Daily Mislead...posted 8/13/04

CHENEY CALLS THE KETTLE BLACK
Yesterday, Vice President Dick Cheney lashed out at Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) for suggesting that America needs to fight "a more effective, more thoughtful, more strategic, more proactive, more sensitive war on terror."[1] Cheney said, "America has been in too many wars for any of our wishes, but not a one of them was won by being sensitive."[2] Cheney neglected to mention that President Bush and other top administration officials - including Cheney himself - have publicly called for "sensitive" use of American military power. Here is a selection:On 3/4/01, at the christening of the U.S.S. Ronald Reagan, President Bush said, "because America is powerful, we must be sensitive about expressing our power and influence."[3]On 1/7/03, Gen. Richard Myers, the chairman of the president's Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that the administration asks "our troops to go out there and be, on the one hand, very sensitive to cultural issues, on the other hand, be ready to respond in self-defense to a very ticklish situation."[4]On 4/13/03, Cheney said, "We recognize that the presence of U.S. forces can in some cases present a burden on the local community. We're not insensitive to that. We work almost on a continual basis with the local officials to remove points of friction and reduce the extent to which problems arise in terms of those relationships."[5] Sources:1. "Cheney blasts Kerry for 'sensitive' remark," Chicago Sun-Times, 08/13/04, http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=2198579&l=50430.2. Ibid.3. "Remarks by the President at Christening Ceremony for the USS Ronald Reagan," The White House, 03/04/01, http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=2198579&l=50431.4. "DoD News Briefing - Secretary Rumsfeld and Gen. Myers," U.S. Department of Defense, 01/07/03, http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=2198579&l=50432.5. "Remarks by the Vice President at the Washington Post-Yomiuri Shimbun Symposium," The White House, 04/13/04, http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=2198579&l=50433