Cheney’s Detainee Speech: Obama Got His Answer

Sally McNamara /

Former US Vice President Dick Cheney speaks at the American Enterprise Institute on US national security in Washington, DC, May 21, 2009. Cheney said Thursday that bringing the "worst terrorists" from Guantanamo Bay onto US soil would be "cause for great danger" as he stood by tough interrogation tactics. "I think the president will find upon reflection that to bring the worst of the worst terrorists inside the United States would be cause for great danger and regret in the years to come," Cheney said in a speech on national security.

Former Vice President Dick Cheney offered a straight-forward, no nonsense appraisal of what the Bush administration did in the wake of 9/11 and why. He detailed their strategic overview in plain language and without apology.

He answered all of the indictments from President Barack Obama’s immediately preceding speech at the National Archives. Obama claimed Guantanamo made the United States less safe and more vulnerable to terrorists. He decried enhanced interrogation techniques and postured his policies as those that will restore America’s moral authority.

Cheney responded by noting that terrorism can not be treated as a law and order problem as it was in the 1990s. Preventing future attacks instead of prosecuting after we’ve been hit requires a “sustained wartime effort.” Cheney said he would not hesitate to take the same steps the Bush administration took after 9/11 again.

Cheney then accused the left of dressing up political differences as “punishable offenses” … these attacks only make America weaker by giving the terrorists the impressions they can exploit divisions in our country.

More detailed reaction to follow shortly.

Read the full text of Cheney’s speech here.

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