The other day, ABC News’ The Note reported on some comments from Dick Cheney in the wake of the Chechen attack on a school in Belsan, Russia. Try as I might, I don’t know what the vice president was talking about. I’m pretty sure Cheney didn’t know either.
Cheney: “Russia of course did not support us in Iraq, they did not get involved in sending troops there. They got hit anyway. I think we’re back now reassessing what the motives may be of the people who are launching these attacks.”
Speaking of European countries, Cheney said, “I think some have hoped that if they kept their heads down and stayed out of the line of fire they wouldn’t get hit. I think what happened in Russia demonstrates pretty conclusive that everybody is a target.”
These remarks strike me as odd for any number of reasons.
Cheney seems to suggest there’s a link between the attack from Chenens in Belsan and the war in Iraq. This doesn’t make any sense; the ongoing conflict between Russia and Chechnya pre-dates Iraq, Afghanistan, and 9/11. For Cheney to note that Russia “got hit” despite their opposition to the war in Iraq is to paint “the war on terrorism” with a brush so broad, it strips the phrase of any real meaning.
And what did Cheney mean about the “motives” of the attackers? There’s no great mystery here — Chechnya and Russia have been engaged in a prolonged struggle for a decade. Chechen militants slaughtered Russian children. What about that would cause Cheney and U.S. officials to “reassess” the motivations for terrorism?
Cheney also seemed to suggest that Russia was one of the countries that “kept their heads down and stayed out of the line of fire” because they refused to participate in the war in Iraq. But, again, this doesn’t make any sense. Russia hasn’t stayed out of the line of fire when it comes to Chechnya; the two have been engaged in a bloody conflict for years.
It prompted my friend Polonius to ask, “Does anyone even bother to ask Dick Cheney what he’s talking about anymore?” Given the circumstances, it seems the answer is no. Of course, even is someone did ask, what could he say to explain such bizarre remarks?