SPIN METER

Obama vs. Cheney

[May 22, 2009]  WASHINGTON (AP) -- Two tough speeches conveying two radically different views of America's fight against terrorism and the nation's values unfolded in separate halls, minutes apart.

President Barack Obama spoke Thursday with characteristic nuance in contending the problems he's inherited are not easy to sort out. There were no shades of gray in the words of Dick Cheney. As during his eight years as George W. Bush's vice president, Cheney's world view remains us vs. them.

A look at clashing claims in their speeches:

On Obama's decision to release memos detailing Bush-era interrogation techniques:

Cheney: "Releasing the interrogation memos was flatly contrary to the national security interests of the United States. The harm done only begins with top-secret information now in the hands of terrorists who have just received a lengthy insert for their training manual."

Obama: "I released the memos because the existence of that approach to interrogation was already widely known. The Bush administration had acknowledged its existence. And I had already banned those methods. The argument that, somehow, by releasing those memos, we are providing terrorists with information about how they will be interrogated makes no sense. We will not be interrogating terrorists using that approach. That approach is now prohibited."

Analysis: Not all the techniques were widely known at the time. Among the ones disclosed in the memos: confining a detainee in a box with insects, a practice that was authorized but not used. And there's a difference between practices reported in the press and detailed acknowledgment by the government. For example, Israel doesn't acknowledge that it is a nuclear power, though it is widely held to be one.

Knowing about techniques used in the past, even though they're now banned, could give terrorists a more precise idea of how far the U.S. would go in trying to extract information. Even before the memos came out, al-Qaida in Yemen had published a list of interrogation tactics used against its adherents, including most that were employed by the CIA.

Obama believes coming clean on the techniques advances U.S. security in the long run by raising the nation's moral standing in the world.

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On the legal basis for interrogation techniques and the holding of detainees:

Cheney: "We did not invent that authority. It's drawn from Article Two of the Constitution, and it was given specificity by Congress after 9/11 in a joint resolution authorizing all necessary and appropriate force to protect the American people."

Obama: "The decisions that were made over the last eight years established an ad hoc legal approach for fighting terrorism that was neither effective nor sustainable -- a framework that failed to rely on our legal traditions and time-tested institutions, that failed to use our values as a compass."

Analysis: The Bush administration found Congress to be an eager partner in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, when people greatly feared more danger was imminent. One week after the attacks, Congress overwhelmingly passed a resolution that granted Bush authority to use "all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed or aided the terrorist attacks."

As time passed, however, complaints were heard from lawmakers who never anticipated Bush would run so far with the authority, and they began to question whether he was operating within the bounds of the resolution.

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Applause lines:

Cheney: "When just a single clue that goes unlearned or one lead that goes unpursued can bring on catastrophe, it's no time for splitting differences. There is never a good time to compromise when the lives and safety of the American people hang in the balance."

Obama: "I can stand here today as president of the United States and say without exception or equivocation that we do not torture and that we will vigorously protect our people while forging a strong and durable framework that allows us to fight terrorism while abiding by the rule of law. Make no mistake. If we fail to turn the page on the approach that was taken over the past several years, then I will not be able to say that as president. And if we cannot stand for our core values, then we are not keeping faith with the documents that are enshrined in this hall (the National Archives)."

Analysis: The comments go to the heart of the disagreement. Cheney is uncompromising. Obama criticized both the "anything goes" ethic of the national security hawks and arguments of people on the left who "make little allowance for the unique challenges posed by terrorism and would almost never put national security over transparency." He said "neither side is right."

As Cheney noted in his remarks, there may be an asterisk next to Obama's disavowal of the interrogation techniques of the past. Obama reserves the right to use more aggressive interrogation if a circumstance arises that he deems demands it. And he is exploring whether the CIA should be able to use techniques other than those laid out in the mainstream Army Field Manual.

However, White House officials say the 10 techniques outlined in the Bush administration memos are permanently barred.

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War on terrorism:

Cheney: "Apparently using the term 'war' where terrorists are concerned is starting to feel a bit dated. So henceforth we're advised by the administration to think of the fight against terrorists as 'overseas contingency operations.' ... And when you hear that there are no more enemy combatants, as there were back in the days of that scary war on terror, at first that sounds like progress. The only problem is that the phrase is gone, but the same assortment of killers and would-be mass murderers are still there. And finding some less judgmental or more pleasant-sounding name for terrorists doesn't change what they are or what they would do if we let them loose."

Obama: "Now let me be clear: We are indeed at war with al-Qaida and its affiliates. ... Al-Qaida terrorists and their affiliates are at war with the United States, and those that we capture, like other prisoners of war, must be prevented from attacking us again. "

Analysis: The Obama administration has indeed shied away from talk about the global war on terrorism and officials have at times used clunky euphemisms, including "overseas contingency operations." But as Obama showed in his speech, the president considers the country still at war with terrorists.

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The past eight years:

Cheney: "To the very end of our administration, we kept al-Qaida terrorists busy with other problems. We focused on getting their secrets, instead of sharing ours with them. And on our watch, they never hit this country again. ... It is a record to be continued until the danger has passed."

Obama: "Unfortunately, faced with an uncertain threat, our government made a series of hasty decisions. And I believe that those decisions were motivated by a sincere desire to protect the American people. But I also believe that too often our government made decisions based upon fear rather than foresight, and all too often trimmed facts and evidence to fit ideological predispositions. Instead of strategically applying our power and our principles, we too often set those principles aside as luxuries that we could no longer afford. And in this season of fear, too many of us -- Democrats and Republicans, politicians, journalists and citizens -- fell silent."

Analysis: Cheney's talk about a laser focus on al-Qaida ignores the decision to make war on Iraq, where the terrorist organization was not a presence until after the toppling of Saddam Hussein. Nor did Iraq have weapons of mass destruction, as Cheney and Bush said at the time that it did.

History will need longer to judge whether it was Bush's policies that prevented another catastrophic attack on U.S. soil, whether those policies raised dangers by exacerbating anti-American extremism abroad -- or both at once.

[Associated Press; By CALVIN WOODWARD]

Associated Press writers Lara Jakes and Pamela Hess contributed to this report.

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