Cheney's Easter Sunday Quotes

Vice President Dick Cheney is on a fast trip around the Middle East. Easter Sunday morning found him in a "tiny chapel in Jerusalem." There he participated in prayer, and sang "Amazing Grace."

Cheney then met with Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian President. It went splendidly. Here are a few of the things Cheney said:

Israelis and Palestinians must make "painful concessions" to defeat those committed to violence.

The U.S. is committed to the creation of an independent Palestinian state. Such a state is "long overdue."

Cheney's advice to Israel: "Achieving that vision [an independent Palestinian state] will require a determination to keep those who are committed to violence and who refuse to accept the basic right of the other side to exist." That's a confusing sentence, but I think he means that Israel should turn the other cheek and work with people [Hamas] who hate Israel, strive to destroy Israel with violence, and refuse to accept Israel's right to exist.

"Terror and violence do not merely kill innocent civilians, they also kill the legitimate hopes and aspirations of the Palestinian people." What the hell does that mean? Is he talking about Israel or Hamas?

[Abbas, of course, wants "Cheney to help stop Israeli settlement expansion and military operations targeting militants."] Abbas did not offer to help stop the daily rockets launched against Israel by the Palestinians.

"...the future belongs to the advocates of peace and reconciliation." With regard to establishing a Palestinian state, Cheney claimed the Bush administration would "commit resources to help the Palestinians build the infrastructure necessary to prosper."

What a pile of crap. We can't even keep our own infrastructure in repair much less build new infrastructures. The Iraq infrastructure has been lying smoldering in ruins for 5 years and we can't seem to get that rebuilt either.

Then an ominous note: The Bush administration is "actively involved in dealing with the threats that we see emerging in the region _ not only threats to Israel, but threats to the United States as well."

Does that sound familiar - sort of like the bullshit Bushite buildup to war with Iraq? It is pretty much the same thing, but here the VP is beating the drum for war with Iran.

Now the real questions are these: Is there anyone left in the world who believes anything Cheney says? Did Cheney say anything new or anything of substance?

It seems that Cheney's trip was mainly to pressure the Israelis and the Palestinians to put down their weapons long enough so that Bush can declare peace, and add that "victory" to his legacy.

Bush has said several times that he want a peace agreement before he leaves office in January 2009. Maybe, because he's such a good ol' boy, the Israelis and the Palestinians will give it to him. Don't bet the farm on it, though.