Cheney Thought He Had Lethal Anthrax Dose

[sabra]

Source: ABC News


Scare Prompted Veep to Take Hard Line on Terror Suspects, New Book Contends

In the days after 9/11, when fears of another terrorist strike were at their peak, Vice President Dick Cheney was convinced that he had been subjected to a lethal dose of anthrax, according to a new book.

White House insiders from that white-knuckle time told author Jane Mayer, who authored "The Dark Side, The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned into a War on American Ideals," that the scare contributed to Cheney's insistence on hard-line tactics for fighting terror.

Mayer, a writer for the New Yorker, claims that the vice president became the driving force in pushing for tougher interrogation tactics that critics charge went over the legal line and constitute torture.

...

On Oct. 18, 2001, a White House alarm went off indicating that sensors had detected dangerous levels of radioactive, chemical or biological agents. According to Mayer, anyone who had entered the White House situation room, including Cheney, had been exposed.

...

When vice president wasn't in the bunker, Mayer claims that "a sense of constant danger followed Cheney everywhere." The route was altered daily during the veep's commute to his above-ground office. On the back seat next to him would be a duffel bag stuffed with a gas mask and biochemical survival suit. And a doctor nearly always traveled with him, "The Dark Side" claims.

Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=5368813&page=1

[trotsky]

1. So not only is he a chickenhawk,

he's also chickenshit.

[hootinholler]

62. Nope.

He's chickenhawkshit, but with the numbers of people he's really pissed off (or on), he has good reason to be paranoid. Hmmm, do VP's get the presidential security package? Well, I guess he can always hire Blackwater.

I'm waiting for him to be toast, personally.

-Hoot

[DU9598]

2. What a shrinking violet

Was he also scared of the sun?

[Andrea]

39. DUH!

Aren't ALL vampires scared of the sun?

:rofl:

[fascisthunter]

3. uhuh... most criminals fear the same...

will be done to them.

[notadmblnd]

4. why would he think that? Is he the one who sent it to everyone else?

If I'm not mistaken the entire *bush admin was given Cipro pretty early on?

[woodsprite]

31. He must have forgotten to wear gloves ---- n/t

[mountainvue]

81. My thoughts exactly. n/t

[robertpaulsen]

32. Damn right. Cheney & his staff took Cipro starting on the evening of 9/11.

Seven days before any anthrax letters were sent.

On the night of the Sept. 11 attacks, the White House Medical Office dispensed Cipro to staff accompanying Vice President Dick Cheney as he was secreted off to the safety of Camp David, and told them it was "a precaution," according to one person directly involved.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/20011023/aponline201158_000.htm

[defendandprotect]

115. Yeah . . . they got a warning . . . supposedly . . .

[Duppers]

33. You're Absolutely Right !!!

nt

[elehhhhna]

59. My first thought was Did he spill it when he mailed it? LOL

I SMELL BALONEY. It's a convenient lie to humanize him (lol nice try!) and to justify his tearing up the constitution. Nope. Not buying it. Too bad he didn't put any attention on "catching" the Anthrax perp, either. What a load: Cheney's looking for the anthrax guy, Bush for OBL, and OJ for Nichole's killer.

[Maat]

97. I'm with you.

Having gone through law school and been a social worker for years, I'm convinced that everything from the months before 9/11 (the illegal spying) to the torture to the invasions to Abu Graib and Gitmo were meticulously planned, including the legal justifications. Deciding to break international and domestic law (e.g. the Geneva Conventions) didn't just happen over night due to one incident, and I say it happened BEFORE that incident.

We're being fed propaganda to humanize him here - I don't buy it.

[loveable liberal]

5. bock bock bock BOOOOOWWWWCKKKK bock bock bock....

[Orrex]

6. Anthrax? Feh. Bring on the garlic

:mad:

[Enrique]

7. can anthrax kill him?

I thought only garlic and holy water? :shrug:

[Kittycat]

14. Doubtful. He's like a cockroach. He'll be the only thing crawling around

after he blows the place up.

