Dick Cheney fears being charged as a war criminal, former Colin Powell aide says

Lawrence Wilkerson, Colin Powell and Dick Cheney

/ CBS/AP

The sniping between Dick Cheney and his erstwhile Bush administration colleagues ratcheted up Tuesday when a long-time aide to Colin Powell said the former vice president is afraid of being prosecuted as a war criminal.

Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, who served as chief of staff to Powell when he was secretary of state in the first term of President George W. Bush, said Cheney has changed into an unrecognizable figure since his time as secretary of defense under President George H.W. Bush.

"He's developed an angst and almost a protective cover, and now he fears being tried as a war criminal," Wilkerson told ABC News, "because that's the way someone who's decided he's not going to be prosecuted acts: boldly, let's get out in front of everybody, let's act like we are not concerned and so forth when in fact they are covering up their own fear that somebody will Pinochet him."

Former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet was arrested for war crimes years after relinquishing power.

Wilkerson, who has known Cheney for decades, said Cheney has become a "very vindictive person" and "I simply don't recognize Mr. Cheney anymore."

Wilkerson has been an outspoken critic of the Bush administration since he left the State Department in 2005. In addition to serving as Powell's chief of staff at the State Department, Wilkerson was a top aide to Powell when the Army general was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the first Bush administration. At that time, Cheney was defense secretary.

Cheney is promoting a new memoir, "In My Time: A Personal and Political Memoir," and said ahead of Tuesday's release that heads would explode when the book came out.

Powell shot back, telling CBS' "Face the Nation" that the former vice president was taking "cheap shots."

"I think Dick overshot the runway," Powell told CBS News' Bob Schieffer, adding that his tease that the memoir will "makes heads explode" is a comment he would have expected from a gossip columnist, not a former U.S. vice president.

[trueblueusa]

Hitler,Eichmann,Cheney,Mengele

Our government can find "The Needle in the Haystack "
But,Lied Big Time about WMD !
The 2 unfunded wars have detroyed our economy and more importantly taken many human lives,while maiming countless others.
Where does this "War Madness " end ?

[breadline1]

HE SHOULD BE PROSECUTED AS A WAR CRIMINAL, A TRATIOR, A THIEF, A FRAUD, A LIAR AND MOST OF ALL A COWARD!! IT WOULDN'T SUPRISE ME A BIT EITHER IF HE SHOT THAT GUY ON PURPOSE. HE WAS A DICK, IS A DICK, AND WILL ALWAYS BE A DICK. IF GOD DOESN'T SEND HIM STRAIGHT TO HELL WHEN HE DIES , THEN WE CAN ALL REST ASSURED THAT NONE OF US WILL GO TO HELL NO MATTER WHAT WE DO !!!

[magik1369]

Cheney is a narcissist and a narcissist always covers the Truth. No one can give orders to torture and bring a nation to war on false intelligence and have a clear conscience after. Wrong is wrong. Cheney pushed the country into an unnecessary war that cost the country $2 trillion taxpayer dollars, the rung up the budget deficit, that ensured that China would be our bankers and owners for years to come, and that killed 1,000,000 human beings. As evolving Beings, we get back what we give out. Every hurt and pain we cause others is eventually done to us. I certainly would not want Cheney's karma or conscience.

[noloyalisti]

Well he is a self admitted war criminal, we already have the confession. Should we hang him or try him and then hang him?

[speakthetrut]

Hang him first, then try him.

[regularbuildpickens]

There's little chance he will ever actually be tried, but he should be held responsible for leading the U.S. into 2 unfunded wars. If we had spent that money reinvesting in our infrastructure and supporting our manufacturing base we would be in a much better position economically than we are now.

economyincrisis.org

[speakthetrut]

American voters will never hold the republican party accountable for anything. