Granted, the recent terrorist attempt in Detroit underscored deficiencies
within "the system" and the continued need for vigilance. Plain and
simple -- the Nigerian terrorist should never have made it on the plane. And granted, criticism that is both constructive and credible is always welcome, if not encouraged. In fact, a healthy, public debate of homeland security matters is one of the surest ways to develop good policy and good outcomes.
But the latest utterances by the former vice president are neither
constructive nor credible. In fact, he is the last person who should be
offering advice to this or any president on homeland security matters.
Just to recap some well-documented facts about Cheney’s record over the past decade:
► In January 2001, the Bush/Cheney administration disregarded warnings from its own counterterrorism adviser, Richard Clarke, who identified al-Qaida as the main threat to U.S. national security.
► In the early months of 2001, the Bush/Cheney administration disregarded multiple warnings from outside sources, including the head of Afghanistan’s pro-U.S. resistance, that al-Qaida was preparing to strike the United States.
► In August 2001, the Bush/Cheney administration disregarded a presidential daily briefing memo entitled, "Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S." (There were at least 40 additional references to Osama bin Laden or al-Qaida in the president’s daily briefing memos prior to the Sept. 11 attacks.)
► In December 2001, the Bush/Cheney administration let bin Laden escape from Tora Bora after it decided not to deploy U.S. ground troops to the area.
► In 2002, Cheney led the administration’s rush to war in Iraq, falsely claiming that Baghdad maintained a stockpile of chemical and biological weapons ... that it was pursuing a nuclear weapons program ... and that it was tied to the al-Qaida attacks on the United States.
► In 2003, the Bush/Cheney administration went to war in Iraq — a country that had absolutely nothing to do with the Sept. 11 attacks and a war that has squandered so many precious resources, including thousands of human lives.
► In 2004, the bipartisan National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, chaired by former New Jersey Gov. Tom Kean, concluded that there was "no credible evidence" to suggest a relationship between Iraq and al-Qaida – a conclusion that, to this day, Cheney disputes.
► In 2004, former Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge – according to his own admission — was pressured by the Bush/Cheney administration to raise the nation’s color-coded security alert for p olitical purposes – a security alert system that was used repeatedly during the 18 months preceding the Bush/Cheney reelection that year, but has rarely been used since.
► As evidenced by the recent terrorist attempt in Detroit, the Bush/Cheney administration failed to fix communications and information-sharing deficiencies within the intelligence community – deficiencies that were central to our lack of preparedness on Sept. 11, 2001.
Missed opportunities. Bad policies. Wrong decisions. Taken together – along with his role in support of torture, wiretapping and no-bid contracts in Iraq – Cheney’s record on homeland security matters is one of failure.
In fact, the case could be made that many, if not most, systemic homeland security weaknesses should be attributed to the former vice president – that he, not Obama, has made our country less safe and less secure.
Again, healthy public discourse on homeland security matters is a good
thing. As the Detroit episode made clear, we need more of it. We need more questions asked about our state of readiness. We need more critical thinking about viable solutions. And we need more people – smart, thoughtful people – to offer constructive criticism and credible suggestions – people of varying perspectives willing and able to come forward with time, energy, and ideas.
But let’s be clear — we certainly don’t need Dick Cheney. His words are not constructive. His voice is not credible. And as history has shown, we would do better without him.
Paul Aronsohn, a councilman in Ridgewood, NJ, worked on foreign policy and national security issues in the Clinton administration.
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