Cheney: ‘I Basically Don’t’ Think Bush Administration Responsible For Afghanistan Problems

Former Vice President Dick Cheney
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

In an interview with the Politico, former Vice President Dick Cheney attacked President Obama over Afghanistan — and also insisted that the Bush administration is not responsible for the situation in that country:

But Cheney rejected any suggestion that Obama had to decide on a new strategy for Afghanistan because the one employed by the previous administration failed.

Cheney was asked if he thinks the Bush administration bears any responsibility for the disintegration of Afghanistan because of the attention and resources that were diverted to Iraq. “I basically don’t,” he replied without elaborating.

As Spencer Ackerman points out, Cheney’s statement comes right on the heels of a Senate report saying that the United States missed an opportunity to capture Osama bin Laden in December 2001, in Tora Bora. And even without that relevant piece of news, the fact remains that the Bush Administration handed off the Afghanistan situation to Obama in the eighth year of the conflict.

Latest DC
Comments
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Associate Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: