The Anwar al-Awlaki Killing: Cheney's Bluster vs. Obama's Deeds

Mr. Cheney, with all due respect, this is a classic example of when and where actions speak louder than words, and certainly much louder than bluster.
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The one-word-man deviated from his standard one-word script Sunday morning on CNN's State of the Union when discussing the recent drone strike that killed American-born terrorist Anwar al-Awlaki.

But, first, credit where credit is due. Uncharacteristic as it is for him, Former Vice President Dick Cheney praised the U.S. drone strike that killed al-Awlaki and President Obama's decision to carry it out:

I do think this was a good strike. I think the president ought to have that kind of authority to order that kind of strike, even when it involves an American citizen when there is clear evidence that he's part of al Qaeda, planning, cooperating and supporting attacks against the United States... I think the president has all the authority he needs to order this kind of strike...

So far so good. However, Cheney just could not resist poking Obama by claiming that the President's success is because "[The Bush administration] developed the technique and the technology for it..."

OK, Mr. Cheney, you can take some credit for that one. But why do you have to be so cantankerous and, along with your daughter Liz, demand an apology from Obama for actually doing the things that your administration only talked about; for using "some of the same techniques" your administration recommended; for "taking robust action" against the same terrorists you were never able to capture or kill; for Obama's "reluctance to describe the fight against al Qaeda as a 'war,'" and yet achieve the successes that eluded your administration -- in spite of GOP-sanctioned semantics.

Mr. Cheney, with all due respect, this is a classic example of when and where actions speak louder than words, and certainly much louder than bluster.

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