Dick Cheney’s terrorism warning

What happened

Former vice president Dick Cheney said in an interview with Politico that there was a “high probability” that terrorists would attempt a nuclear or biological attack against Americans in coming years, and that the Obama administration’s policies would increase the attackers’ chance of success. (Politico)

What the commentators said

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

"We've seen this movie before," said Ben Armbruster in Think Progress. For years Cheney has tried to scare Americans into letting him have his way. Now he's using the same tired tactic to salvage his tattered reputation, and conscience.

Cheney has every right to defend the Bush administration's record, said Lori Byrd in Whizbang. He's only being "true to his reputation" by refusing to back down now that a new team is in power. And why shouldn't he point out that the Bush-Cheney policies kept the country safe for eight years?

There's certainly no reason, said Michael Goldfarb in The Weekly Standard, for "Republicans to bite their tongues" as Obama dismantles the policies that prevented a recurrence of another attack after 9/11. If liberals are right, and security doesn't suffer, terrific. But if there's another attack, they'll pay for it next election day.

See, that's what Cheney's fear-mongering is all about, said Alex Koppelman in Salon. Cheney is slamming the new administration for breaking with the past—closing Guantanamo, abolishing waterboarding—to lay "a foundation of blame in the event terrorists strike the U.S. again."