Dick Cheney gave an steadfast defense of he CIA’s post-9/11 torture program on “Meet the Press” on Sunday, dismissing criticisms of the program’s forced rectal feedings, waterboarding and deaths.
“It worked. It absolutely did work,” said Cheney, a driving force behind the George W. Bush administration’s use of harsh tactics in response to the 9/11 attacks.
The Senate report on the interrogation program details forced rectal feedings that were medically unnecessary. But on Sunday, Cheney said the feedings were done for “medical reasons.” The former vice president showed little remorse for the dozens of prisoners who were found to have been wrongfully detained, for the man who died in the program, or for people like Khaled El-Masri — a German citizen who was shipped off to Afghanistan and sodomized in a case of mistaken identity.
“I’d do it again in a minute,” said Cheney. He also spoke repeatedly of how the program was justified to get the “bastards” who perpetrated the 9/11 attacks. “I’m more concerned with bad guys who got out and released than I am with a few that, in fact, were innocent,” Cheney said.
