A Strong Push From Back Stage … Cheney has changed history more than once, earning his reputation as the nation’s most powerful vice president. His impact has been on public display in the arenas of foreign policy and homeland security, and in a long-running battle to broaden presidential authority. But he has also been the […]
Pushing the Envelope on Presidential Power "The CIA guys said, ‘We’re going to have some real difficulties getting actionable intelligence from detainees’" if interrogators confined themselves to humane techniques allowed by the Geneva Conventions. … meaning These assholes ain’t gonna` talk `til we beat the shit out of them [a logic similar to These assholes […]
Pushing the Envelope on Presidential Power Shortly after the first accused terrorists reached the U.S. naval prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on Jan. 11, 2002, a delegation from CIA headquarters arrived in the Situation Room. The agency presented a delicate problem to White House counsel Alberto R. Gonzales, a man with next to no experience […]
A Different Understanding With the President … Cheney made no sound. "I remember turning my head and looking at the vice president, and his expression never changed," said the witness, reading from a notebook of observations written that day. Cheney closed his eyes against the image for one long, slow blink. Three people who were […]
A New Cheney-Gonzales Mystery A new battle has erupted over Vice President Dick Cheney’s refusal to submit to an executive order requiring a government review of his handling of classified documents. But the dispute could also raise questions for embattled Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. For the past four years, Cheney’s office has failed to comply […]
I read the Washington Post story last night [see why? and November 14th, 2001] and went to bed conflicted. In the months following 9/11, acting crazy or vindictive was normal. But it’s five and a half years later. Those people in Guantanamo, where they in this category? "The basic proposition here is that somebody who […]
VICE PRESIDENT CHENEY: Well, this is a process that we set in motion; the president signed the order yesterday. And basically, what it says is it sets up a procedure whereby he will make the decision in each case in terms of whether or not a particular suspect, individual who’s come into our custody is […]
A Different Understanding With the President September 11, 2001: Extraordinary Presidential Powers … On the morning of Sept. 11, Addington was evacuated from the Eisenhower Executive Office Building next to the White House and began to make his way toward his Virginia home on foot. As he neared the Arlington Memorial Bridge, someone in the […]
It’s like deja vu all over again It’s like deja vu all over again It’s like deja vu all over again It’s like deja vu all over again It’s like deja vu all over again It’s like deja vu all over again It’s like deja vu all over again It’s like deja vu all over […]
TPM The background details are surprisingly straightforward. In 1995, the Clinton White House issued an executive order establishing uniform rules for protecting classified information. In 2003, the Bush White House revised it. The order plainly includes any executive-branch agency, any military department, and "any other entity within the executive branch that comes into the possession […]