Obama versus old "what's his name"

Posted By Stephen M. Walt Friday, May 22, 2009 - 2:38 PM Share

I didn't agree with all of President Obama's speech yesterday (notably his rejection of a investigatory commission and his endorsement of open-ended "preventive detention"), but what a relief it is to watch an American president appeal to our sense of reason instead of our sense of fear.

The best thing one can say about Cheney's performance is that it was given by an ex-Vice President. Others have dissected the various lies and distortions that filled his speech (what did one expect?), I would only add that there is a track record here. 9/11 occurred on Cheney’s watch, and he helped lead us into two losing wars, at a cost of thousands of dead Americans, tens of thousands wounded, and over a trillion dollars spent, mostly in ways that have improved the strategic position of, oops, ... Iran. Plus, he gets partial credit for an unprecedented decline in America's global image and the worst economic meltdown since the Great Depression. At this point, taking Cheney's recommendations on any issue of public policy is like getting investment help from Bernie Madoff, marital counseling from Donald Trump, or advice on economic development from Robert Mugabe.

Alex Wong/Getty Images

EXPLORE:BUSH ADMINISTRATION, BUSH'S LEGACY, INTELLIGENCE, OBAMA ADMINISTRATION, TERRORISM

(11)

HIDE COMMENTS LOGIN OR REGISTER REPORT ABUSE

CLINT

4:16 PM ET

May 22, 2009

several 100,000 dead muslims too...............

you say: "at a cost of thousands of dead Americans, tens of thousands wounded, and over a trillion dollars spent, mostly in ways that have improved the strategic position of, oops, ... Iran."

That is right but it leaves out what will become the source of terrorism against Americans for the next 100 years: the more than several hundred thousand (if not >1 million) dead Iraqis and Afghanis and Pakistanis who have died as a direct and indirect result of our chosen wars.

It is like global warming: even if we stop and reverse course now, we have locked in terrorist attacks against the US for at least a century more BECAUSE of our stupid zionist-neocon induced actions.

The solution to this torture and Gitmo debacle is to send the ALLEGED terrorists to go and live with John Yoo -- after he is disbarred for his enabling role in this mess.

APARICIO

6:47 PM ET

May 22, 2009

who cares about Cheney...

I mean that guy does not anything at all. He knows what he did, but his pride does not let him have a bit selfcriticisism.

However, the real questions is not what Cheney thinks or not.

One thing that I have always been thinking. I am really skeptical about conspiracy theories. However, I started a year ago reading conspiracy theories about the 9/11. First I was like for-god-sake-where-does-this-idiots-come-from, but then I started to realize they have a point, actually a huge points. If you analyze all the fact sorrounding the plane that supossedly crashed into the Pentagon, nothing fit (the perimeter of the hole, the way that every thing melt because of the inmense-not-possible heat but the paasport of the terrorist, the fact that a camera did not catch it because it was too fast, etc). I came out convinced that nothing but a missil could have done that. An then you have so much facts about the Twin Towers that do not fit as well (the precision of a plane being flung by terrorist with no experience what so ever, the way the towers collapse that absolutely do not match any phisical explanation, etc.)

It could be that all that bunch of "liars" and "conspiracy freaks" convinced me. But, even if that is the case I do not know why there is a open debate of this topic in mainstream media, or publications such as FP. In case there at least one chance this could have some true, wouldn´t it be the most important thing to debate as 9-11 is the most important event of a generation?

I mean, once I heard professor Walt talk about scholars writting so much things about things that do no matter at all. Why there is not any scholar asking questions on this, or at least saying why does conspiracy theories are false gossips from fanatics? (that is what I used to think).

Cheers

GRAND SEN-OR

12:33 AM ET

May 23, 2009

the most important event of a

the most important event of a generation?

