Colin Powell Aide: Cheney "Lonely, Paranoid, Frightened"

[babylonsister]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/05/29/wilkerson-cheney-lonely-p_n_209182.html
Ryan Grim
Wilkerson: Cheney "Lonely, Paranoid, Frightened"
First Posted: 05-29-09 03:55 PM | Updated: 05-30-09 09:51 AM


The night after Colin Powell delivered his infamous argument to the United Nations justifying the invasion of Iraq, Lawrence Wilkerson, his chief of staff, sat down and wrote a letter of resignation. It was, said Wilkerson Friday, " the lowest point in my professional and my personal life."

He stuffed the letter in his desk drawer. And left it there.

"If I have a regret when I go to my grave, it is that I did not resign," said Wilkerson, because of course Powell's speech turned out to be almost entirely false.

Wilkerson told the story during a Friday taping of a town hall debate on torture, filmed at the Newseum for Al Jazeera's "Fault Line" show in Washington, D.C. The show airs on Saturday.

The debate was hosted by Josh Rushing, former military flak and now a top Al Jazeera reporter. It also featured Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.), human rights attorney Jumana Musa and outspoken former CIA analyst Michael Scheuer, who formerly ran the unit in charge of capturing Osama bin Laden.

Six years after the UN speech, the group also debated Dick Cheney and his legacy -- and whether he should be prosecuted. Wilkerson told the Qatar-based news network than he thought it was impractical to charge former vice president with a crime, regardless of his own preference. He would rather, he said, see the administration's lawyers disbarred before going after "lonely, paranoid, frightened Dick Cheney."

Scheuer had sharp words for Cheney, too. "I think Mr. Cheney is a despicable, reptilian person," he said, drawing laughter from the crowd.

Moran apportioned the blame for torture on the Bush administration generally, but Rushing pressed him to "name names."

"Dick Cheney," said Moran in response. "Bybee {and} the poor lawyer who can't get a job so I'm not going to mention his name." He was referring to Judge Jay Bybee, a chief architect of the legal rationale for the Bush administration's program of torture who is now on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit; and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, still unemployed.

Scheuer, however, rejected Moran's effort to blame Bush and his attorneys. "He's talking about nonsense," said Scheuer, arguing that placing blame solely on the administration obscures the role played by Congress. "Ultimately who's responsible for everything that goes on in the foreign policy realm is Congress. They can cut off money tomorrow."

[spanone]

1. good, may he rot in hell too

[mike_c]

2. is it possible that the country is waking up...?

I mostly feel like that's WAY too much to hope for, but all the talk lately about investigating the war crimes, the recent editorials and magazine articles-- all of it together suggests a movement beginning to build momentum and critical mass. Could it be?

[JohnnyLib2]

3. Ahh, hindsight.

And all the unlearned lessons of history. Sad.

[UTUSN]

4. K&R #4 just for the CHEENEE description. Then there's POWELL's career of lying. n/t

[bunkerbuster1]

5. Lonely planet boy...

Time to crank up the Dolls!

It's hard,
It's so hard

And it's a lonely planet joy
When the song from from the other boys
That's when I'm a lonely planet boy
And I'm tryin, Baby for your love

Whoa, whoa, whoa, yeah

Oh, you pick me up
Your outta drivin in your car
When I tell you where I'm goin
You're always tellin me it's too far

But how could you be drivin
Down by my home
When ya know, I aint got one
And I'm, I'm so all alone

[tridim]

6. "Dick Cheney," said Moran in response.

Sounds like a line from "Freepers: The Movie"

:rofl:

[glitch]

7. Is it paranoia if people really are out to get you? And that's here and now what about the afterlife

Cheney's fears are quite rational and well deserved.

[MADem]

8. Good point. nt

[sarge43]

9. Cheney's self fulfilling prophecy

He started off paranoid; he did things that have made people "out to get him" and he can now justify his paranoia. Like his puppet Bush, he's narcissistic. It's always about him.

[glitch]

14. There's a lesson in that. :) nt

[rhett o rick]

10. Let Cheney twist in the wind. Don't make a martyr out of him. Let him go on and on

trying to justify his horrible behavior.

Having said that, I say go hard after the rank and file bastards that did the torture, that hung people by their arms, that murdered, that tortured and sexually abused children. There is no forgiving that. Just following orders doesn't cut it. When you take that job you must have the discussion with yourself, "what if they ask me to do something immoral?". These people, including the doctors present, are horrible human beings. Make Cheney endure their trials and their punishments.

[Octafish]

11. Sneer knows the BFEE does NOT take care of its own.

Knowing what he knows, I'd be worried, too.

[Gregorian]

12. If I were the mother of a dead Iraqi child, I would want Cheney hung.

What is this American-centric logic? Poor Cheney. Oh we have better things to do. What, like arresting people with overdue parking violations? Pot smokers? Which laws do we uphold? Who do we prosecute? Do we get to pick and choose? This isn't just about America. They killed six figures of Iraqi human beings. Some say a million.

It's time America decided to join the world. Now is the time when we share in the same force of gravity as the rest of the planet.

[tex-wyo-dem]

18. Excellent, Gregorian!

A double thumbsup to you! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

[bemildred]

13. He can hide, but he can't run. nt

[latebloomer]

15. Reptilian? Sounds like he's been reading David Icke.

Reptilian, however, is too complimentary a term. He is corrupt and evil to the bone.

As far as him being "lonely, frightened, and paranoid- poor wittle war criminal- All I have to say is-

:nopity: :nopity: :nopity:

[jazzjunkysue]

16. Add "incarcerated" to "lonely, paranoid, frightened", and I'll be happy.

It's a start, though.

[bemildred]

17. "Indicted" is a start, "incarcerated" is the job well done.