Dick Chaney's latest interview

Interesting interview with Dick Cheney Saturday, on CNN. The former US Vice President commented on several different topics. He pretty much let's the world know we are in for another terrorist attack since we have relaxed our policies on interogating terrorists. Here's what he had to say:

[On the economy] "I don't think you can blame the Bush administration for the creation of those circumstances.

We did try, earlier in the administration, to impose reforms on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and we ran into a stone wall on Capitol Hill in the form of the chairmen and -- of the Banking Committee in the House and the Senate, Barney Frank and Chris Dodd. The Democrats absolutely opposed any effort to reform those two institutions, and I think the collapse of those two institutions, as much as anything, contributed to the financial difficulties we've been living with since.

…it seems to me an administration does have an obligation to set priorities and go after that first. It also occurs to me that one of the tools that is most important to doing that is tax policy, and cutting taxes, especially for those who invest and create wealth and create jobs. That's not what we're seeing.

I was concerned when the first stimulus program wasn't put together in the administration but, rather, was something they sort of chucked up on Capitol Hill and let the Congress write that legislation which says, to me, there really isn't a coherent approach at this point to try and improve the economy.

If the system is bad, if it freezes up, the only one that can fix that is the federal government.

[On President Obama] But there's no question that what the economic circumstances that he inherited are difficult ones. You know, we said that before we left. I don't think you can blame the Bush administration for the creation of those circumstances.

He's the president of the United States. He gets to put forward the program he wants.

And, frankly, I think the programs that he has recommended and pursuing in health care, in energy, and so forth, constitute probably the biggest or one of the biggest expansions of federal authority over the private economy in the history of the republic.
And now he is making some choices that, in my mind, will, in fact, raise the risk to the American people of another attack.

When you go back to the law enforcement mode, which I sense is what they're doing, closing Guantanamo and so forth, that they are very much giving up that center of attention and focus that's required, and that concept of military threat that is essential if you're going to successfully defend the nation against further attacks.


[On Iraq] He's [President Obama] tried to, I think, keep his campaign commitments, but I do think he has modified his position some, and I think that's a plus. I think he's dealt with the people who have been in the field, who have been in charge and responsible for these policies, and, hopefully, that's had an impact on him. They are good folks.

[On Iran] Well, you've got to find ways, I think, to avoid having Iran develop an inventory of nuclear weapons. We've talked about this for years. We worked it aggressively through the international community and with a lot of our friends in Europe... The circumstances now, though, are that we still have an Iran that I believe is pursuing nuclear weapons. What they've done, I think, as best I can tell -- I'm not reading the intelligence reports anymore like I did before January -- is they produced a fair amount of low enriched uranium, the kind that you would use for a power plant. That's the hardest step to get to. Once you have got low enriched uranium, it's relatively simple to change it to highly enriched uranium, and that's the last step that's needed before you have got fissile material for a weapon. So I'm not sure exactly where they are at this point, but I am confident of what their objective is, and I don't think that's changed.

... we need to be able to go after and capture or kill those people who are trying to kill Americans. That's not a pleasant business. It's a very serious business, and I suppose sometimes people look at my demeanor and say, well, he's the Darth Vader of the administration.

[On President Bush] I supported what he did. I supported his policies. And I got to argue my case with him."


You can read the entire transcript here