There’s out of touch and then there’s batshit crazy out of touch
SCHIEFFER: Mr. Vice President, all along the government has been very optimistic. You remain optimistic, but I remember when you were saying we’d be greeted as liberators. You played down the insurgency. Ten months ago you said it was in its last throes. Do you believe that these optimistic
statements may be one of the reasons people seem to be more skeptical in this
country about whether we ought to be in Iraq?Vice Pres. CHENEY: No. I think it’s–it has less to do with statements
we’ve made–which I think were basically accurate and reflect reality–then it
does the fact that there’s a constant sort of perception, if you will, that’s
created because what’s newsworthy is the car bomb in Baghdad. It’s not all
the work that went on that day in 15 other provinces in terms of making
progress towards rebuilding Iraq.The facts are pretty straightforward. The Iraqis met every single political
deadline that’s been set for them. They haven’t missed a single one. They
took over in terms of sovereignty 21 months ago. They held national elections
the following January. They wrote a constitution, one of the best
constitutions in that part of the world. They held a referendum on it last
October, and last December had turn out of about 78 percent in terms of the
election. And now we’re putting together a government which they’ll have
formed up here shortly on the security front.
‘ “It is unfortunate that we are in civil war. We are losing each day as an average 50 to 60 people throughout the country, if not more.
“If this is not civil war, then God knows what civil war is.” . . .
Iraq is moving towards the “point of no return”, he said, when the country would fragment.
“It will not only fall apart but sectarianism will spread throughout the region, and even Europe and the US will not be spared the violence that results…,” he said.
Baghdad Bob and Dick Cheney–peas in a pod.
What’s most troubling about this is that as long as Cheney is this delusional there won’t be any effective strategy for Iraq let alone one that might eventually get us out.