The Debate was a Gift
to the People
The extraordinary debate - which is what it was - between President Obama and former Vice President Cheney about national security in the post-9-11 era was a gift to the citizenry. In Mr. Cheney's words, "You can look at the facts and conclude that the [Bush administration] strategy has worked...Or, you can look at the same set of facts and conclude that 9/11 was a one-off event... Whichever conclusion you arrive at, it will shape your entire view of the last seven years, and of the policies necessary to protect America for years to come."
Regular readers know JINSA believes the United States is engaged in a war against terrorists and the states that harbor and support them. We believe the war began with the success of the Iranian Revolution in 1979, but wasn't engaged by the American government until after September 11, 2001. But readers know as well that we expressed frustration time and again with the failure of President Bush to share his thinking and confide the rationale for post-9-11 policies he deemed essential. It seems to us an indispensable part of Presidential leadership.
With that in mind, we were very pleased that President Obama took to the floor of the National Archive to explain his security framework and the thinking behind his decision to close Guantanamo, his decision to use military tribunals for captured terrorists who cannot be tried in U.S. courts, and his belief that "our values have been our best national security asset, in war and peace; in times of ease and in eras of upheaval."
On the other hand, it was disappointing to hear him characterize the Bush Administration as a-historical and willing to "trim the facts," and there were too many straw men built up and then blown over. He characterized post-9-11 saying, "During this season of fear, too many of us...fell silent... we went off course...we're cleaning up something that is, quite simply, a mess - a misguided experiment." That is unfair to the Democrats and Republicans who struggled with security and their consciences to keep us safe while staying true to American values.
Mr. Cheney began by admitting, "Watching a coordinated, devastating attack on our country from an underground bunker at the White House can affect how you view your responsibilities." And he did something truly courageous, defending "the lawful, skillful, and entirely honorable work of CIA personnel trained to deal with a few malevolent men...Interrogators had authoritative guidance on the line between toughness and torture, and they knew to stay on the right side of it."
On the other hand, even Mr. Cheney couldn't argue when the President said, "My single most important responsibility as President is to keep the American people safe. It's the first thing that I think about when I wake up in the morning. It's the last thing that I think about when I go to sleep at night... We are indeed at war with al Qaeda and its affiliates."
We want more opportunities to listen to articulate voices from across the political spectrum working to make political and national security sense of the war in which we find our country and our allies engaged. We are certain the President will do his part; we hope Mr. Cheney and others will continue to do theirs.
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