Free Republic

In never-before-released photographs taken on Sept. 11, 2001, the shock, horror and gravity of the terrorist attacks can be read on the faces of President George Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, their wives Laura and Lynne, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, CIA Director George Tenet and other senior Bush and Cheney staffers. The photos were released in response to a Freedom of Information Act request filed by Colette Neirouz Hanna, coordinating producer for the Kirk Documentary Group, which covered the Bush administration in many films for FRONTLINE, including Bush’s War, Cheney’s Law and The Dark Side. The photographs, which were...

Former Vice President Dick Cheney passionately denounced the Iran nuclear deal in a Fox News interview with Sean Hannity on Tuesday night. "You asked the key question, Sean. And that is: What the hell is the president thinking of when he thinks this is a great deal? And I frankly simply do not understand. I haven't met anyone who can explain it to me," he said.

There’s been a lot of discussion about same sex marriage over the last few months – particularly from the candidates running for the GOP nomination. Sometimes it seems as if they are in a contest to see who can be the most stalwart defender of “traditional marriage” – who can most effectively stoke the unfounded fears of the far right. When talking about same sex marriage, these candidates regularly throw around phrases like religious freedom and religious liberty, warn that marriage equality will lead to the criminalization of Christianity or the downfall of the American family, and fret that our...

Former CIA Deputy Director Mike Morrell has been making his rounds in the media, promoting his new book. Earlier this week, he appeared on Hardball with Chris Matthews; and the Iraq war critics have been salivating over this "Aha! Gotcha!" moment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqOat2wDitQ Host Chris Matthews asked Morell about a statement Cheney made in 2003: "We know he [Saddam Hussein] has been absolutely devoted to trying to acquire nuclear weapons. And we believe he has, in fact, reconstituted nuclear weapons." Here's the conversation that followed: MATTHEWS: Was that true? MORELL: We were saying— MATTHEWS: Can you answer that question? Was that...

LAWRENCE B. WILKERSON served as chief of staff to Secretary of State Colin L. Powell from 2002 to 2005. IN PRESIDENT BUSH'S first term, some of the most important decisions about U.S. national security — including vital decisions about postwar Iraq — were made by a secretive, little-known cabal. It was made up of a very small group of people led by Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. When I first discussed this group in a speech last week at the New American Foundation in Washington, my comments caused a significant stir because I had been chief...

In an appearance on “The Hugh Hewitt Show” Tuesday night, former Vice President Dick Cheney said that President Obama’s actions on the world stage exemplify a president who wants “to take America down.” Cheney also touched on Obama’s comments on Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, telling Hewitt that Obama is the only post-World War II president to believe that America doesn’t need “to play a leading role in the world.” The former vice president made the appearance following the announcement of a new book on American foreign policy, co-authored by himself and daughter Liz Cheney, will be released in September.

Here’s just a sample from the transcript: HH: Is he naïve, Mr. Vice President? Or does he have a far-reaching vision that only he entertains of a realigned Middle East that somehow it all works out in the end? DC: I don’t know, Hugh. I vacillate between the various theories I’ve heard, but you know, if you had somebody as president who wanted to take America down, who wanted to fundamentally weaken our position in the world and reduce our capacity to influence events, turn our back on our allies and encourage our adversaries, it would look exactly like what...

ASPEN — A man who left bomb threats and homemade bombs around Aspen on New Year's Eve shot and killed himself in his car a few hours after his threats cleared much of the resort town, Aspen Police said. Assistant Aspen Police Chief Bill Linn said James Chester Blanning, 72, walked into two Aspen banks Wednesday afternoon and left packages wrapped in holiday paper along with notes saying the boxes contained bombs. The notes threatened "mass death" and demanded $60,000 cash, along with criticisms of President George Bush, Linn said.

Judith Miller, the former New York Times reporter, has blown a big hole in the case against Lewis “Scooter” Libby, convicted of lying to avoid blame for outing a CIA agent. Miller was a key witness in Libby’s trial, but in her new book she has repudiated her testimony. Libby was “railroaded in his conviction” by Special Counsel Patrick J. Fitzgerald, she said in an interview on Fox News yesterday. In her book, The Story: A Reporter’s Journey, she writes that Fitzgerald cajoled her into testifying in 2007 that Libby had told her Valerie Plame, the wife of a critic...

