Dick Cheney’s biggest regret: Not invading Iraq and Iran at once

[bemildred]

Former Vice President Dick Cheney continued his latest jaunt through the media circuit on Monday, sitting down with Politico’s U.S. Chamber of Commerce enthusiast Mike Allen to discuss Iraq, 2016 and why he opposes the “isolationist” strand (read: Rand Paul) growing within the GOP. Salon’ Jim Newell was there and wrote about it here. It sounds like it was pretty terrible.

But according to a report from Newsweek reporter Leah McGrath Goodman, Cheney actually saved his most terrible moment on Monday for a closed-door meeting with a bunch of Goldman Sachs bankers. Here’s what Goodman reported on Twitter at around 8 o’clock, Eastern time, Monday night:

1/2 In private talk, Cheney told .@GoldmanSachs top brass while still VP that the plan was to invade Iraq AND Iran together...
— Leah McGrath Goodman (@truth_eater) July 14, 2014

2/2 #Cheney told @GoldmanSachs bankers not doing a dual attack was his biggest regret -- banker says statement was met w/ "stunned silence."
— Leah McGrath Goodman (@truth_eater) July 14, 2014

http://www.salon.com/2014/07/15/dick_cheney%E2%80%99s_biggest_regret_is_not_invading_iraq_and_iran_at_once/

[Jefferson23]

1. This is what the country had to deal with, an influential powerful VP who was certifiably

unstable...I mean really now, he would not be diagnosed as such?

That he persists in talking about this is an indication of many aspects to his
fears about his legacy, his chances of getting exposed further in the near
future about his role in torture..I am not sure of course. But, holy cow, he
is off the charts, even for him.

[bemildred]

2. Control freaks are (almost) always the same.

Never give up, always double down, attack the messenger, until the day they die. Orly Taitz is still out there somewhere trying to get her day in court against Obama from Kenya.

Couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

[Cal33]

13. This is what many people don't seem to understand. Sociopaths are like that. Their

consciences have been arrested at the developmental stage of a small child. . . . Nothing
bothers them -- not lying, not cheating, not manipulating others for their own profit, not
stealing, not causing the death of others ... you name it.

Sociopaths are interested only in profit and having power over others. There is no feeling of
guilt in them, however much harm they may cause others -- not even causing their deaths.
And they are extremely ambitious. They succeed in their ambitions more than most, because
they are not inhibited by having second thoughts about harming others on their way up the
ladder of success.

The number of sociopaths (people with anti-social personalities) in the general population is
between 2 and 4 percent. That number is considerably higher among top corporate
executives as well as political leaders. In my opinion concerning politicians, there are more
of them among Republicans than among Democrats -- not only in numbers but also in the
degree of the severity of their viciousness.

With too many sociopaths in power, there will always be conflicts and wars. They can't help
being the way they are, and nothing seems to be able to change them. Their behavior can
be influenced by the fear of punishment, yes. They will avoid doing certain things when they
know that such behavior would land them in jail, for instance. But this is not real change.
In their minds they still feel that what they'd like to do is not wrong, but they wouldn't want to
serve a jail sentence for it.

I think Nancy Pelosi and Obama never understood this point about sociopaths: Appeasing
them only increases their appetites. What they respect is force. They respect the big stick.
They are like the rest of us in this respect: They don't want to be hurt, even though
sociopaths might enjoy hurting others. I think if Pelosi had proceeded with impeachment against
Bush, the Conservatives wouldn't have been so daringly open with their misdeeds today. It
wouldn't have made too much difference, even if Bush should have been pronounced "Not Guilty."
The amount of the dirt that would have been revealed with the public hearings of the impeachment
would have made a profound impression not only on the American people, but also upon the
sociopathic leaders. This alone would have made a very big difference. Of course, in time people
do forget. So, let some future highly-positioned sociopath be impeached again.

[bemildred]

14. Well, it begins with never being able to admit you are wrong.

People come to that attitude from various directions, being a narcissist is one of them; but the main problem with it is that when you are wrong, when your judgement errs, you can't admit it, so you persist in your errors, like Dick Cheney is doing.

[Cal33]

15. A theory of how people become sociopathic comes under 2 main headings.

1. Environmental influence from childhood on.

2. Genes. Recently geneticists have discovered 4 or 5 genes that are found in psychopaths.

Some use the term "psychopath" for those who have these genes, and "sociopath" for those
who show the characteristic anti-social behavior but do not have those genes.

So the cause of "anti-social personality" can be either one or the other. I imagine those
who show the severest symptoms, such as hit-men who make killing people their profession,
might have come under the influence of both of the above. Their sleep is hardly disturbed
by whatever they have done.

Maybe some day geneticists will find a way to manipulate genes so that no children will be
born with them. As for those who became anti-social through environmental influences
while growing up, people can learn from child mental health professionals how to raise
children. I wonder how many people would bother to do that, though.

If you are interested in the topic of sociopathy, just google "Bush and sociopathy." There
are millions of articles. One of the first ones on the list is an interview with the author of
"Bush On The Couch" by Dr. Frank, professor of psychiatry at George Washington University.
There are articles by both professionals and non-professionals. Some of them are highly
interesting.

