Just over twenty years ago we learned that the CIA used the technique of waterboarding — evoking the feeling of drowning — to extract information from unconvicted prisoners. Former Vice President Dick Cheney was the mastermind of the administration’s unlawful use of this barbaric methodology. When asked if waterboarding is a form of torture, Cheney deflected and defended:

Are you going to trade the lives of a number of people because you want to preserve your honor, or are you going to do your job, do what’s required first and foremost, your responsibility to safeguard the United States of America and the lives of its citizens?

Cheney easily dismissed preserving your honor and ordained this questionable means of intelligence gathering. However, his public statements conceal the motive and illegality of the torture.

The Vice President’s enthusiastic approval of torture is no minor breach of protocol. Tormenting a prisoner is a violation of the Constitution he had sworn an oath to uphold. He openly defied the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment.

When enacted into law in 1791, it ensured that no authority would justify the horrific treatment of any human being. This revolutionary concept recognized the obligation to elevate the United States above the heinous governments of the past. Cheney displayed his illegal preferences, directly rejecting the ethical standards enshrined by the founders:

We also have to work, though, sort of the dark side, if you will — if we’re going to be successful. That’s the world these folks operate in, and so it’s going to be vital for US to use any means at our disposal, basically, to achieve our objective.

It has also long been established that torturing someone in captivity yields results that are always suspect. Prisoners subjected to extreme pain or agony will say anything to stop the suffering — whether by telling the truth or lying.

Cheney endorsed an ineffective and immoral practice in the name of public benefit while having an ulterior motive; the same false justification that tyrants used for centuries to humiliate their enemies. He knew the information obtained was problematic, yet this didn’t matter to him.

Both before and after the events of September 11, 2001, Cheney and his interventionist allies were desperately seeking a reason to invade Iraq. The neoconservative cabal was intent on using the U.S. military to enforce corporate interests and was plotting to connect Osama Bin Laden, the CIA’s renegade terrorist, to Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi leader and former U.S. ally. Yet evidence showed them to be mortal enemies.

Cheney’s dark machinations and the waterboarding of one prisoner provided the political impetus for invading Iraq.

A low-level Libyan operative, Ibn al-Sheikh al-Libi, was captured and confessed under torture that Iraq had trained some al-Qaeda soldiers in the use of chemical and biological weapons. Although interrogators strongly doubted the information because of the lack of specifics and the means of extraction — his story was all that Cheney and his entourage needed to justify an invasion.

The administration convinced the public and allies that Iraq had supported al-Qaeda. This fabrication gave foundation to the lie that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction — requiring him to be eliminated.

Al-Libi later admitted he had appeased his torturers, eventually saying what they wanted to hear. His false confession provided a pretense necessary for those representing America’s military and oil interests. A horrific chain of wars and traumatic events ensued — with indefensible death and destruction — further destabilizing the Middle East for decades.

Profits Driving Policy

Before having a commanding role in the Bush administration, Cheney was the CEO of Halliburton for five years, the world’s largest oil services firm and a leading Pentagon contractor. While Vice President, he continued to receive payments from them and held stock options in a clear conflict of interest. His former employer obtained $7 billion in no-bid contracts leading to the Iraq war. Cheney continuously defended his corporate colleagues, despite their negligence and depravity during this period:

Halliburton has acknowledged that it accepted up to $6 million in kickbacks in its contract work in Iraq. It is also under scrutiny over allegations of overcharging the government by $61 million in Iraq – a practice the company was previously fined $2 million for. The company also potentially faces criminal charges in a $180 million international bribery scandal during the time Cheney was CEO of the company. The Pentagon has also repeatedly warned the company that the food it was serving the 110,000 U.S. troops in Iraq was dirty with an audit finding blood all over the floor of its kitchens, dirty pans, dirty grills, dirty salad bars and rotting meats and vegetables.

The Vice President had no problem with this broad range of violations and criticism, as he continued to proclaim loyalty to those who sent him money. In Cheney’s world, a successful politician uses national security as a ruse to support policies that pour billions into hostile wars empowering the arms and oil industries.

It is of minimal consequence to Cheney that since the so-called war on terror began, the United States has had 7,085 military fatalities in Iraq and Afghanistan, with over 50,000 wounded service members.

The staggering human toll of non-Americans killed or injured is over 4 million, with nearly 40 million people displaced. This suffering is deemed collateral damage, necessary for U.S. hegemony that provided huge profits. The policies and interventions have not only failed to stabilize the region; the world is on the brink of calamity.

Allies Unite

The White House embraces Cheney’s warrior mentality and penchant for U.S. military dominance. His disingenuous disregard for honor as a pretense for safeguarding Americans is not problematic for the current administration or its supporters.

Cheney’s endorsement of the Harris campaign confirms his satisfaction with the aggressive posture and dangerous approach to U.S. foreign affairs.

When responding glowingly to his public declaration of support, along with that of former Representative Liz Cheney, Harris declared her loyalty to the destructive forces stampeding the U.S. into military conflicts that could lead to a World War:

I am actually honored to have their endorsement and I think what they both as leaders, who are leaders that are well respected are making an important statement that it is ok and is important to put country above party.

Harris admits she is honored by a war criminal who manipulated the United States into a nightmare of foreign disasters. She has confirmed the direction and iniquity of her foreign policy goals. The alliance of Harris and Cheney — and the willingness of most Democrats to ignore the threat of this development — reflects a perilous advancement of the neoconservative agenda.

Cheney is a master of deflection and projection. He prefers a government that ignores morality and bends laws to its liking. His words in support of Harris and condemning Trump resonate with the hypocrisy he consistently utters:

In our nation’s 246-year history, there has never been an individual who is a greater threat to our Republic than Donald Trump.

The former Halliburton Chairman of the Board has a proven record of disingenuously promoting the interests of Americans. The truth is irrelevant to Cheney; he claims Trump is a threat to the Republic because condemning him serves his devious scheme.

When the facts are viewed dispassionately, the personal faults and alleged crimes of Donald Trump pale in the shadow of Dick Cheney’s overt defiance of the Constitution. His determination to implement a selfish and distorted worldview has wreaked irreparable havoc beyond measure.

Cheney and Harris have revealed their common instincts, confirming a willingness to redefine honor for the sake of corporate dominance and endless warmongering.

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