Yeah, but the State decides what is most important event when and how long. You naively think that scholars and media are after reality, they are not. They are after to save the State. Because without State, there is no media and nothing to be scholar about;->>
So, suppose some one expressed the reality according to one of those theories, who cares about the reality? Scholars (including Prof. Walt however he calls himself realist) are conditioned to salvare apparentias, not to express the reality. Whoever saves the appearances best his explanation is bought. Therefore the reality is left to rots on the shelf;->>

Grand Sen~or.

BTW, to understand what I am saying, I recommend you to read P.Duhem's To save the phenomena.

APARICIO

12:58 PM ET

May 23, 2009

ouch....

One of the best answers I have ever get to a question...I am naive indeed..will read that piece.

Thanks

GRAND SEN-OR

7:29 PM ET

May 23, 2009

two losing wars, at a cost of

two losing wars, at a cost of thousands of dead Americans, tens of thousands wounded, and over a trillion dollars spent,

Professor, you forgot to mention that "petrol prices went up". But Cheney will jump and respond;->
"What is wrong with petrol prices going up? (to himself and Bush our companies are printing money)";->>

Forget about saving the women, what a democracy you've got there to market;->>

But Cheney was right to criticize Obama on he is asking for money with no clear plan. With such no plan maybe he should ask for no money, I suspect he is just showing off that he wants to keep his promise but the State doesn't allow him to keep it. Typical African King behaviour "he has a will to do but he can't, he has no power, he lives in his dream world within atractive costumes of Genghis Khan arms stretched";->>

Grand Sen~or.

FNORD

7:17 PM ET

May 23, 2009

lol

you got subtle trolls undermining you, sir.

GRAND SEN-OR

7:36 PM ET

May 23, 2009

you got subtle trolls

you got subtle trolls undermining you, sir.

wrong!!...
undermining State, but if he clings to State, he may also go down the drain with it;->>

BTW, you dont know what troll is, check it out my comments on that on this Blog.

Grand Sen~or.

ANYA KHAN

8:29 PM ET

May 23, 2009

Pentagon

I am horrified that someone actually thinks that anything other than a plane hit the Pentagon. Where did the people, including my friends, go? Part of a conspiracy? The eye witnesses just lied? Your asinine statement causes pain for those who lost loved one on Sept 11.

APARICIO

9:20 PM ET

May 23, 2009

I thought the same before I started researching

Good place to begin with (highlighting the phrase "begin with"): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9/11_conspiracy_theories

However, I profoundly respect those victims, as any other innocent victim of terrorist attack. Saddam Hussein was a rat, but, as you know now, not the rat that cause 9-11 or anything like it. That is not the only lie they told us.

And if those explanation are not true, PLEASE expose them on the public debate, have FP saying those are lies and nothing but lies.

Victims deserve the truth.

APARICIO

11:21 AM ET

May 25, 2009

However, no body talks about that

Not a comment in mainstream media. What if it was a lie, what if all the has told is true. Nobody get hurts by asking questions. Probably we will see at History Channel, 30 years from now, that it was a conspiracy indeed, with aid of the US government, a story as we see now in the History Channel every day. You know, but when you see the B&W images you tend to beleive it and say: well, that was back in the days of Nixon or FDR, that does not happen anymore.

Two things:

Ask how many civil witness of the "plane crash" on the Pentagon there are.

The offical version said the plane melt away. But they found the passport of the terrorist (Those arabs countries must make the must resistant passports in the world).

Ask also if that melting story is possible.

Ask how fast a plane must be traveling in order not to be catch by a video.

etc. etc. etc.

APARICIO

11:28 AM ET

May 25, 2009

PD. Walt was brave with his book.

The Israeli Lobby is the kind of book that, if written by other that top-level Harvard and UC profressors, would had been catalogued as crazy amateur conspiracy theorists.

The main proof is that there are more than one book on that same topic written before. Their authors were marginalized.

Let´s not forget that Alan Dershowitz opined that criticizing the Israel lobby promoted antisemitic conspiracy theorizing.