Once again, the former Vice President was called upon to speak on the Sunday talking head shows. As usual, everything that spews forth from his lips is pure spin, and is completely disconnected from fact. For example:

“With respect to Iraq, we’ve accomplished nearly everything we’ve set out to do.” – Cheney 3/15/09

Facts:

The intended purpose for starting a war in the nation of Iraq was to remove “a regime that developed and used weapons of mass destruction, that harbored and supported terrorists, committed outrageous human rights abuses, and defied the just demands of the United Nations and the world.” Additional reasons: “to change the Middle East so as to deny support for militant Islam by pressuring or transforming the nations and transnational systems that support it.”

At a press conference on January 31st 2003, George Bush stated: “Saddam Hussein must understand that if he does not disarm, for the sake of peace, we, along with others, will go disarm Saddam Hussein.”

On April 10, 2003, White House press secretary Ari Fleischer reiterated that, “But make no mistake — as I said earlier — we have high confidence that they have weapons of mass destruction. That is what this war was about and it is about. And we have high confidence it will be found.”

Vice President Dick Cheney’s September 2002 statement on Meet the Press that “we do know, with absolute certainty, that he (Saddam Hussein) is using his procurement system to acquire the equipment he needs in order to enrich uranium to build a nuclear weapon.”

So if as Dick says, we’ve accomplished nearly everything we set out do to, it would appear none of the stated objectives for starting the 6 year, $650 Billion dollar war were what they “set out to do.”

Mr. Cheney, when asked about the administration’s record on the economic state of the country, responded by saying, and he actually said it, “we had 9/11.” He brilliantly added that “stuff happens.” Mr. Cheney also went on to state that he believes, with regards to the financial crisis and the government bailouts of the financial industry that “only the federal government could address those issues.” So much for being a free market conservative who supports limited government.

Facts:

At the start of the Bush/Cheney Administration:

• Unemployment 4.2%
• Americans living in poverty 33 Million
• Americans without health insurance 41 Million
• Federal Budget $128 Billion surplus

At the end of the Bush/Cheney Administration:

• Unemployment 7.6%
• Americans living in poverty 37 Million
• American without health insurance 46 Million
• Federal Budget $1.3 Trillion deficit

Lastly, Mr. Cheney stated that President Obama is making the country vulnerable to attack by not water boarding people. “When we get people who are more concerned about reading the rights to an Al Qaeda terrorist than they are with protecting the United States against people who are absolutely committed to do anything they can to kill Americans, then I worry,” he said. He also called Guantanamo Bay a “first class program.”

Facts:

Guantanamo Bay prisoners, labeled enemy combatants, were either captured by the military on the battlefield, or purchased from mercenaries. These prisoners were charged with no crimes, and we had no evidence they were involved in any terrorist activities. Quietly over the years, we began releasing them. They then told their tales of horror. They were tortured, beaten and threatened with death. Many, after being released, became militant and were involved in suicide bombings and other attacks against Iraqi soldiers, or the kidnapping of foreigners.

So one could argue, as I will, that our “enhanced interrogation techniques” we utter failures. We released men who went on to terrorize. The American Red Cross, the United Nations and the European Union all demanded the detention center be closed. This is Dick’s “first class program.”

Conclusion:

Dick Cheney lives in his own world. He believes what he believes, irrespective of facts. In Stephen Colbert’s debut show he coined the word Truthiness, which is truth that comes from the gut, not from facts or information. It’s truth you believe no matter what the facts may show. Dick Cheney’s picture should be in the dictionary next to the word. What he’s still doing on television baffles me.