[salguine]

24. Personally I find the prospect of Keith Richards being the one person Dick Cheney

would have to hang around with hysterical. "Fancy a bit of smack, Dickie?" "Rrrrraawrrr."

[Jefferson23]

19. LOL

[harun]

111. If he can live through 16 heart attacks I am surprised he would be afraid of anything (n/t)

[islandmkl]

8. about this line:

"On Oct. 18, 2001, a White House alarm went off indicating that sensors had detected dangerous levels of radioactive, chemical or biological agents. According to Mayer, anyone who had entered the White House situation room, including Cheney, had been exposed."


"Okay....who had the black beans with their tacos last night?"

[defendandprotect]

116. Remember the reports of Air Force One having received threats . . . ????

How did all of that BS go . . . ???

And, wasn't it really only the right-wing journalist -- for the NY Tiems --- who challenged them
on it!! It was all a lie, of course ---

[WriteDown]

9. He is like...

The Nazi Colonel from Hellboy. His blood has turned to blood decades ago and he is powered by a set of gears :)

[keithjx]

10. so the terrorists beat Cheney, anyway.

The most disturbing part of this is that he has so much power in this administration as was so susceptible to being terrified. We're dang lucky this guy wasn't Kennedy's VP during the missle crisis.

I gotta admit, though, the image of Cheney with a stead trickle of urine down his leg makes me :rofl:....
KJ

[dysfunctional press]

11. did he accidentally expose himself when he was filling the envelopes he sent to senate Dems...?

:shrug:

what a pansy-ass...good thing for him that he got those deferments- he never would have made it back from the 'nam.

[vanboggie]

45. Darth Deferment

Too bad he didn't go to Nam then. The world would have been a much :bounce: happier :bounce: place.

How does a dickless wonder expose himself, anyway? :shrug:

Who do they think would read this bullcrap from "The Dark Side" and how did the writer know that's where we always say Chimp 'n Cheney reside? Evil Bastard was afraid of anthrax? I believe that's called projection.

[Maat]

98. Now, THAT'S more like it, QuestionAll.

The idea that he just lost it (some will say justifiably) and this country systematically went around engaging in the most illegal and morally reprehensible practices is just nonsense.

[conflictgirl]

104. I literally LOL'ed at your response...good job!

That's pretty much my own train of thought on the subject as well.

[Bob Dobbs]

12. What a complete load of crap!

Darth was never exposed to shit.

He was the one calling the shots on who to send it to.

This is the most pathetic CYA propaganda meme ever, and that's saying something with this administration.

[glitch]

51. However - it's interesting that they feel they need it, don't you think?

Maybe even promising.

edit: they're like squids, the minute they sense a threat they start spreading the ink. Let's just hope this threat (of prosecution) is real...

[elehhhhna]

61. very!

plus I'm stealing your squid line for my sigline...if you don't mind. thanks!

[glitch]

73. Oh, I am very pleased! nt

[judasdisney]

88. Damn right. This is baloney.

This is exactly parallel to David Addington saying that "controlled demolition was the first thing" he thought of when he watched the Twin Towers pancake in free-fall time directly vertically.

[blogslut]

113. No, he wasn't - as the article states

"It turned out that the detection system had malfunctioned and there was no hazard."

In other words, he got askeerd and never got over it.

[PassingFair]

13. Did he get some on his lips from closing the envelopes?

I'd be worried, too, if
I was UP TO MY NECK IN IT!

[LeftishBrit]

15. Had a lethal dose of something, or is a lethal dose of something?

[LSparkle]

16. Land of the (not so) free and the home of the (not so) brave

Poor lil' Cheney, skeered to death that he'd been anthrax'd ...
AND IT WASN'T ONLY HIM in the Sit Room .. figures he'd only be
concerned about HIMSELF, not the others who may have been poisoned.

These people are ALL ABOUT THEMSELVES and not about the country.

[Algorem]

17. paranoid delusions

sane guy

[Mrs. Overall]

27. Paranoia--my first thought also.

[thecrow]

54. Absolutely PARANOID

I wonder if "the voices" told him to torture people, too....

