Panetta Wonders If Cheney Wants Al Qaeda To Attack US To Prove Point

[ag337]

Panetta Wonders If Cheney Wants Al Qaeda To Attack US To Prove Point
Monday, June 15, 2009
WASHINGTON NEWS

CIA Director Leon Panetta's remarks on former Vice President Dick Cheney made in a nearly 7,600-word interview with The New Yorker generated some media attention last night and this morning. Calling them "tough words," ABC World News reported briefly that Panetta said of Cheney, who "has repeatedly, of course, criticized the Obama Administration's approach to terrorism," that "it's almost as if he is wishing that this country would be attacked again, in order to make his point.'" Panetta, the New Yorker (6/22, Mayer) reports, was responding to a speech the former vice president made at the American Enterprise Institute, where he accused the Administration of making "the American people less safe" by banning brutal CIA interrogations of terrorism suspects that had been sanctioned by the Bush Administration. With "surprising candor," the magazine reports Panetta said, "I think he smells some blood in the water on the national-security issue. It's almost, a little bit, gallows politics. When you read behind it, it's almost as if he's wishing that this country would be attacked again, in order to make his point. I think that's dangerous politics."

Also reporting the remarks, the AP reports Vice President Joe Biden was asked during an appearance Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press" if he agreed. The current vice president, however, said "he wouldn't question the motive behind Cheney's criticism." Said Biden, "I think Dick Cheney's judgment about how to secure America is faulty. I think our judgment is correct."

http://www.usnews.com/usnews/politics/b ... 090615.htm

[muman613]

This is just more of the media trying to dust up more fireworks in the political arena. I have more trust in Cheneys analysis than Panettas because Cheney has been there and done that. Panetta is wet behind the ears and naive as hell. I think Panetta wants a terrorist attack so at least it can look like he had to work to earn his position instead of being a media whore.

The fact of the matter is that another attack will definately happen. It is not a matter of if, it is a matter of when. We already know that plots are being hatched and terrorists are currently working on implementing them. We have al queda terrorists, and homegrown terrorists, and they are all working for a common goal. I believe Cheney is right that another attack will happen. I just pray that everyone I know and care about is protected from the evil ones plans.

[ag337]

UPDATE AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
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Cheney: I Hope Panetta Was 'Misquoted' in Claiming My Wish for Attack

After the CIA director apparently told The New Yorker that he thinks the former vice president is crossing his fingers for another attack on America, Dick Cheney says he hopes his "old friend" didn't really say those words.

Dick Cheney says he wants to know if he heard Leon Panetta correctly.

After the CIA director apparently told The New Yorker that he thinks the former vice president is crossing his fingers for another attack on America, Cheney said Monday he hopes his "old friend" didn't really say those words.

"I hope my old friend Leon was misquoted," Cheney said, in a written statement to FOX News. "The important thing is whether the Obama administration will continue the policies that have kept us safe for the past eight years."

Others were not quite willing to give Panetta the benefit of the doubt, as his politically charged quote stirred controversy on Capitol Hill.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., called on Panetta to "retract immediately" his statement, arguing that the director crossed the line.

"I disagreed with the Cheney policy on interrogation techniques, but never did it cross my mind that Dick Cheney would ever want an attack on the United States of America," the former GOP presidential candidate told FOX News Monday. "And it's unfair, and I think that Mr. Panetta should retract, and retract immediately.

"By the way, I hear morale is not at an all-time high over at the CIA under Mr. Panetta's leadership," he said.

Panetta, a long-time Washington insider with scant intelligence experience, has been caught in the middle of a political war during his first few months on the job. First, he had to deal with morale issues as President Obama cracked down on the rules for detainee interrogations. Then he stepped up to dispute House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's allegation that the CIA misled Congress about the use of "enhanced" interrogation techniques.

This time, he's firing back against Cheney's frequent media appearances in which he's accused Obama of making America less safe.

According to The New Yorker, Panetta said Cheney "smells some blood in the water" on the security issue.

"It's almost, a little bit, gallows politics. When you read behind it, it's almost as if he's wishing that this country would be attacked again, in order to make his point. I think that's dangerous politics," he said, according to the piece.

Asked about the statement, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs ducked.

"I'm not going to get into motivations. That's not what our business is. The president's concern is keeping the American people safe," Gibbs said Monday.

FOX News' Mike Emanuel contributed to this report.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/06/15/cheney-hopes-panetta-misquoted-claiming-vp-wishes-attack/