Wednesday, June 03, 2009
Cloak and dagger Cheney
He loved this stuff. Secret meetings with Congress. Secure undisclosed hideouts. Emergency presidential succession plans. Similar to devoted Civil War reenactors donning their gray-and-blue uniforms each weekend, Cheney loved the world of embossed West Wing briefing folders, Marine helicopters, CIA updates via secure communications and other trappings of the national-security apparatus. Other politicians devote themselves to agricultural, banking, judiciary, environment or commerce matters. Not Dick Cheney. Nothing in his upbringing indicated a life largely dedicated to national security. He dodged the draft. He never served in an intelligence service (that we know of). But over the years he became convinced he was so versed in national-security matters that he could travel to Capitol Hill to personally brief lawmakers on interrogation programs, even though he never ran a damn interrogation program. ... He loved this stuff. ... Now back to my all-time favorite-military-books list.
He loved this stuff. Secret meetings with Congress. Secure undisclosed hideouts. Emergency presidential succession plans. Similar to devoted Civil War reenactors donning their gray-and-blue uniforms each weekend, Cheney loved the world of embossed West Wing briefing folders, Marine helicopters, CIA updates via secure communications and other trappings of the national-security apparatus. Other politicians devote themselves to agricultural, banking, judiciary, environment or commerce matters. Not Dick Cheney. Nothing in his upbringing indicated a life largely dedicated to national security. He dodged the draft. He never served in an intelligence service (that we know of). But over the years he became convinced he was so versed in national-security matters that he could travel to Capitol Hill to personally brief lawmakers on interrogation programs, even though he never ran a damn interrogation program. ... He loved this stuff. ... Now back to my all-time favorite-military-books list.
