Neo-cons, Keepers of the Flame - - Really?

Every once in a while I force myself to watch at least a portion of a right-wing, self-congratulatory event just to see what goes on in that rarified atmosphere. It isn’t really so much an educational endeavor as it is a reminder that a lot of scary people continue to market the same old rhetorical wares. And no matter how ill-conceived their efforts have proven to be, many in their camp still regard them as heroes and support the premise that America is safer due to their efforts despite the mess left in their wake.

The wonder is that the neo-con triumph over common sense and intellectual integrity is so thoroughly ingrained in the psyche of supporters that appeals to rational debate literally fall on deaf ears. There wasn’t a single mea culpa for obvious missteps among the who’s who of conservative bigwigs at a recent “Keeper of the Flame” awards dinner held under the auspices of the Center for Security Policy. Former Vice President Cheney, at his unpatriotic best, asserted that President Obama has placed the country at risk by not following in the muddy footprints of his predecessors and for “dithering” and “waffling” about Afghanistan. For Cheney and his cohort their familiar approach is always to induce fear in the collective public mind while clinging to a messianic vision of themselves.

The parade of ‘dignitaries’ at the festivities was a stunning array of the administration’s walking wounded. Why my goodness there was Douglas Feith, purveyor of questionable intelligence who, former head of US Central Command, General Tommy Franks called “the dumbest fucking guy on the planet.”  Also recognized was David Addington, a lawyer who was ever so ready to back up assertions that torture wasn’t really torture, that the Geneva Conventions no longer applied and that, in any case, executive power was not to be challenged. Addington’s testimony before Congress regarding torture a few years back was a treat for anyone who gets a kick out of watching someone try to justify bending logic to the breaking point.

In her New Yorker article, July 2006, about warrant-less domestic wiretaps, Jane Mayer wrote that Colin Powell had remarked, “It’s Addington, he doesn’t care about the Constitution.” ‘Powell’s office said he didn’t recall making the statement, but former aide, Lawrence Wilkerson, confirmed that he and Powell shared that same opinion of Addington.’ Others remember him as a close-minded, opinionated right wing voice.

The evening’s big Keeper-of-the-Flame award went, of course, to Mr. Cheney; but other notables were recognized, some to receive “flamette” awards for their valued service and their contributions to the war on terror. A grinning Don Rumsfeld, who famously said ‘you fight wars with the army you have, not with the army you’d like to have’ and ignored warnings that greater troop strength would be needed to pacify Iraq, was on the dais applauding when Scooter Libby stood to receive his flamette award.

Right-wing members of Congress and Republican administrations always seem so pleased with themselves and heap praise on each other at events like the Keeper-of –the-Flame dinner. Without a twitch, a wink or a stumble, Mr. Cheney asserted proudly that he and President Bush had handed President Obama a “record of success” - - a claim that demands some scrutiny.

Neo-cons keep reminding us we daren’t forget the horrors of 9/11 one reason they give for invading Iraq, a position so arcane and so disputed as to defy rational argument. And our efforts in Afghanistan have been so meager, so mis-directed and so confused in terms of mission no cogent explanation exists of just what our ultimate goal there is

The awful truth is that, since the horrific loss of life here on 9/11 we have sustained over 4000 military deaths in Iraq, additional losses in Afghanistan with untold thousands of Iraqis killed or displaced. No WMD were ever discovered and no connection between 9/11 and Saddam Hussein ever substantiated. In fact, although Al Qaeda operatives are said to have trained in Afghanistan, most of the operatives on those planes were Saudis, yet no-one ever suggested we invade Saudi Arabia.

Mr. Cheney and friends keep insisting that the absence of another attack during their time in office was proof their strategies worked. At the awards dinner they saluted each other as protectors of freedom and liberty. But what “record of success” is defined by a nation near financial collapse, its armed forces and treasure sapped in conflicts without clearly-defined objectives, just a sense that we have a tiger by the tail and can’t let go. That’s the success the Cheney gang left behind, self-serving testimonials aside.