General Petraeus and Former General Powell Take On Draft Dodger Cheney

Gen. David Petraeus, the current leader of U.S. Central Command, completely denunciated the Dick Cheney school of "torture is awesome" thought on Sunday. On Meet the Press, Petraeus made the case against torturing terrorist detainees, saying he found it far more pragmatic and beneficial to stick to methods authorized by the army field manual. He also reiterated his support for closing Gitmo, albeit without a date-specific time frame.

"I have always been on the record, in fact, since 2003, with the concept of living our values. And I think that whenever we've perhaps taken expedient measures, they've turned around and bitten us in the backside. We decided early on, in the 101st airborne division, we just said, we decided to obey the Geneva Conventions. In the cases where that is not true we end up paying a price for it, ultimately. Abu Ghraib and other situations like that are non biodegradable. They don't go away. The enemy continues to beat you with them like a stick.... Beyond that, frankly, we have found that the use of interrogation methods in the army field manual that was given the force of law by Congress, that that works."

Then there's former Gen. Colin Powell's disagreement with Cheney's "be afraid, be very afraid of the socialist black man in office" rhetoric. On CBS's Face the Nation, Powell pointed out that Obama has kept in place most of the programs enacted by the Bush administration.

"To suggest that somehow we have become much less safer because of the actions of the administration, I don't think that's borne out by the facts. [] The Transportation Security Administration created by George Bush is still in action working in our airports. They take care of me every day that I go to an airport [] Our counterterrorism authorities and forces are hard at work. Our law enforcement officials are hard at work. We have gone after the enemy in Afghanistan with 50,000 more troops, more predators are striking al-Qaida and Taliban leaders in Pakistan. We have continued the policies that President Bush put in place with respect to Iraq. And so I don't know where the claim comes that we are less safe."

I don't know about you, but all this Cheney cheap talk has to be extremely frustrating for the men and women actually serving or have served with honor in our military. This sociopath received five draft deferments during Vietnam. How can anyone think this criminal has what it takes or the knowledge about military policies, especially during wartime? At least President Obama admits it's not his strong suit and listens to those who have the experience. I know it's not politically correct to say, but Cheney wants to see us get hit again, on our soil, on Obama's watch. His rhetoric is making us less safe. He is inviting another terrorist attack by implying we're not ready to respond. He is salivating over the thought of more American casualties. He believes that's the winning combo to give him the keys to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and force us live under his Marshal Law. This man is pure evil, there's no other word to describe him.