Damn Responsibility

Have a look at this reply the Big Dick Cheney gave to a very legitimate question from interview conducted earlier today and see if you can identify the flaws in logic here. I've found a few.

First, when the Big Dick Cheney suggests people take responsibility for a possible outcome, don't you think that outcome should be based on something beyond a hypothetical? That's the reason they say they don't engage in hypotheticals.

Second, if he is going to engage in hypothetical, there is another story to be painted here and that is if we stay, we might well increase the chances we lose this "war" in Iraq. What about the hypothetical that the longer we stay the more we lose? Who's taking responsibility for that?

The last that I'll pose right now is to suggest that the "will of the American people" can be broken. I flat out disagree with the Big Dick here. I don't think we are weak in that category, not one iota. Iraq may be as good as we can make it, but we don't advocate surrendering to the terrorists. In fact, it may take a stonger willed American to decide to cut Iraq lose than to stay in, don't you think?

And, to whom would we surrender in the first place. Moreover, wouldn't it be good if we pretended to surrender, OBL moved in and then we exterminated him because he was exposed as he moved in?

Damn the responsibility - it's always easier to thrust responsibility on others when posing hypothetical outcomes to things that have not occurred than accept responsibility to what could be characterized as the biggest geopolitical blunder ever perpetrated by a sitting president and his cronies in the history of the United States.

QUESTION: On the debate about Iraq at home, do you believe that someone who opposes the war wants terrorists to win?

THE VICE PRESIDENT: I think they have to be responsible for the consequences of the policy recommendations they make. If, in fact, they advocate complete withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq, then they are, to some extent, accountable for what would happen when that policy followed, what happens inside Iraq, what kind of encouragement that might give to al Qaeda. Al Qaeda has based its entire strategy on the proposition that they can break the will of the American people, that if they kill enough that eventually the U.S. Government will withdraw. They believe that. They think they saw that before in Beirut in 1983, for example.

So if you're going to be a public official advocating withdrawal from Iraq, you, in fact, are also saying that what you're recommending is validating the al Qaeda strategy. There are consequences to all of these decisions and all of these actions, and a responsible public official has to accept the responsibility for the consequences of what they recommend.

Now, I think there's been not enough attention paid to the consequences that would flow if we were to adopt the policies that have been recommended by a majority of the Democrats. Nancy Pelosi and 169 Democrats last week voted for immediate withdrawal from Iraq. I think that would be a disaster. Everybody I've talked to in the region - everybody - thinks it would be a disaster.

And it's important that we succeed in Iraq. If we can't succeed in Iraq, then it does have consequences for the broader war on terror. There's no question about it. Yet some people want to say they want to fight the good war in Afghanistan, not the bad war in Iraq. Well, I'm sorry, but it doesn't work that way in the real world. We've got al Qaeda in both places right now. Al Qaeda has said Iraq is the central front in their war on the United States. You do not want to withdraw and give them a victory in Iraq.

I don't get any warm fuzzy feelings and my faith in the W, Rove and Co to lead us out of this nightmare is diminishing every time I read these kinds of statements.

But hey, at least they put their money where their mouths are by supporting people who do good work, right?:

QUESTION: Last thing, on the home front. Your friend Paul Wolfowitz, head of World Bank, is under fire. Do you believe he should stay in his job?

THE VICE PRESIDENT: I do. I think Paul is one of the most able public servants I've ever known and I've worked with him a lot over the years. I think he's a very good president of the World Bank and I hope he will be able to continue.

Damn responsibility. These guys are experts at shirking it.