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Cheney’s girl: President sides with terrorists
Paul Thompson13.05.09
Barack Obama was accused of “siding with terrorists” as he came under attack from former vice president Dick Cheney's daughter.
Liz Cheney said the president was hurting US soldiers with his decision to release photographs showing abuse of prisoners held in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The former high-ranking state department official said the president seemed interested only in releasing information that painted America in a negative fashion. “I have heard from families of service members, from families of 9/11 victims, this question about, you know: When did it become so fashionable for us to side, really, with the terrorists?'” Cheney said.
“You know, for us to put information out that hurts American soldiers?”
The 42-year-old launched her attack in response to the decision by Obama, as ordered by a judge, to release photos showing detainee abuse by US soldiers. More than 40 photos are said to exist that are similar to those of the Abu Ghraib scandal from 2004.
When the Aby Ghraib photos emerged of prisoners being abused by their guards at the prison near Baghdad it led to a worldwide outcry that tarnished America's reputation.
Seven soldiers faced court martial and two, including private Lyddie England, were given jail sentences of three years.
Cheney, who held the position of principal deputy assistant secretary of state for near-eastern affairs in the State Department, made her attack on a Fox TV news show.
Her father Dick has been one of the most vocal critics of the new Obama policies of terrorism, including closing Guantanamo Bay detention camp and outlawing harsh interrogation techniques such as waterboarding. Cheney accused Obama of weakening the US defences with his policies.
While former president George Bush has remained silent since leaving office, Cheney has gone on the offensive and refused to be silent.
He has hit out at the Obama administration for calling the harsh interrogation techniques used by the CIA torture and said the methods used help keep America safe from another 9/11-style attack.
Obama has not responded to Cheney's verbal attacks, but the press correspondent's ball held in Washington at the weekend he joked about the ex-VP “”He is very busy working on his memoirs, tentatively titled, “How to Shoot Friends and Interrogate People.”
Reader views (10)
Cheney/Bush are war criminals. His daughter's rant is akin to Hitler blaming the jews for the war to shift guilt.
- Jon, London
A sensible comment, and it indeed sounds about true . . . good for her, and a poke in the eye for all the wishy-washy liberal terrorist supporting tree huggers out there.
- Eoin Mcgreeghan, Derry, NI
Rogan, your surname is not Cheney is it?
- Kevin Sullivan, Roehampton, London.
War is not pretty.Politicians never get their backsides near the front line so have no idea of the trauma and heartache troops face day in and day out.Next time you start a war,realize their is no nice way with written rules to fight it,its bloody and horrific and ones life is never the same again.
- David, london
What's worse? Siding with terrorists,or siding with known war criminals?
- Mahogma, Minneapolis USA
Was that a clinical diagnosis or a safe rant from a distance at someone with differing point of view to your own Keith? What was the woman supposed to say? "Yeah, my dad is a lunatic because people who don't like him or his politics say so."
For the record, providing ready made propaganda fodder to avowed enemies is something worthy of such comment, no matter who is involved. The difference between the belligerents though is that the USA brings its criminals to justice - the terrorists parade their own as heroes.
This action of the president though, like many others he has demonstrably done, can be argued as politicking rather than justice.
- Rogan, Irving
Ever wondered why saddam hussein wasn't tortured to reveal where those Iraqi WMDs were, that cheney KNEW existed? Quite simply, because it's impossible to reveal the location of something that doesn't exist, thereby proving that cheney et al are out and out LIARS, and cheney etc is therefore responsible for the deaths of all those soldiers, not to mention Iraqis etc.
- Ralph, London GB
It's not the release of the information about torture that hurts America, it was the fact that torture was done.
Osama Bin Laden hurt America physically. Cheney & co hurt it morally.
You kind of wonder which side they really were on.
- Sarah, Surrey
She should ask herself when did it become fashionable for her and others like her to approve the torture of other human beings to satisfy a right wing agenda. Her father is crazy and it seems she inherited that from him. Maybe they can share a jail cell together.
- Graeme Brown, Austin, Texas, USA
Her father is a madman, and, should be locked up! Looks like it runs in the family!
- Kevin Sullivan, Roehampton, London.
