Mood:
downTopic: "Cheney of Fools" (2)
45 minutes passed before NBC even went to a commercial, that is how important the first appearance by the Vice President of the United States on "Meet the Press," in over three years was perceived by its' producers. Frodo, before any more is said, would like to express his appreciation to NBC and to its' sponsors for their gratuitous behavior. If nothing else was accomplished in the interview of Dick Cheney by Tim Russert, Frodo came away totally convinced that the Vice President of the United States has absolutely no idea how big a mess he has made of things.
Cheney had the gall to argue semantics. When confronted by his own statements that American soldiers would be greeted as "liberators" by the "Iraqi people," Cheney reminded Russert that he merely selected one of the two hypothetical options made available to him, the other being "occupiers." Cheney failed to find fault in the pending visit of Iraqi President Malaki to Iran, as anything other than attempting to normalize relations with its' neighbors in the Region. He promptly recited a list of countries in the area, with one very notable exception, with which the Administration urged the new Iraqi government to seek to begin diplomatic relations. Cheney also went to great lengths to establish a dichotomy of the Iraq/al Qaeda connection and the Iraq/terrorism connection, admitting that although the former did not exist, the real danger was the latter, thereby justifying the Pre-Emptive War.
Cheney referred three times to a report with which Frodo had no familiarity, and Tim Russert never asked him anything about it, nor did he define it for the Citizens of Middle Earth. Russert appeared almost shocked on several occasions that the Vice President was attempting to downplay the significance of his own role in the rush to War. His own words, whether to define the level of insurgency, or to specify the center of the "War on Terror," were off-handed as if he were not totally familiar with more recent reports or analyses, contradictory in substance.
The greatest fear for Frodo is that now Cheney has a little knowledge. He not only now knows that Iran and Iraq are the two predominant Shiite States in the Region, but he assumes that this is not much different than France and Italy, two predominantly Catholic States in the EU, seeking to work together in a spirit of cooperation. He is of the opinion that the Sunni/Shiite relationship was soured by the insurgency of Zarqawi and the bombing of the Holy Mosque in Samara earlier this year. He never once mentioned the foolhardy relationship of the Administration to the Shiite expatriates who provided false information to the US Intelligence agencies. Ahmed Chalabi is a spy, and he is responsible for the deaths of many American soldiers, and Cheney does not have the courage to admit that he and all of his fellow neo-cons were taken in by this snake-oil salesman. The President of the United States can argue with Frodo all day that he acted on "the best intelligence available," but it was his responsibility to know what the source was, and to hear the voices of those who were telling him not to trust Chalabi.
George W. Bush is culpable, and that is why he hasn't attended a single funeral of the 2,666 young Americans dead by his hand. Cheney was pulling his strings.
