Generals Fire Back at Dick Cheney

Generals Fire Back at Dick Cheney

Feb. 22) -- Two of the nation's best-known military figures are challenging former Vice President Dick Cheney's criticism of the Obama administration.

Gen. David Petraeus, head of the U.S. Central Command, and Colin Powell, who chaired the Joint Chiefs of Staff and served as secretary of state, defended the president on Sunday morning talk shows after fresh attacks by Cheney and his daughter, Liz, at last week's Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).

The ex-VP got into a TV duel with Vice President Joe Biden the previous weekend over the administration's approach to fighting terrorism. Cheney followed up at CPAC with more charges that Obama isn't being tough enough in his handling of terrorist suspects. Liz Cheney echoed her dad's theme -- saying she worries because "we no longer have the option of using any of the enhanced interrogation techniques."

Petraeus was asked during his appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press" about the administration's refusal to use techniques it considers torture -- such as waterboarding. He said America's enemies seize on incidents such as the abuse of suspects at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and "continue to beat you with them like a stick."

"Whenever we have taken expedient measures, they have turned around and bitten us in the backside," Petraeus added.

The general's remarks spurred The Washington Independent's Spencer Ackerman to fire off an open letter to Liz Cheney.

"You're a former deputy assistant secretary of state! You obviously know better than the man who implemented the surge in Iraq," he wrote. "Why don't you enlighten Gen. Petraeus about all the glories of torture?"

Petraeus' stand against torture isn't new. But The Washington Monthly's Steve Benen saw the general's comments as "a reminder that the right-wing GOP stands at odds with the American military establishment -- including arguably the decorated general they claim to revere -- on the key national security issues of the day."

On CBS, Powell took aim at Cheney's claim that the country is in greater danger now because it doesn't use extreme interrogation.

"The bottom line answer is the nation is still at risk. Terrorists are out there," Powell said on "Face the Nation." "But to suggest that somehow we have become much less safer because of the actions of the administration, I don't think that's borne out by the facts."

Powell also caught flak from some conservative bloggers for saying he has no regrets about endorsing Obama for president. Big Government's Michael Zak charged Powell didn't "have the courage to admit his mistake."

"It's never easy to say you were wrong," added Commentary's Jennifer Rubin, who said Obama supporters like Powell have been "badly snookered."

While Powell and Cheney are at odds over much of what the president is doing, they're coming together on one thorny issue -- allowing gays to serve openly in the military. Dick and Liz Cheney both think it's time to repeal "don't ask, don't tell" and Powell agrees. Petraeus is keeping his opinion to himself for now, but said on NBC Sunday that troops might not really care much about the issue anymore.