posts)1. Please proceed you war criminal of a
DICK!!!
spanone
(135,823 posts)2. K&R...