Liz Cheney's Trouble With History

Maybe it's because the Cheney family has finally realized that to much of America the former Vice President comes off like Darth Vader without the charm and personality, but recently his daughter, Liz, has taken over the role as the family spokesperson. But if Liz Cheney's going to be front and center in policy debates, she needs to take a remedial course in history, fast.

Liz's first whopper came a few days ago when she said on MSNBC that her dad and President Bush had kept America safe for the past eight years. It's a fine statement that overlooks one small incident - 9/11 (hardly worth mentioning, I know), unless Liz somehow thinks having 3,000 people killed in the worst terrorist attack on American soil somehow qualifies as 'keeping us safe'...

But even if you're willing to give her a pass on that titanic faux pas, Liz Cheney shows in the pages of the Wall Street Journal that she has some big problems with world history as well. She attacks President Obama for his recent speech in Moscow, accusing him of getting the facts of the Cold War wrong. "The Cold War ended not because the Soviets decided it should but because they were no match for the forces of freedom...", she states.

Actually the Cold War ending because the Soviets decided it should isn't too far from the truth, and it's much closer to reality than the version pushed by the Conservatives of Reagan the Victorious. The Cold War ended because Mikhail Gorbachev tried to reform the Soviet system, found it couldn't be done and decided in the end to let the Soviet Union dissolve rather than trying to keep it together through force of arms. Sure Reagan began his term as President by railing against the "evil empire" (as he once referred to the Soviet Union), but his tone changed when Gorbachev came to power. Reagan saw Gorby as a man he could work with on his ultimate goal - eliminating the potential for nuclear war between the superpowers. By the time Gorbachev took power, Reagan didn't want to destroy the Soviets, but rather work with them to achieve his goal.

Liz Cheney goes on to slam Obama for bringing up "American support for the 1953 coup in Iran" during his speech in Cairo aimed at the worldwide Muslim community. Strike two for Cheney - America didn't "support" the coup, the CIA engineered the whole thing, even roping in the very reluctant Shah to take control of Iran once their democratically-elected Prime Minister Mohammed Mosaddeq was disposed.

But wait, she's not done yet! Cheney tries to end her screed with one last shot at Obama, saying he's weakening America "by cutting our weapons systems and our defensive capabilities." Um, you mean like Secretary of Defense Richard Cheney (dear ol' dad) did during the George H. W. Bush administration, when he cut the the size of the military (in personnel terms) by almost 20%?

Like the old saying goes: you're entitled to your own opinions Liz, but not your own facts.