:crazy: :crazy: :crazy: :crazy: :crazy: :crazy: :crazy: :crazy:

[On the Road]

18. Wow, That Explains a Lot

I don't know why everyone is poo-pooing this account, but it makes sense of a lot of things in retrospect.

[rucognizant]

36. We're poopoo-ing, because it rings VERY FALSE

[CJCRANE]

106. Why didn't he CATCH the anthrax mailer then?

Why didn't Bush-Cheney make it a priority to actually *catch* the anthrax mailer?

The mailer was supposedly in New Jersey and the anthrax was allegedly from Fort Detrick.

[Jefferson23]

20. War criminal is what he is, paranoid bastard. Frontline did an expose on him

months ago and people close to Cheney called the change in him paranoid. I don't recall it being linked to anthrax.

[KurtNYC]

21. Propaganda

written to justify and explain away the theft of American ideals and liberty.

[Festivito]

94. Rather, DISINFORMATION to hide that only Dems received it.

He might have been exposed when he met with the guy who did send it. That would explain his use of CIPRO prior to the attacks.

[L. Coyote]

22. Let's see, who believes this? Noone or just Cheney?

[alcibiades_mystery]

23. Cheney feared exposure to garlic, sunlight

:rofl:

[sui generis]

25. nope. Just a flare up of chronic evil into Acute Evil. /nt

[robertpaulsen]

26. I call bullshit. Cheney started taking Cipro on THE EVENING OF 9/11.

From AP:

On the night of the Sept. 11 attacks, the White House Medical Office dispensed Cipro to staff accompanying Vice President Dick Cheney as he was secreted off to the safety of Camp David, and told them it was "a precaution," according to one person directly involved.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/20011023/aponline201158_000.htm

Better for Cheney to look like a paranoid case that makes Nixon look sane rather than a cool as a cucumber control freak who knew what was coming around the bend.

[Raster]

35. And I agree with your BULLSHIT!!!

The only way dickless cheney* may have been exposed to anthrax is by licking his fingers after sealing the anthrax-poisoned envelopes. And let's not mince words: cheney* is a member of the un-dead. Anthrax would have no affect on cheney*.

This is laying the grounds for another exercise in revisionist history by cheney*/bush*.

[KurtNYC]

28. They must have their dates wrong bc we all know "we haven't been attacked since 911"

This story is absolute BS but it conjures images of Cheney as Lady MacBeth.

Doctor:
What is it she does now? Look how she rubs her hands.


Gentlewoman:
It is an accustom'd action with her, to seem thus
washing her hands. I have known her continue in this a quarter of
an hour.


Lady Macbeth Cheney:
Yet here's a spot.


Doctor:
Hark, she speaks. I will set down what comes from her, to
satisfy my remembrance the more strongly.


Lady Macbeth Cheney:
Out, damn'd spot! out, I say!—One; two: why, then
'tis time to do't.—Hell is murky.—Fie, my lord, fie, a soldier, and
afeard? What need we fear who knows it, when none can call our
pow'r to accompt?—Yet who would have thought the old man (Uncle Sam) to
have had so much blood in him?

[AlbertCat]

86. Good one!

By the pricking of my thumbs
Bush's torture memo this way comes

[KurtNYC]

87. LOL

[superconnected]

29. I wish.

[CoffeeCat]

30. So.........

....my email is being read, my phone is tapped, my Habeas right are gone, my country is bankrupt,
and I have to take my shoes off before I get on a plane---because Dick Cheney is a big, fat wussy boy?

Is that how it is?

[havocmom]

82. That would look good on a tee shirt

or billboard.

[nam78_two]

34. He sucks so much more than any one human being should.nt

[Ian David]

37. So, Cheney admits he put the Anthrax in the envelopes himself? n/t

[BrklynLiberal]

38. That evil critter reminds me of the General in "Dr. Strangelove".

Just substitute "terrorist" for "Commie"

General Jack D. Ripper: Nineteen hundred and forty-six. Nineteen forty-six, Mandrake. How does that coincide with your post-war Commie conspiracy, huh? It's incredibly obvious, isn't it? A foreign substance is introduced into our precious bodily fluids without the knowledge of the individual. Certainly without any choice. That's the way your hard-core Commie works.