The White House has been examining a proposal by James Baker to launch a Middle East peace effort without Israel. The peace effort would begin with a U.S.-organized conference, dubbed Madrid-2, and contain such U.S. adversaries as Iran and Syria. Officials said Madrid-2 would be promoted as a forum to discuss Iraq's future, but actually focus on Arab demands for Israel to withdraw from territories captured in the 1967 war. They said Israel would not be invited to the conference. “As Baker sees this, the conference would provide a unique opportunity for the United States to strike a deal without...

When the London Telegraph reported last week that newly uncovered documents link 9/11 ringleader Mohamed Atta to Iraq-based Palestinian terrorist Abu Nidal, it wasn't the first time one of the 9/11 hijackers had been reported to have such ties. In a development that adds evidence to the case that Iraq played a direct role in the worst attack ever on the U.S., reports show that Ziad Jarrah - who piloted the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania after passengers had discovered they were on a suicide mission - also had ties to Nidal. Like Atta, Jarrah traveled to Hamburg, Germany, where...

Sean Penn sarcastically thanked former President George W. Bush and former Vice President Dick Cheney Wednesday night for “inventing” the Islamic State terror group that is wreaking havoc across the Middle East. “You mentioned Dick Cheney, this kind of, you know, embittered bacteria of humanity,” the actor told TBS talk show host Conan O'Brien. “It’s always a surprise to me to remember that, through bionic technology and so on, this guy’s still here.” “These are the guys — he and President Bush and some others — who invented Daesh, or ISIS,” Mr. Penn said, using the Arabic name and the...

Lucid people who employ logic and evidence find it unimaginable that Obama does not appear to advance American interests and safeguard American lives. They clearly see a tinderbox ready to ignite in the Middle East. Why doesn't he? Unless, of course, all this is exactly what he seeks and has always sought. In fact, though it defies logic and sound reasoning, everything Obama does is meant to achieve the very opposite of judicious and prudent behavior. In this cartoon, Michael Ramirez perfectly captures the fealty that Obama displays with the dictators and evilmongers of the world. Obama does not care...

The GOP frenzy over Benghazi is primarily a political attack (13 attacks similar to Benghazi took place against U.S. consulates during the Bush years), however it's fair to ask certain questions about anyone who uses personal emails as a public official. Jeb Bush, Scott Walker, and everyone else in the GOP who've used private emails and servers should have their emails audited by a third-party. Furthermore, since Jeb Bush discussed security issues and troop deployments, he should have his email security analyzed by the Department of Defense. Anyone in government using a private email address should be subject to the...

Behind a small desk sits the chair Cheney occupied for eight years as vice president in the White House, and above the white-trimmed fireplace hang three framed swords. One was a gift from the cadets at West Point when Cheney was secretary of defense; the second came from the U.S. Marine Corps commandant when Cheney was guest of honor at the Marine Corps ball two months after 9/11; the third belonged to Samuel Fletcher Cheney, the vice president’s great-grandfather, who fought for the Union in the Civil War—enduring 34 battles, some of the conflict’s bloodiest fighting—only to lose part of...

"I look at Barack Obama and I see the worst president of my lifetime, without question," Cheney told journalist James Rosen. "I used to have significant criticism of Jimmy Carter, but compared to Barack Obama and the damage he is doing to the nation—it’s a tragedy."

Linky only.

by Mark Finkelstein January 3, 2006 - 07:58 Katie Couric's just-completed interview with NY Times Reporter James Risen, who broke the NSA surveillance story and is now publishing his book on the matter, 'State of War,' offered a treasure-trove of insights into the matter. And give Katie a gentlelady's 'C' for her questioning. Couric earned the bulk of her credit by posing this seminal line of questioning: "Did [the leakers] have any sympathy or understanding about this new climate this country finds itself in and the criticism the Bush administration took prior to 9/11 for not putting the pieces together...

Two protesters affiliated with the antiwar groups Code Pink and Witness Against Torture were arrested Saturday morning outside the home of former Vice President Dick Cheney in McLean, Virginia. The protesters were inside Mr. Cheney’s fenced property when police arrived, “and the homeowners said they were not allowed to be there,” said Fairfax County police spokesman Roger Henriquez, a local Fox affiliate reported. “Police asked them to leave or face trespassing charges.” Tighe Barry, 57, and Eve Tetaz, 83, were arrested after refusing to leave the property, police said. Police did not know whether the former vice president was home...

Two anti-war protesters -- one of them an 83-year-old woman -- were arrested Saturday outside the home of former Vice President Dick Cheney in suburban Washington, police said. The two were part of about 20 activists affiliated with the anti-war groups Code Pink and Witness Against Torture, demonstrating Saturday morning at various locations on a "torturers tour."