Come Again? Cheney Hopes Panetta “Misquoted” Him - With Video
Dick Cheney says he wants to know if he heard Leon Panetta correctly.
After the CIA director apparently told The New Yorker that he thinks the former vice president is crossing his fingers for another attack on America, Cheney said Monday he hopes his “old friend” didn’t really say those words.
“I hope my old friend Leon was misquoted,” Cheney said, in a written statement to FOX News. “The important thing is whether the Obama administration will continue the policies that have kept us safe for the past eight years.”
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Others were not quite willing to give Panetta the benefit of the doubt, as his politically charged quote stirred controversy on Capitol Hill.
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., called on Panetta to “retract immediately” his statement, arguing that the director crossed the line.
“I disagreed with the Cheney policy on interrogation techniques, but never did it cross my mind that Dick Cheney would ever want an attack on the United States of America,” the former GOP presidential candidate told FOX News Monday. “And it’s unfair, and I think that Mr. Panetta should retract, and retract immediately.
“By the way, I hear morale is not at an all-time high over at the CIA under Mr. Panetta’s leadership,” he said.
Panetta, a long-time Washington insider with scant intelligence experience, has been caught in the middle of a political war during his first few months on the job. First, he had to deal with morale issues as President Obama cracked down on the rules for detainee interrogations. Then he stepped up to dispute House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s allegation that the CIA misled Congress about the use of “enhanced” interrogation techniques.
This time, he’s firing back against Cheney’s frequent media appearances in which he’s accused Obama of making America less safe.
According to The New Yorker, Panetta said Cheney “smells some blood in the water” on the security issue.
“It’s almost, a little bit, gallows politics. When you read behind it, it’s almost as if he’s wishing that this country would be attacked again, in order to make his point. I think that’s dangerous politics,” he said, according to the piece.
Asked about the statement, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs ducked.
“I’m not going to get into motivations. That’s not what our business is. The president’s concern is keeping the American people safe,” Gibbs said Monday.
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How can someone be so stupid as to mess with Dick Cheney? The man has more spook contacts than anyone, and having the hurt put on an enemy would be as easy as finding a McDonald’s drive-thru in Houston.
Welcome to McDonald’s may I take your order?
Yes, this is Dick Cheney and I would like a super-sized order of whoop-ass please.
Yes sir Mr. Cheney, and how would you like that delivered?
Please have someone deliver it very hot to Leon Panetta today - and make sure you include a side of “ohmygodwhathaveIdone” sauce just to make sure he enjoys the delivery.
Thank you sir. Please come again.
you want fries w/that?
I like your style!
Kick his ass Dick!
In other words Dick was was calling him a dumb shit.
Panetta simply showed himself for who and what he is. To think it is one thing; to voice it ouyt of frustration to your Party or colleagues is another. BUT, to speak this to the world is simply unthinkable. This isn’t high school Leon, you have to be an adult here. Notcie the former Vice President is as classy as always.
This administration has continued to show the willingness to be a wedge of deliberate disunity shoing an enemy reverse psychological warfare, that they have been and can continue to be successful in manipulating the United States of America.
The Democrats have championed this wedge for decades and never, ever even come close to consequences anywhere as harsh as Nixon. This is nothing but a well organized set-up, I am beginning to think.
We all had it called that Panetta was in way over his head when Barry nominated him to head CIA but that’s some serious dumbfuckery in that statement from Leon.
Panetta kissing the ass of Komrade Pelosibitch cannot be worth coming off that stupid.
This will completely divide the intelligence community into Pro American and communist.
Great Job Cheney! You have helped to identify every single communist bastard that works for Marxist Obama, Reid and the nut job Pelosi.
Now it is time to go get them.
This single event is remarkable.
Morale is not exactly at all time highs over there at the CIA. Sounds like a management problem. Same problem wwe had during the Carter administration.