Bush officials avoid speaking out in support of Obama’s policies out of fear of ‘Cheney’s circle.’

[G_j]

http://thinkprogress.org/2010/01/04/cheney-wrath-terrorism/

Former Bush officials avoid speaking out in support of Obama’s policies out of fear of ‘Cheney’s circle.’

Reporter Peter Baker has a New York Times Magazine piece out today about “Obama’s War on Terrorism.” Matt Yglesias flags an interesting passage from the article revealing the cowardice of former Bush administration officials:

A half-dozen former senior Bush officials involved in counterterrorism told me before the Christmas Day incident that for the most part, they were comfortable with Obama’s policies, although they were reluctant to say so on the record. Some worried they would draw the ire of Cheney’s circle if they did, while others calculated that calling attention to the similarities to Bush would only make it harder for Obama to stay the course. And they generally resent Obama’s anti-Bush rhetoric and are unwilling to give him political cover by defending him.

Yglesias adds, “It’s really staggering what this says about the ethical caliber of the people we’re talking about. … But some of them don’t want to say he’s doing the right thing because that might make Dick Cheney mad and they’re timid, gutless careerists? And others don’t want to say he’s doing the right thing because their feelings are hurt that a Democrat said bad things about his grossly unpopular Republican predecessor?”

[Botany]

1. And w/ good reason.

See Paul Wellstone, Ray Lemme, Michael Connell, David Kelly, Pat Tilman, and Dr. Bruce Ivans (anthrax suspect).

Cheney is pure evil.

[Vincardog]

3. Cheney is pure evil. Roger That. The BCF is not far behind

[bahrbearian]

9. What does BCF stand for ?

[Vincardog]

10. Booosh Crime Family

[bahrbearian]

13. I always thought of them as BFEE

[Orsino]

8. More prosaically, there will probably be another Republican Administration someday...

...and Zombie Cheney will probably be hand-picking its members.

Bushies do need to eat, and (presumably) many of them might like to be considered for top appointments. They'll bide their time, most of them, and won't burn any bridges.

[Ozymanithrax]

2. More and more, the choice by Bush to allow Cheney to ascend to VP is shown to have been bad...

Though, since Cheney was in charge of the VP hunt,and chose himself, I asume he thinks it was good. Historians will find this interesting.

[liberal N proud]

6. Maybe it was Cheney who put bu$h in the Presidency seat

It allowed Cheney to work behind the scenes and bu$h was such an idiot that all the attention was focused on his foul-ups.

Maybe historians will uncover this someday.

[Ozymanithrax]

14. From what was reported at the time...

Once Bush won the nomination he selected Cheney to head the team to choose his VP. Cheney chose himself. Bush had an eye for people who would get him what he wanted. His theme song should have been, "A Little Help From my Friends." He was the Ringo Star President.

[Blue Owl]

4. There's a growling noise coming from a dark corner

A dark, undisclosed corner where fear and propaganda lurk...

[stubtoe]

5. Who is in the Circle??

And why is Darth still so powerful??

[G_j]

7. according to Seymour Hersh:

(Seymour) Hersh: Cheney ‘Left A Stay Behind’ In Obama’s Government, Can ‘Still Control Policy Up To

Source: ThinkProgress

In an interview on NPR’s Fresh Air yesterday, host Terry Gross asked investigative journalist Seymour Hersh if, as he continues to investigate the Bush administration, “more people” were “coming forward” to talk to him now that “the president and vice president are no longer in power.” Hersh replied that though “a lot of people that had told me in the last year of Bush, ‘call me next, next February,’ not many people had talked to him. He implied that they were still scared of Cheney.

“Are you saying that you think Vice President Cheney is still having a chilling effect on people who might otherwise be coming forward,” asked Gross. “I’ll make it worse,” answered Hersh, adding that he believes Cheney “put people back” in government to “stay behind” in order to “tell him what’s going on” and perhaps even “do sabotage”:

HERSH: I’ll make it worse. I think he’s put people left. He’s put people back. They call it a stay behind. It’s sort of an intelligence term of art. When you leave a country and, you know, you’ve driven out the, you know, you’ve lost the war. You leave people behind. It’s a stay behind that you can continue to contacts with, to do sabotage, whatever you want to do. Cheney’s left a stay behind. He’s got people in a lot of agencies that still tell him what’s going on. Particularly in defense, obviously. Also in the NSA, there’s still people that talk to him. He still knows what’s going on. Can he still control policy up to a point? Probably up to a point, a minor point. But he’s still there. He’s still a presence.

Read more: http://thinkprogress.org/2009/03/31/hersh-cheney-behind

[G_j]

17. NPR

link to interview:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=102495389

[Confusious]

11. You don't F with a dark lord of the sith

He'll get all forcey on your ass.

[Octafish]

12. Cheney and his Circle answer to a higher figure...

Poppy told the FBI he was in Dallas on November 22, 1963.
What he was doing there, he didn't say.

[G_j]

15. that man looks familiar..

too familiar..

[leveymg]

16. Loyal Bushies still running the show. Maybe Olberman and Wolfe are right:

Is there an "Enemy Within" problem?