[htuttle]

47. I've always thought of him as more of a Baron Harkonnen type

"WHERE'S MY DOCTOR!??"

[Chulanowa]

53. Vladimir is less corpulent

and has a sunnier disposition.

[Captain Angry]

40. I would think the situation room would be a little hard to get to.

Unless he thinks its an inside job.

I mean, do they actually receive mail in that room? How would any container make it that deep into the White House? Come on.

[crimsonblue]

41. Dangerous paranoia?

that's a sure sign of mental disease of some kind. Dickhead Cheney is clearly unbalanced. I feel sooo blessed that Cheney didn't get anthrax...

[Pastiche423]

42. Din't someone (Hatfill) recently win some big money

after being accused of sending the anthrax and proving he had not?

Deadeye is just trying to get ahead of the claims that may come of his involvement.

I am so f'ing sick of the stinking pile of propaganda that is fed to us daily.

[Raster]

49. BINGO! We have a WINNAH!

cheney* just trying to get ahead of the revisionist history curve!

"Oh golly-gee, how could anyone even suspect vice pResident cheney*...after all, wasn't he almost poisoned also?"

[Pastiche423]

58. Thank you, thank you, thank you

*Taking a bow*

[Kali]

52. not sure anythign was proven either way

think the suit was because feds released his name (as a suspect) ruined his reputation

[Pastiche423]

57. Wrong!

Researcher Steven Hatfill wins settlement in anthrax case
By A. James Memmott | June 29, 2008 at 8:57am | 0

Dr. Steven J. Hatfill, a biomedical researcher, is no longer a person of interest in the investigation of the deadly 2001 anthrax attacks in the United States.

And should anyone question his innocence, he will have $5.8 million to show that the government no longer considers him a suspect.

http://news.muckety.com/2008/06/29/researcher-steven-hatfill-wins-settlement-in-anthrax-case/3782

[hootinholler]

65. WRONG!

He won because they trashed his career, not because he proved himself innocent. It's a libel thing.

-Hoot

[Pastiche423]

66. Re-read the article I posted

[hootinholler]

68. Where does it say he "proved his Innocence?"

He didn't, nor should he have had to. He was never charged with a crime. He sued because he was smeared by the Dept. of Just Us, and won.

I suggest you go read your article.

-Hoot

[Pastiche423]

69. The article states:

And should anyone question his innocence, he will have $5.8 million to show that the government no longer considers him a suspect.

The government no longer considers him a suspect equals he is not guilty.

[hootinholler]

70. That is not proof of innocence.

That is proof that the government never had a case against him, and used him as a scapegoat.

-Hoot

[Pastiche423]

77. And the difference is?

[hootinholler]

79. The foundation of US law.

No one has to prove their innocence. The very idea is anathematic to what the constitution's Bill of Rights set out to accomplish.

;)

-Hoot, who is wondering if anathematic is an actual word.

[Kali]

71. How am I wrong?

He sued because they ruined his rep, lost his job. Nobody proved who did it, thus his innocence has NOT been established other than the legal def. of innocent until proven guilty. (and not that he was under any obligation to prove his own innocence, but solving the case would) Likewise just because they dropped him as a suspect for lack of evidence doesn't mean he is innocent or guilty either.

[smoogatz]

43. He was worried the vial of weaponized anthrax in his desk drawer

may have leaked, I guess.

Actually what this tells me is that the anthrax attacks originated from inside the White House. Crazy.

[yasmina27]

44. Ooooooga booooooga! n/t

[MadrasT]

46. Makes me wonder...

... how different the world would be today if the Dark One *had* received a lethal dose of Anthrax on 10/18/01...

[truthisfreedom]

48. "The Dark Side, The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned into a War on American Ideals,"

I couldn't have titled it better myself.

[pjt7]

50. No Republican politicans

recieved Anthrax, why would he be worried?

[earth mom]

55. ROFLMAO! Gawd do they really think we are this stupid to believe this?!

What a load of b.s! :puke:

[greiner3]

56. Damn;

I was wondering why that didn't work!

