Cheney Says He's Vindicated

In a statement given to The Weekly Standard last night, former Vice President Dick Cheney says the documents released by the CIA fully validate his claim that, if only certain documents were released, the nation would see that enhanced interrogation techniques provided valuable intelligence and kept the country safe:

The documents released Monday clearly demonstrate that the individuals subjected to Enhanced Interrogation Techniques provided the bulk of intelligence we gained about al Qaeda. This intelligence saved lives and prevented terrorist attacks. These detainees also, according to the documents, played a role in nearly every capture of al Qaeda members and associates since 2002. The activities of the CIA in carrying out the policies of the Bush Administration were directly responsible for defeating all efforts by al Qaeda to launch further mass casualty attacks against the United States. The people involved deserve our gratitude. They do not deserve to be the targets of political investigations or prosecutions. President Obama's decision to allow the Justice Department to investigate and possibly prosecute CIA personnel, and his decision to remove authority for interrogation from the CIA to the White House, serves as a reminder, if any were needed, of why so many Americans have doubts about this Administration's ability to be responsible for our nation's security.

Spencer Ackerman has posted the documents in question here.

The value of those interrogations, to Cheney, is bound up with the idea of prosecution. Cheney still insists that those who carried out enhanced interrogations should not be prosecuted. He makes this as a blanket statement, though Attorney General Eric Holder is considering prosecutions of interrogators who overstepped the legal guidelines provided by the Bush administration. Evidently, Cheney thinks even that is going too far.