At first some may balk at the idea that a former American Vice-President could be comparable to a Communist Prime Minister. But
Dick Cheney and
Vladimir Putin have many of the same traits such as dishonesty, irresponsibility, and a hunger for power. When you look at their responses to events they are very similar in their thinking. Putin is the Russian version of Dick Cheney.
First is their obvious attempts at rewriting history. Recently when the Malaysian airplane was shot down all evidence pointed to the separatists who are supported by Russia. But Putin flatly denied they are involved. He was like the four-year old standing beside the broken lamp swearing he had nothing to do with it.
Cheney has done the same thing with his revisionist history about the Iraq war.
Moreover, they do not only deny any responsibility, they also blame others. With the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 Putin blamed the Ukrainians. "We can say with confidence that if fighting in eastern Ukraine had not been renewed on June 28, this tragedy would not have happened," Putin said.
Of course, Cheney blamed President Obama for not keeping troops in post war Iraq when he was only following the Bush Status of Forces agreement with Iraq. The relevant part of the agreement said that all American troops would be removed from Iraq by December 31, 2011.
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Both men are power-hungry. Putin is an imperialist who wants to recapture Russia's history by assembling their historical regions. After the fall of the Soviet Union in the 90's Cheney sought to create an American hegemony. Cheney's goals in Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11, Saddam Hussein, or WMD's. It was about making sure that America stayed the only true superpower by gaining a foothold in the Middle East.
The powerful are the ones who write the history books. There are some who find these men heroes. I find them incredibly flawed individuals. Their story is about deceit, irrational thought, and a quest for unlimited power. Many people have suffered great loss at the hands of these despots. Will future generations be fed lies about the actions of Cheney and Putin or will they learn the depravity that both men visited on humanity.