Cheney's Guy ..The Most Poweful Man You've Never Heard Of./Here's Why.

[KoKo]

(This is a long article but worth a print out to read. David Addington according to this article is the Architect with Cheney of every VILE thing this administration has gotten away with. Including Torture, Engergy Policy and NSA Spying.)


Cheney's Guy
He's barely known outside Washington's corridors of power, but David Addington is the most powerful man you've never heard of. Here's why:
US News & World Report
By Chitra Ragavan

5/29/06

The signing statements are just one tool that Addington and a small cadre of ultraconservative lawyers at the heart of the Bush administration are employing to prosecute the war on terrorism. Little known outside the West Wing and the inner sanctums of the CIA, the Pentagon, and the State Department, Addington is a genial colleague who also possesses an explosive temper that he does not hesitate to direct at those who oppose him. Addington, says an admiring former White House official, is "the most powerful person no one has never heard of."

Name one significant action taken by the Bush White House after 9/11, and chances are better than even that Addington had a role in it. So ubiquitous is he that one Justice Department lawyer calls Addington "Adam Smith's invisible hand" in national security matters. The White House assertion--later proved false--that Saddam Hussein tried to buy nuclear precursors from Niger to advance a banned weapons program? Addington helped vet that. The effort to discredit a former ambassador who publicly dismissed the Niger claim as baseless, by disclosing the name of his wife, a covert CIA officer? Addington was right in the middle of that, too, though he has not been accused of wrongdoing.

-Snip- (This is a 9 Page article... I took liberty of snipping the beginning and end)

As legal scholars continue to examine the government's 9/11 policies, David Addington's singular presence looms larger than ever. What is unclear, at this juncture anyway, is how history will regard him: as a legal path setter who devised innovative means to help a president defeat an unconventional enemy or as a dangerous advocate who, in pushing the envelope legally to help prosecute the war on terrorism, set U.S. foreign policy, and America's image in the world, back by decades. Even his toughest critics in the administration say Addington believes utterly that he is acting in good faith. "He thinks he's on the side of the angels," says a former Justice Department official. "And that's what makes it so scary."

http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/060529/29addington_7.htm

[Dora]

1. The Curse of Dick Cheney

If y'all get tired of me posting this article, just let me know, 'kay?

-snip-

The Cheney jinx first manifested itself at the presidential level back in 1969, when Richard Nixon appointed him to his first job in the executive branch. It surfaced again in 1975, when Gerald Ford made Cheney his chief of staff and then -- with Cheney's help -- lost the 1976 election. George H.W. Bush, having named Cheney secretary of defense, was defeated for re-election in 1992. The ever-canny Ronald Reagan was the only Republican president since Eisenhower who managed to serve two full terms. He is also the only one not to have appointed Dick Cheney to office.

This pattern of misplaced confidence in Cheney, followed by disastrous results, runs throughout his life -- from his days as a dropout at Yale to the geopolitical chaos he has helped create in Baghdad. Once you get to know his history, the cycle becomes clear: First, Cheney impresses someone rich or powerful, who causes unearned wealth and power to be conferred on him. Then, when things go wrong, he blames others and moves on to a new situation even more advantageous to himself.

"Cheney's manner and authority of voice far outstrip his true abilities," says Chas Freeman, who served under Bush's father as ambassador to Saudi Arabia. "It was clear from the start that Bush required adult supervision -- but it turns out Cheney has even worse instincts. He does not understand that when you act recklessly, your mistakes will come back and bite you on the ass."

Cheney's record of mistakes begins in 1959, when Tom Stroock, a Republican politician-businessman in Casper, Wyoming, got Cheney, then a senior at Natrona County High School, a scholarship to Yale. "Dick was the all-American boy, in the top ten percent of his class," Stroock says. "He seemed a natural." But instead of triumphing, Cheney failed. "He spent his time partying with guys who loved football but weren't varsity quality," recalls Stephen Billings, an Episcopalian minister who roomed with him during Cheney's freshman (and only full) year at Yale. "His idea was, you didn't need to master the material," says his other roommate, Jacob Plotkin. "He passed one psych course without attending class or studying, and he was proud of that. But there are some things you can't bluff, and Dick reached a point where you couldn't recover."

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/6450422/the_...

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Cheney is the soft, flaccid underbelly of this administration. GET HIM!

[KoKo]

3. Thanks for posting the RS article...but this article says that Addington

is Cheney's alter ego and the brains for all the dreadful Bush policies. The article says they "think as one" and go back to Cheney's days in the senate. Addington was the one who was architect of "Torture Policy, NSA Spying that went out of control, and the "Unitary Presidency."

It's fascinating because it seems he was running Gonzales, Yoo and others to make Bush the King who would execute Cheney's policies. I'm thinking that Scooter Libby and Colin Powell must have spilled the beans on Addington for some major purpose. :shrug:

[Dora]

4. Nobody has a mind of his own out there.

Rove is Bush's brain. Addington is Cheney's brain.

I just want to know who the man behind the curtain is. Where's Toto when we need him?

[cliss]

2. They always need enforcers.

Have you noticed that? Example: Tom Delay. Bush said about him, "He gets us the votes that we need". John Bolton is another one. He was picked because he was the meanest, most vile person they could find to intimidate the crap out of the UN.

And now Mr. Addington. You're right: I've never heard of him, only seen a few passing mentions about him.

That's what's SO weird about this White House. You see people popping out of the woodwork, like Harriet Miers. Suddenly, she's a candidate for the Supreme Court. I'd never heard of her! Other people too, who we never hear about.

The White House is like a bar, with big burly bouncers.

[KoKo]

5. Has anyone had a problem reading the article from the link I gave?

If you get a funny "flashing ad" just hit print and print it out. Some have complained they can't read the article...but even on Dial Up ...I haven't had a problem except for the flashing ad which disappears if you wait. :shrug:

[katty]

6. GPublic hasn't..I researched Addingtion last couple of years-Nasty

guy!