Praise for Cheney’s outspoken criticism of Obama
Can an editorial cartoon [Opinion, Jan. 10] be more insulting to people who care deeply about stopping terrorists from killing innocent Americans?
The depiction of Dick Cheney — doubting Barack Obama’s resolve to prevent future attacks next to the towers seconds before the deaths of 3,000 innocent people — implies what? That Obama could have prevented the attacks? That George W. Bush and Cheney failed to protect us? Few sane Americans blamed Bush for 9/11 when the multiyear plot escaped detection by virtually all layers of government during two administrations. We had to — and must continue to — think and act differently toward terrorism from that date on.
What Cheney argues now is that Obama’s efforts to close Gitmo, conduct civil trials for terrorists and to forgo interrogations of the underwear bomber will not make us safer. Obama’s refusal to refer to our struggle as a “war on terror” or its combatants as “Islamist extremists” denies the obvious and taints his approach to defeat and destroy this enemy who plots to kill Americans. We cannot afford to be weak in words or actions against them.
We were safe from significant attacks during the post-9/11 Bush-Cheney years and I hope and pray that Obama can claim as much after he is replaced. Innocent lives depend upon it and I applaud Cheney for speaking out about our national security.
— K.C. Stromgren, Sammamish