Darth Cheney

This Saturday we knew that Darth Dick Cheney had hidden from the Congress a CIA project aimed to create special commandos to eliminate Al Qaeda terrorists. A month ago, when Panetta knew about it, it was suspended.

It was indeed an ambitious plan. According to an intelligence official quote from the New York Times, these things are great in the movies, but when you try to put them on practice, it is not so easy. Indeed. In fact, the whole plan looks just as if it came out from a stoned mind after watching the Bourne movies’ trilogy.

However, the CIA didn’t renounce to their plans. If the mission was killing Al Qaeda leaders, it would be done. If it wasn’t possible to do so from two feet, it would be done from two thousand feet. They tried first to copy Israeli style of the after-Munich commandos but ended up copying Israeli style with Hamas selective assassinations. Jets, cruise missiles and drones took their place in.

Since then, the number of attacks on Al Qaeda leaders has rocketed. But of course, shooting from two thousand feet is not as accurate as doing it from two feet distance. So civilian casualties are too on their highest, obviously. It was the natural consequence if they were copying Israeli methods to have too Israeli consequences.

But the US can afford collateral damage if they want to appear before the population as a savior, not as an occupational empire. If they do so, they can end up as the Britons did during the last two centuries. Obama Administration already has made some steps to halt the drone wars or at least minimize the effects, but truth is that few has changed on the ground.

The head of Pakistani Talibans can talk about it. Just over the last weekend, at least four attacks in three days were aimed against Baitullah Mehsud. The Taliban commander, however, has a special nose to detect danger and has proved a great ability to dodge the missiles. Like the one that last week provoked around 60 casualties, the bloodiest drone attack in 2009.

However, going back to Cheney, there is something that doesn’t add up. If it was only for the hit squads, then why all the fuzz when it is being done anyway with drones? Why Panetta decided to close the project down when he knew of it? Why Cheney asks for confidentiality? Why all the attention?

Josh Marshalls makes the same question to himself. And he too sees that there must be something more, something dark in all this.

There's more to this story to be told.

(Kudos to David M. for the title)

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