[4Q2u2]

3. I was there

I do not remember seeing him in Iraq. When did he invade?

[Amonester]

4. Why is it that proven War Criminal still has to be listened to by anyone?

While he should be eating rots in jail for life (and beyond, if any...)?

[samsingh]

5. beyond evil, he's also insane

[OnyxCollie]

6. Not insane, just greedy.

Congress of the United States
House of Representatives
COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT REFORM

April 30, 2003

The Honorable Donald H. Rumsfeld
Secretary ofDefense
1000 Defense Pentagon
Washington, DC 20301

Dear Secretary Rumsfeld:

I am writing about Halliburton's ties to countries that sponsor terrorism.

~snip~

The company apparently continues to do work in Iran even now. This work is reportedly being done through a Cayman Islands subsidiary, Halliburton Products and Services, which opened an office in Tehran in February 2000.6 A company brochure offered by the subsidiary apparently states that the company has done work on two offshore Iranian drilling contracts and says that "{w}e are committed to position ourselves in a market that offers huge growth potential1." Halliburton recently agreed to reevaluate its work in Iran after sustained pressure from shareholders, particularly the New York City Police and Fire Department Pension Funds.8

Despite these sanctions, the Washington Post has reported that Halliburton performed work in Iraq while Vice President Cheney was leading the company. Halliburton had stakes in two companies that signed contracts to sell over $73 million in oil production equipment and spare parts to Iraq while Mr. Cheney was CEO. The companies were subsidiaries of a joint venture between Dresser Industries which Halliburton acquired in 1998 - and Ingersoll- Rand, another large equipment maker. From 1997 through mid-2000, the subsidiaries sold water and sewage treatment pumps, spare parts for oil facilities, and pipeline equipment to Iraq.1O

The Vice President initially tried to deny this involvement in Iran. In July 2002, he stated on national television: "I had a firm policy that we wouldn't do anything in Iraq, even - even arrangements that were supposedly legal. ... {W}e've not done any business in Iraq since the sanctions {were} imposed, and I had a standing policy that I wouldn't do that."11 A month later, confronted with an admission by a Halliburton spokesman that the company indeed did business with Iraq, Vice President Cheney admitted that "{w}hen we took over Dresser, we inherited two joint ventures with Ingersoll-Rand that were selling some parts into Iraq," but he said he did not know of this at the time. Mr. Cheney also said that "{s}hortly after we took control of Dresser, we divested ourselves of those two companies."12

Both of these statements, however, have been contradicted by other evidence. Two former senior executives of the Halliburton subsidiaries say they knew of no policy against doing business with Iraq. 13 One of the executives also said that he was certain that Mr. Cheney would have known about the business with Iraq. 14 Furthermore, Halliburton did not divest itself of the subsidiaries "shortly" after Halliburton took control of Dresser. Instead, the firms traded withIraq for more than a year under Mr. Cheney, signing almost $30 million in contracts. 15

~snip~

While Halliburton's activities appear to raise similar concerns, the Administration has avoided criticizing the company and has instead rewarded it with lucrative contracts. Congress and the American taxpayer should know more about these contracts and Halliburton's relationship with Iran, Iraq, and Libya. I therefore respectfully request answers to the following questions:

1. What does the Defense Department know about the work ofHalliburton or any of its subsidiaries in any nation that is suspected of supporting terrorism?

2. Has the Administration determined whether Halliburton's work in Iran, Iraq, and Libya complies with all applicable laws and regulations? If not, does the Administration intend to make such a determination before issuing further contracts or task orders to Halliburton?

3. Was the Administration aware of and did it take into account Halliburton's work in Iran, Iraq, and Libya when it awarded contracts and task orders to the company and its subsidiaries?

4. What steps, if any, has the Administration taken or does it plan to take to ensure that taxpayer dollars do not go to companies that do business with state sponsors of terrorism - particularly when those dollars are being spent to combat terrorism?

5. How many contracts has the Defense Department awarded to Halliburton since September 11,2001, and what is the value of these contracts?

6. How many task orders has the Defense Department issued to Halliburton since September 11,2001, and what is the value of these task orders?

I look forward to receiving a response to these important questions.

Sincerely,

Henry Waxman
Ranking Minority Member

[yurbud]

8. and there's that.

[Jefferson23]

10. +1

[yurbud]

7. "I regret that I did not start a broader war that would have killed more of our troops

more civilians in other countries, forced Russia and China to side with Iran, and possibly led to a nuclear war since we have superior conventional forces compared to Russia and China combined.

I had hoped these words could have been on my tombstone: 'I am become death, destroyer of worlds.'

Now I will have to settle for 'He killed many to profit few.'"

[santamargarita]

9. I think all of those heart attacks left his brain with no oxygen.

This guy is made out of spare body parts anyway!

[Cal33]

16. What you described happened only in his adult and late-adult years. His "anti-social personality,"

however, has been there since childhood.

[Aristus]

12. He obviously doesn't regret it enough to want to pick up a rifle and do his own damned

dirty work for a change.

Go on, Dick. Invade Iran and Iraq all by your goddamned self! We'll watch!...