A FOX NEWS EXCLUSIVE: Now that the memos showing the rulings of interrogation techniques have been released, the Obama administration should release additional documents that show what the interrogations yielded to make it an “honest debate,” former Vice President Dick Cheney told FOX News on Monday.
In an interview with FOX News’ Sean Hannity aired on “Hannity” Monday night, Cheney questioned the point of releasing the legal decisions behind the interrogations but not the outcome of them.
“One of the things that I find a little bit disturbing about this recent disclosure is they put out the legal memos, the memos that the CIA got from the Office of Legal Counsel, but they didn’t put out the memos that showed the success of the effort,” Cheney said.
Cheney said he’s asked that the documents be declassified because he has remained silent on the confidential information, but he knows how successful the interrogation process was and wants the rest of the country to understand.
“I haven’t talked about it, but I know specifically of reports that I read, that I saw, that lay out what we learned through the interrogation process and what the consequences were for the country,” Cheney said. “I’ve now formally asked the CIA to take steps to declassify those memos so we can lay them out there and the American people have a chance to see what we obtained and what we learned and how good the intelligence was.”
Cheney says he doesn’t find it surprising that he’s still asked for his views on administrative policies and thinks it’s appropriate for those with a different point of view to be able to express it — and give the American people the ability to evaluate.
“It’s important to not personally attack the new president — I’ve never done that,” said Cheney.
The former vice president says the biggest task he had was to protect the nation’s security following 9/11 and to ensure such devastation would never happen again. He says many of the policies he set up are currently being dismantled by the Obama administration.
“There’s a great temptation for a new administration to find a problem and blame it on the predecessor. We did it. The Obama administration is not the first one to do that,” said Cheney.
Since his departure from the White House, Cheney says he’s been concerned over the way the U.S. has been presented overseas and finds Obama’s apologies to various countries “disturbing.” He also feels Obama’s “coziness” with America’s opponents like Daniel Ortega and Hugo Chavez is not “helpful.”
“Since the U.S. provides most leadership in the world, I don’t think we have much to apologize for,” said Cheney.
While he feels that a president needs to interact with adversaries, Cheney says it’s important to distinguish between the good guys and bad guys. He says that the world will be quick to take advantage of a situation if they feel like they’re dealing with a weak president.
“It’s important the U.S. that we don’t come off as arrogant — but also important to not come across as weak, indecisive and apologetic,” said Cheney.
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15 Responses
According to published news reports:
“…aides to Mr. Obama struggled for four weeks about whether to release the memos in response to a lawsuit filed under the Freedom of Information Act, consulting with advisers, experts and intelligence professionals . . . Advisers diverged, with some like Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. favoring the release of more information and others like Leon E. Panetta, the new C.I.A. director, urging that more be withheld. Aides said Mr. Obama worried about damaging morale at the C.I.A. and his own relationship with the agency.In the end, aides said, Mr. Obama opted to disclose the memos because his lawyers worried that they had a weak case for withholding them and because much of the information had already been made public in The New York Review of Books, in a memoir by George J. Tenet, the former C.I.A. director, and even in a 2006 speech by President George W. Bush.”
Chas v’Shalom that facts may get in the way when Fox defends Cheney and trashes Obama!
#1 Why in the world would you defend this closet Muslim, anti American, socialist, gzaira min hashamayim. He is a great danger to the US as well as to Jews all over the world. Do teshuva instead of defending this traitor!!
shalom – you useful idiot galus Yid Wake up Wake up. Harsh language is required for those who wouldn’t have left Mitzrayim
So much of Cheney lately? Where was he the last eight years? Probably counting all the money he made.
obamanaz – “…closet Muslim, anti American, socialist, gzaira min hashamayim…” That’s an awfully long way of sneering “schvartze” isn’t it?” I mean, that’s your real issue, right? Dumkopf!
The trouble is that too many people bash Former Vice President Cheney without knowing the facts. The liberal media, used to editorializing the NEWS pages of the New York Times, selectively bashes when it is politically expedient to do so. It is becoming clear that the Obama Administration is more interested in fostering its agenda than the security and well being of this nation. That having been said, the Obama political “bean counters” selectively decide when to declassify documents without really taking security as an issue under consideration. Welcome to the White House – The leftist media’s new home.
Mottlel1 – Precisely with what facts stated in the news article I quote in #1 do you take issue? Your comment (#8)is entirely a conclusory bombast, without any factual content.
#7: I don’t agree with your take. Race is not the issue. I believe that most Frum people would have voted for Clarence Thomas in a minute.
Does any body not question Obama’s motives on the declassification?
Obama has spent 1.5 million Dollars in legal fees to outspend the people who went to sue to see his birth certificate. If you are so devoted to transparency Mr. Obama, produce your birth certificate, you Coward!
#6 and 11 were not made by myself, but rather someone else who is now posting under the same name as myself.
#1 and #6: As far as I can see, all Fox did was quote Cheney, word for word. How is this “when Fox defends Cheney and trashes Obama!”, or “FoxOpinion, Maybe, but News, certainly NOT!” ? Since when is quoting a conservative bias? And then why isn’t it also bias to Obama, or anybody else with an opinion?
Will the mods please block the fake Joseph.
Mr. Cheney says that he’s never attacked the new president. Except, in his first television interview after leaving office, Cheney said that Obama’s decisions raised the risk of another attack. Even former (republican) candidate Bobby Jindal thought that was wrong.
You mean the messiah only gave half the story? The “torture” worked and we got enough info to stop additional attacks. Thats what George Tennet said and he is a lib.
But again, why should FACTS get in the way of a good obama contoversy.
1291 days till the 2012 election when obama will be told to leave the white house and not let the door hit him where the good L-rd split him.
#12, that was not an attack on Obama but on his policies. Can you deny that his policies do indeed increase the risk of another attack? If Khalid Sheikh Mohammed had not been waterboarded, the first we’d have heard of the plan to attack the Library Tower would have been when it succeeded ch”v. Obama would not have waterboarded him, and will not waterboard the next KSM who comes along; Cheney’s statement follows.
And why do you refer to Jindal as a “former candidate”? Former candidate for what?