So the VP refuses the National Archives and Records Admistration's request to oversee his classified documents. While on the surface this might seem like another Bush adm ploy, John Aravosis over at Americablog sees it as much more significant and threatening:
"I had a high level security clearance when I was on the Hill, beyond Top Secret, so I'm familiar with how serious the government is about the security of classified documents and information. What Cheney is doing isn't some esoteric battle over protocol. He's refusing to let the national security watchdogs make sure that his staff isn't being sloppy with classified information. He is quite literally risking our national secrets during a time of war. These rules exist for a reason, the oversight exists for a reason. People are sloppy, and sometimes they're even evil. When you're dealing with classified information, information that can quite literally get someone killed, you need several layers of protection to ensure that the information doesn't slip out, by intent or neglect. That's why we have inspections of offices and individuals who receive and retain classified information, to make sure that their sloppiness (or worse, duplicity) isn't putting our nation, and our troops, at risk.
"That's what this issue is about. It's about protecting our national security secrets during war time. For some reason, Dick Cheney doesn't think his staff needs to be as careful with our national security secrets, with the national security secrets of our allies, as do other officials in the federal government. That's an incredibly dangerous and reckless decision that puts at risk the classified information itself, the sources of that information, and every one of us who rely on America's, and our allies', intelligence apparatus to keep us safe."
Bush and Cheney don't want to win this war, nor do they care about the troops. Their only concern is destroying the rule of law, and they do this very, very well.
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