Cheney, Obama, Torture

Obama vs. Cheney on terror Seattle Times — After listening to both Barack Obama and Dick Cheney, it's a slam dunk knowing who has the right idea for protecting America ["President, Cheney duel over how to fight terror," page one, May 22]. We had a team of seasoned national-security professionals who knew although it would be ugly, we needed to do whatever was necessary to protect America from al-Qaida. This includes waterboarding if necessary. We are in a war, not a game of powder-puff football as the ACLU and leftists believe. click to read complete article

Obama, Cheney Lay Out Views On Post-9/11 Policies U.S. News and World Report — Most national media outlets are combining their coverage of yesterday's speeches by President Obama and Dick Cheney into a single story, casting the speeches as a showdown of sorts between Obama and the former vice president. All three network broadcasts led with the story, devoting a combined total of 28 minutes and 35 seconds to the speeches. NBC Nightly News called the dueling speeches "political theater" and "a virtual debate," while ABC World News referred to an "extraordinary and important debate." The CBS Evening News, meanwhile, reported, "We have never seen anything quite like this." Similarly, the Washington Post headlines its front-page story "In Dueling Speeches, A National Security Debate," and calls the speeches "the national security debate" the country "never had during last year's campaign. ... Presidential scholars could not recall another moment when consecutive administrations intersected so early and in such a public way." Fox News' Special Report called the dueling speeches "unprecedented at this or any other time of war." click to read complete article

Obama and Cheney in a duel for hearts and minds LA Times — It was an unusual showdown pitting present and former leaders, live on national television, with President Obama and former Vice President Dick Cheney dueling in back-to-back speeches Thursday over how to best protect the nation against terrorism. Obama pressed his case for closing the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba and for discarding interrogation techniques he described as brutal, while Cheney warned that doing so would endanger the country. click to read complete article