The left’s boogieman is releasing a new book. The contents, of which, Cheney says, promises to have ‘heads exploding’ in D.C.
Part of the tell-all is that he encouraged President Bush to bomb Syria’s suspected nuclear reactor back in 2007. The president opted not to do so after he took a major political pounding over faulty intelligence leading up to the Iraq invasion. Instead, he tried for diplomatic alternatives, which, instead, resulted in Israel bombing the site.
As the administration came under intensifying pressure, Cheney reveals he had a “secret” resignation letter at the ready should Bush have decided to part ways with him. That is not exactly a bombshell. Every administration struggles with popularity and perception and the behind door meetings center around evaluation. Both policy initiatives and personnel are heavily weighed. Secondly, it was widely known that Cheney offered his resignation to the president on different occasions. President Bush declined to allow Cheney to fall on his sword. If I recall correctly, President Bush mentions this in his presidential memoir. However, Cheney states that the letter was due in part from his declining health.
What I think will be the most engaging part of the book will be the administrations decisions to fight the war on terror, how they came about in making those decisions, and the use of enhanced interrogation. Cheney has always been an outspoken advocate of enhanced interrogation methods on suspected terrorists. He has been effective in countering negative press on allegations of torture by giving empirical evidence that the methods prevented other 9-11 style attacks on US soil. Furthermore, it allowed US intelligence agencies to penetrate the layers of terrorists’ cells around the world resulting in high-value captures, which disrupted their communication and planning effectiveness.