MSNBC host Joe Scarborough suggested that the New York Times editorial board is operating on a double standard in its recent call for the Obama administration to investigate former Vice President Dick Cheney for crimes in the wars against terrorism.
The Times editorial cited a recent report by the majority staff of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that said the CIA unlawfully engaged in extreme interrogation techniques (called “torture” by critics) against suspected terrorists in the months after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. Responding to the report, Cheney defended the interrogation methods as legally authorized by the Department of Justice.
“Will the NYTimes call for the prosecution of [President] Barack Obama for war crimes committed by drone strikes?” Scarborough tweeted Monday night. “Careful, folks.”
Since taking office, Obama has withdrawn most troops from both Iraq and Afghanistan, opting instead to engage in warfare by remote-control airstrikes using sophisticated drones. The drone strikes have proven controversial among humanitarian activists and Republicans — led by Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. — who contend they aren’t authorized by Congress and give the president too much discretion in who to kill at will, including Americans living abroad.
