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Dick Cheney wanted American/Russian conflict in Georgia

"The sheer scale of the Russian attack did lead several senior White House staffers to push for at least some consideration of limited military options to stem the Russian advance,"

OMG!!!!!
 
um.....can you imagine the possibilities of American and Russian forces on opposite sides of a conflict in Georgia?

things could have gotten very ugly..very quickly.

Bush was very wise NOT to pursue such a risky move.
 
Okay, so I did as the article suggested and searched the book on Amazon. Cheney is mentioned on one page in the book. The quote mentioning Cheney is really all there is to it. At best, which is what the article really claims, is that analysis of the book reveals the author thought Cheney wanted to consider military options in the situation. Cheney's staff and Hadley's staff both considered military options, Hadley emphasizing possible consequences while Cheney emphasized a hard edged view of Moscow's goals.

So Cheney looked into Putin's eyes, saw his soul and did not trust him. The President was advised of everyone's opinions and the consequences of the actions. The decision was to focus on humanitarian aid with the message that US had military options but did not want to escalate. No mention of anyone arguing with the final decision or pressing for military options. The book even mentions when Hadley put the military option on the table to judge support that there was no support. No mention of Cheney pressing for the military option or attempting to subvert the President's final decision.

Frankly I think the right decision was made on this. Considering the military option was appropriate. Not trusting the goals of Russia in Georgia was appropriate.

:rule10, I think I just agreed with Cheney and George Bush on a military operation.
 
WildCat said:
Because the quotes in the linked story don't support their own headline.
Click to expand...

I disagree. But, if you have a problem with this, you are free to contact the writer to complain, for he is the one making the claim and the burden of proof...is on him.
 
parky76 said:
I think you should contact the author of the claim.
Click to expand...
So in other words, you posted a claim and can't provide any evidence in support of the claim.

You do realize this is a skeptic board, don't you?
 
Premise: Dick Cheney wanted American/Russian conflict in Georgia

Result: FAIL
 
WildCat said:
Premise: Dick Cheney wanted American/Russian conflict in Georgia

Result: FAIL
Click to expand...

oh...really?

http://blogs.ft.com/rachmanblog/2010/02/did-dick-cheney-want-to-start-a-war-with-russia/

"For me, the most fascinating revelation in the book comes on p.186, where Asmus appears to reveal that Vice-President Dick Cheney was pressing for the US to bomb Russia’s invading troops in Georgia.

Asmus doesn’t quite spell it out. But the key passages clearly point in that direction. He writes that the White House considered “limited military options to stem the Russian advance”, including “the possibility of bombardment and the sealing of the Roki Tunnel as well as other surgical strikes to reduce Russian military pressure.”

He also writes that there was a disagreement between Steve Hadley, George W. Bush’s National Security Adviser and Dick Cheney, the vice-president. Hadley “thought Russia was focused only on Georgia”, while “Cheney had a different and harder-edged view of Moscow’s goals.” Asmus adds - “Both Hadley and Cheney’s staff had also considered the question of considering limited military options. Hadley had pushed them to think hard about the consequences of any proposed military steps…He was convinced they would lead quickly to a US-Russia military confrontation. But he concluded that is was necessary for Bush to know what his closest advisers, Cheney in particular, thought and for the president to have an open discussion with his key cabinet members …on whether the United States should consider using its military power to help the Georgians.”


-Gideon Rachman
 
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What the the article author believes the book author is implying is fairly soft evidence for anything. Considered does not equal wanted. With Cheney's reputation, I doubt he would have let the issue drop if he really wanted to use Georgia as starting ground for US/Russian military escalation. By the book's account, Cheney did not show disapproval for the final decision of avoiding military escalation. So that leaves us with speculation over what he wanted without evidence of a speach or writing clearly stating his wants and intentions towards Russia.

Cheney distrusting Russian goals in Georgia is not the same as wanting military conflict with Russia over Georgia.
 
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