[elehhhhna]

60. If it didn't even give him an extra heart attack, he was not really scared.

That's how you know he's tense. His ticker pops off again.

[REACTIVATED IN CT]

63. He thought he was dead ?

How else would he know that he had a "lethal" dose of Anthrax ?

[undeterred]

64. Did he contaminate himself when sending it?

[Solly Mack]

67. that's right up there with "they tried to kill my daddy"

[JohnyCanuck]

72. Assuming this was true.......

Dick should have got on the blower to Fort Detrick right away and reamed them out for sending the anthrax to the wrong address. "For fuck's sake guys, what the hell were you thinking? Didn't I stress to you over and over, send it to the Dems and Media VIPs only?"

Even Fort Detrick Scientists Themselves Thin the Killer Anthrax Came From Their Facility

Even experts at the U.S. bioweapons facility at Fort Detrick think that the anthrax which was used in the 2001 attacks came from their facility:

"In an e-mail obtained by FOX News, scientists at Fort Detrick openly discussed how the anthrax powder they were asked to analyze after the attacks was nearly identical to that made by one of their colleagues.

"Then he said he had to look at a lot of samples that the FBI had prepared ... to duplicate the letter material," the e-mail reads. "Then the bombshell. He said that the best duplication of the material was the stuff made by (name redacted). He said that it was almost exactly the same … his knees got shaky and he sputtered, 'But I told the General we didn't make spore powder!'"

Indeed, 3 of the 4 suspects the FBI is investigating are employees of Fort Detrick, which is run by the Army.

This new information verifies that the anthrax came from the Fort Detrick military base (confirmed here).

http://georgewashington2.blogspot.com/2008/05/new-development-in-anthrax.html

[PerfectSage]

74. I'll bet Cheney is setting up his insanity plea for his eventual war crimes trial.

[Flagg]

75. If only...

[kskiska]

76. Remember the W.H. solicitation for dollars for toys for Afghani children?

The money was going to the White House until the anthrax threat. Then the mail all went elsewhere. Later we found out that the toy packages being dropped were the same color yellow as cluster bombs.

[DeepModem Mom]

78. Oh, Lord. K&R

[Ediacara]

80. Why would he be afraid? They only sent anthrax to Democrats

[Alexander]

83. Maybe we now know who "they" were.

[Eurobabe]

84. Cheney fears garlic and crosses

and sunlight too, I've heard. Who needs gas masks?

[bitchkitty]

85. Huh - more's the pity. n/t

[Speaker]

89. Bullshit.

Cheney knew where the anthrax letters were going, even before they were mailed.

[and-justice-for-all]

90. Nope, just Georgie's coke..nt

[Nihil]

91. Unfortunately, he was mistaken. (n/t)

[Marie26]

92. Big baby.

Most bullies are.

[PfcHammer]

93. stoopid turd

bet he had easy access to booze the whole time

[Javaman]

95. But because his soul is so evil, the anthrax was scared out of his body. nt

[OnionPatch]

96. Yeah, good cover to pretend he was afraid, too.

I can see him smiling and tapping his fingers together with glee.

[cannabis_flower]

99. If only!! n/t

[crim son]

100. Damn. I was hoping it was yesterday and I was hoping he was right.

*sigh*

[grasswire]

101. bogus bogus bogus

This is the same M.O. as W. saying that he took out Saddam because "he tried to kill my daddy."

Cheap, superficial bogosity.

[lonestarnot]

102. He needs to go eat a few cat turds and quit quivering. Some Darth he makes. Can't even do that

right the mechanical freak.

[DearAbby]

103. Didn't Darth get the memo

only Democrats and "Liberal" Reporters were targets of the Antrax. Ol Darth must have looked like a kid with powdered sugar around his mouth, licking envelopes, was convinced he had a lethal dose.

[Posteritatis]

105. Is there even such a thing as a "lethal dose of anthrax?"

I kinda figured one's anthrax-having state was an either/or sort of thing, not this sliding scale of progressive doominess.

[treestar]

107. Darth had dictatorial ambitions well before 911

911 merely gave him and his kind an excuse to get things passed that were unthinkable before.

