Dick Cheney may be the most dangerous idiot of all

By Michael J.W. Stickings

Which many of you know this already, but consider the latest evidence (from Think Progress): Dick went on Rush yesterday and discussed Iraq. He admitted "[i]t's still very, very difficult, very tough," which is obvious to anyone who's paying attention to the chaos that is that country, but he also made two extraordinary (or, by his standards, really quite ordinary) comments:

1) Iraq is "the 'major front' of the war on terror" -- To the extent that it's a front at all, it's only because the U.S. is there. But we know that there were no pre-war ties between Iraq and al Qaeda and that the Iraq War has in fact worsened the threat of global terrorism. The Bushies, led by Cheney, continue to lie about this.

2) The Iraqi government is "doing remarkably well". Really? The country seems to be on the brink of collapse. The violence is rampant (and spreading) the level of killing, whatever the actual numbers, is simply horrendous, and the sectarianism seems to be an insurmountable problem (forget reconciliation). Plus, Maliki seems to be living in a bubble. So how exactly is the Iraqi government "doing remarkably well"? I suppose it all depends on the meaning of "well".

I say that Cheney is a dangerous idiot, but does he actually believe his own lies? Does he believe his own truthiness? Given how little he seems to smile, it doesn't surprise me that he can spew this nonsense with a straight face, but his unwillingness and/or inability to see Iraq and the war for what they really are reflect irresponsibility of the highest order.

His ongoing occupation of a position of enormous power only makes such irresponsibility, such gross misconduct of leadership, all the more frightening.