The Man Who Knew Cheney's Secret

[babylonsister]

http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-07-14/the-man-who-knew-cheneys-secret/full/


The Man Who Knew Cheney's Secret

by Benjamin Sarlin


Seymour Hersh Newscom

The New Yorker's Seymour Hersh was mocked in March when he referred to Dick Cheney’s secret squad of CIA assassins. Now, he talks to The Daily Beast about the next shoe to drop.


Reporting legend Seymour Hersh raised eyebrows back in March when he told an audience at the University of Minnesota that Dick Cheney ran a secret hit squad that he kept hidden from Congressional oversight.

"Congress has no oversight of it. It’s an executive assassination ring essentially, and it’s been going on and on and on," Hersh said at the time. He added: "Under President Bush’s authority, they’ve been going into countries, not talking to the ambassador or the CIA station chief, and finding people on a list and executing them and leaving. That’s been going on, in the name of all of us."

Some observers accused him of rumor-mongering and a top former military official threw cold water on the story, but with the recent news that the CIA allegedly kept Congress in the dark on a covert program, Hersh's words suddenly look more and more prescient. Yesterday, the New York Times reported the hidden program in question was a death squad authorized by Dick Cheney without Congressional approval.

snip//

"There is a growing realization among some legislators that the Bush administration, in recent years, has conflated what is an intelligence operation and what is a military one in order to avoid fully informing Congress about what it is doing," he wrote then.

Beyond his own reporting, Hersh said President Bush's own speeches provided evidence of secret assassinations.

"Go read George Bush's January 2003 State of the Union speech," he said. "He's talking and he says we've captured and detained 3,000 Al Qaeda members and other terrorists—crazy numbers—and said some of them will never bother us any more. And Congress cheers."

Bush's full quote then was:

"All told, more than 3,000 suspected terrorists have been arrested in many countries. And many others have met a different fate. Let's put it this way: They are no longer a problem to the United States and our friends and allies."

[Tutankhamun]

1. As usual, Bush didn't think ahead when he said "They (the captured) are no longer a problem..."

The people the Bush/Cheney administration captured, tortured and murdered could very well be a problem. If any sort of genuine investigation involving Bush and his "enemy combatant" murder victims ensues, there could be a very serious problem -- for Bush.

Just because you're "the decider" doesn't mean you can murder anyone you want with impunity.

[alfredo]

11. We need to know if those people were murdered while in custody.

[sabrina 1]

14. Every person murdered or tortured to death

by Cheney/Bush's death squads has family members, neighbors, friends who have now become a potential threat to the US as this is what motivates what we have chosen to call 'terrorists'. We, of course, invading the wrong country, a greedy, ravenous plot to steal that country's resources and supported by a majority of the American people in a blind act of fear and revenge.

Those acts, if true, are treasonous placing the US under threat of retaliation and once again the American people, if it should happen, will 'innocently' ask 'but why do they hate us'?

I see little hope that anything at all will be done about these war criminals, at least not here in the US. The Obama administration subscribes to the notion that if a war crime, no matter how horrendous, was committed a few years ago, looking back at that crime is not the thing to do. We need to move forward, they keep reminding us.

And what can the American people do at this point? They are apathetic about these crimes for the most part, or even supportive of them as necessary for 'national security' in some cases. There is no appropriate outrage when they find out what is being done in their name.

There are no consequences for these horrific crimes against humanity and the US Constitution. What that looks like to me is that the US has become no better than any other Empire and will continue, unpunished certainly by its own people, until it collapses under its own weight at which time it will be replaced by the next Empire.

Sad to think that at one time the US was the hope of the world to change all that ...

Sorry to be so pessimistic but after eight years of witnessing crime after crime be exposed with no consequences for the perpetrators, and listening to the rationales for torture and death squads and illegal wars, I think this country has gone too far down the path of darkness to save itself.

I am tired of expecting justice every time they are caught in yet another act of horror, only to get to be a witness to watching them gloating on Fox News and be greeted with respect on CNN when they make an appearance or be given professorships at prestigious universities.

It's really time to face the truth ~ at least that way there will not be the devastating disappointment of the last eight years, especially in the Democratic Party.

[Canuckistanian]

2. K&R

[troubledamerican]

3. Cheney Sleeper Cells

Hersh called them a "STAY BEHIND".

That is a military intelligence term.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stay-behind

Hersh was invoking OPERATION GLADIO, the most famous stay-behind.

In Operation Gladio, false flag terrorism was staged to cause citizens to react against "The Left" and become farther Right-Wing.

Gee, Cheney wouldn't do that.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gladio

[PretzelWarrior]

4. this definitely needs lots of rec's

Few people can stand as tall as Sy Hersh when it comes to uncovering big, important stories of critical concern to us citizens who are supposed to be watchers over our government.

[sybylla]

5. K & R for the truth. nt.

[jotsy]

6. Cleaning the wound is the best way for it to heal.

And we won't see a hint of truth or the promise of subsequent justice until the PTB face that.

These bad boys wanted to leave their mark on the nation, and I'm certain we will experience discomfort from the scars for some time. I believe America wants to like what it is and the way this sinister crew of mongerers in every form have led doesn't make us very likable.

Allowing these individuals to face their future without fear of accountability sends a disastrous message to our young. It diminishes every parent in the eyes of their child if buying your way out of trouble is the way of the world but not what you can afford, doesn't it?

If our current leadership really wants the best way forward it must stand tall now for the principles that founded us. Answer proudly 200 plus years later that "liberty and justice for all..." really does mean all.

[grasswire]

7. well said

...and welcome to DU.

[Iwillnevergiveup]

8. The great thing about Seymour Hersch

is the quality of his unimpeachable sources. He gets people high, high up in the government and the military to talk to him like no one else. They trust him and we are ultimately the beneficiaries of important, accurate information.:toast:

[sofa king]

9. I can't believe I scooped Sy Hersh.

I've been speculating on this since at least 2004.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=566223&mesg_id=566446

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2961232#2961441

If I had more confidence in myself, I would have taken this issue straight to the mat back in 2005, when I became reasonably certain of it. But for years, literally years, I didn't want to believe it, and I feared that I'd be "suicided" if I tried to make my arguments more public than I did. I think I could have saved some lives if I had been more certain of myself.

Instead, I did nothing and watched. Well, we're all paying for it now.

[benld74]

10. "THE ORIGINAL" Cheney Sleeper Cell!!!

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=&imgrefurl=http://my.opera.com/Scattergood66/albums/showpic.dml%3Falbum%3D588816%26picture%3D8084623&usg=__kWGbhvB4FMVoYITSXGr2_PwegEA=&h=270&w=360&sz=24&hl=en&start=7&tbnid=hGtcse6E4sHVnM:&tbnh=91&tbnw=121&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dcheney%2Bsleeping%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG

[Subdivisions]

12. Does the Constitution allow the vice-president to form death squads

without the consent or knowledge of Congress?

[Stephanie]

13. God I remember that remark

It was so creepily sick my jaw dropped. And nobody called him on it!

[bobthedrummer]

15. People were murdered and some of their family members raped and tortured

to "gather intelligence" about "terrorists"-that's what Seymour Hersh reported years ago.

Retired General Taguba supports that fact as do many others, Gen. Taguba spoke about these CRIMES to Hersh as the article below states.

"Taguba Saw 'Video of Male Soldier Sodomizing Female Detainee" by Jason Leopold (5-29-09 Truthout)
http://www.truthout.org/052909R

[bobthedrummer]

16. The Taguba Report (via Find Law) it's a lengthy read but well worth it.

http://news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/iraq/tagubarpt.html