[MetaTrope]

108. It was a fatal anthrax dose--the spores died upon hitting his bloodstream

He just had to take the Cipro later to make it look like it wasn't an accident.

[lumberjack_jeff]

109. "You tit! I soiled my armor, I was so scared!"

VP Sir Robin

[librechik]

110. Sure. Right. How convenient.

If you were the anthrax spreader. you could "inoculate" yourself against suspicion by merely claiming you were afraid of a lethal dose too.

Indeed. That's why he started taking Cipro--DAYS BEFORE THE ANTHRAX ATTACKS. He was afraid he would get a lethal dose because he knew the anthrax was about to be sent, covered with jihadic nonsense to direct suspicion on to Al Qaeda.

[Gman]

112. LOL! And Cheney's not even a Democrat or a liberal

as all the Anthrax recipients were.

[blogslut]

114. It was a false alarm

The article states just that:

It turned out that the detection system had malfunctioned and there was no hazard.

This little tidbit is kind of important because it means that Cheney lost it based on a false alarm and still harbored the resentment. He pushed for torture because of something that did not happen. That's even more messed up than if he actually been exposed.

[RainDog]

121. yes. others here are ignoring what happened with the alarm

as far as taking cipro- I would imagine, just as with Ollie North's plans for continuation of govt. and plans to lock up black ppl because of riots (gotta love those republican bigots) anyway, I would imagine that taking cipro would have been one of those things that was part of a "preparedness plan" in advance... just like going to a bunker would be.

the shame is that someone(s) KNEW of a threat of anthrax, including JOURNALISTS, who chose to keep this information to themselves (no doubt to avoid a panic, they would tell themselves) and let the rest of us suffer whatever fate might befall us... tho maybe the guy at the Enquirer would be alive today if journalists hadn't kept the info to themselves. (as in Richard Cohen via GG's article at Salon.) But there wasn't enough cipro to go around, so why bother to tell the public, huh?

And please remember at the time of these attacks, THE U.S. GOVT REFUSED TO BREAK THE PATENT ON CIPRO SO THAT GENERIC (CHEAP) VERSIONS COULD BE PRODUCED. Yes, our govt. valued a corporation's profits over the potential threat of death to dozens, maybe hundreds, maybe thousands... no one knew at the time (at least no one who wasn't involved.)

so did they refuse to break the patent (Canada did do this, btw) because they're greedy fascist bastards or because they knew the threat only extended to the liberal media and liberals in the leg. who were questioning the patriot act?

It is stunning for me to think back over these years and see just how horrific life has been under Bush/Cheney. Why can they just get away with this shit?

[donco6]

117. So he gets a personal guard, gas mask and bio suit. . . .

. . . and we get plastic trash bags and duct tape.

Yeah, that sounds fair.

[lovuian]

118. this is such BS he was part of the psychops on US people

total BS

[RainDog]

119. hmmmm... psyops on Darth Deferment?

on the day of the 9-11 attacks, he was hustled to the bunker while Bush sat there, looking like the clueless frat boy that he is to this day, in a school room full of children.

then Darth Deferment is led to believe he has been fatally attacked by anthrax.. by muslims.. by Iraq, as was claimed.

Darth Deferment is only brave when he's shooting old farts in the face, I guess.

Then Darth Deferment stovepipes intel about Iraq to confirm the misinformation he already believes. Probably with the help of the same ppl who psyched him out about an anthrax attack.

All I know is that this govt is broken and the republicans broke it. They need to pay us back for the damages they've done. Can we bring a class-action lawsuit against them for bilking the public? I wish.

[OKthatsIT]

120. So much Psyops Foolery going on these days

Don't forget...REPEAT THE PROPAGANDA, BOYS!

[goforit]

122. Good cover story Dick. Yah dish it out and then pretend you're the "VICTIM"

[MinM]

123. On Oct. 18, 2001, a White House alarm went off indicating...

Oct. 18, 2001 seems to have been the day to raise the Anthrax False Flag:

John McCain, on the David Letterman Show, October 18, 2001
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x164521

[proud2BlibKansan]

124. Hmm that might explain this: