Glenn Greenwald: Obama Has Won The War On Terror Debate — For The American Right

Want to read a super sized serving of utter crow eating hilarity? Then, you don’t need to go any farther than this post by Glenn Greenwald, which may very well have been penned with a mixture of ink and his own sweet, sweet tears. Can you imagine how much it must have rankled Greenwald to write these words?

The vindication of Dick Cheney

…Aside from the repressiveness of the policies themselves, there are three highly significant and enduring harms from Obama’s behavior. First, it creates the impression that Republicans were right all along in the Bush-era War on Terror debates and Democratic critics were wrong. The same theme is constantly sounded by conservatives who point out Obama’s continuation of these policies: that he criticized those policies as a candidate out of ignorance and partisan advantage, but once he became President, he realized they were right as a result of accessing the relevant classified information and needing to keep the country safe from the Terrorist threat.

…Second, Obama has single-handedly eliminated virtually all mainstream debate over these War on Terror policies. At least during the Bush years, we had one party which steadfastly supported them but one party which claimed (albeit not very persuasively) to vehemently oppose them. At least there was a pretense of vigorous debate over their legality, morality, efficacy, and compatibility with our national values.

…Third, Obama’s embrace of these policies has completely rehabilitated the reputations and standing of the Bush officials responsible for them.

….But Obama’s impact in this area extends far beyond that. Dick Cheney is not only free of ignominy, but can run around claiming vindication from Obama’s actions because he’s right. The American Right constantly said during the Bush years that any President who knew what Bush knew and was faced with the duty of keeping the country safe would do the same thing. Obama has provided the best possible evidence imaginable to prove those claims true.

…Obama has won the War on Terror debate — for the American Right. And as Dick Cheney’s interview last night demonstrates, they’re every bit as appreciative as they should be.

Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!

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