Darth Cheney strikes again

Posted by Mission Man at 1:46 AM

In case you missed it this week, our lovable VP was interviewed twice this week by Jonathan Karl of ABC News in a restaurant in Sydney, where he wasted no time in accusing Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi of being in league with Al Qaeda. Here is one notable excerpt: "You also have to be accountable for the results. What are the consequences of that? What happens if we withdraw from Iraq? And the point I made and I'll make it again is that al Qaeda functions on the basis that they think they can break our will. That's their fundamental underlying strategy, that if they can kill enough Americans or cause enough havoc, create enough chaos in Iraq, then we'll quit and go home. And my statement was that if we adopt the Pelosi policy, that then we will validate the strategy of al Qaeda. I said it and I meant it."

It seems to me that if there is anyone less likely to be correct about what may be any possible outcome in Iraq, it is Dick Cheney. Isn't he the one who told us that we would be greeted as liberators and the Iraqi people would basically strew flowers at the feet of our soldiers? And let's not forget this bon mot from May 30, 2005: "The insurgency is in its last throes."

The only time I can recall Cheney being correct about an invasion of Iraq was in 1991, when the stated, "For the U.S. to get involved militarily in determining the outcome of the struggle over who's going to govern in Iraq strikes me as a classic definition of a quagmire." However, in this week's interview, he defended that statement, saying, "Well, I stand by what I said in '91. But look what's happened since then -- we had 9/11."

Gee, where have I heard that one before?

On top of that, WH spokesperson Dana Perino, when questioned about whether the VP's comments re: Pelosi were out of line, had this to say: "The Vice President out of line? Absolutely not. He was questioning the merits of the -- of their proposal. And I think if you go up and take a look back at some of the things that they've said about the President, the tables could be turned. But we're not making the same accusations."

For the full transcript of the interview, go here.