Theos-Talk Archives (August 2004 Message tt00613)

http://www.getyourlearnon.org/2004/08/cheney_calls_th.html

CHENEY CALLS THE KETTLE BLACK
Yesterday, Vice President Dick Cheney lashed out at Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) 
for suggesting that America needs to fight "a more effective, more thoughtful, 
more strategic, more proactive, more sensitive war on terror."[1] Cheney said, 
"America has been in too many wars for any of our wishes, but not a one of 
them was won by being sensitive."[2] Cheney neglected to mention that President 
Bush and other top administration officials - including Cheney himself - have 
publicly called for "sensitive" use of American military power. Here is a 
selection:
On 3/4/01, at the christening of the U.S.S. Ronald Reagan, President Bush 
said, "because America is powerful, we must be sensitive about expressing our 
power and influence."[3]
On 1/7/03, Gen. Richard Myers, the chairman of the president's Joint Chiefs 
of Staff, said that the administration asks "our troops to go out there and be, 
on the one hand, very sensitive to cultural issues, on the other hand, be 
ready to respond in self-defense to a very ticklish situation."[4]
On 4/13/03, Cheney said, "We recognize that the presence of U.S. forces can 
in some cases present a burden on the local community. We're not insensitive to 
that. We work almost on a continual basis with the local officials to remove 
points of friction and reduce the extent to which problems arise in terms of 
those relationships."[5] 

Sources:
1. "Cheney blasts Kerry for 'sensitive' remark," Chicago Sun-Times, 08/13/04.
2. Ibid.
3. "Remarks by the President at Christening Ceremony for the USS Ronald 
Reagan," The White House, 03/04/01.
4. "DoD News Briefing - Secretary Rumsfeld and Gen. Myers," U.S. Department 
of Defense, 01/07/03.
5. "Remarks by the Vice President at the Washington Post-Yomiuri Shimbun 
Symposium," The White House, 04/13/04. 


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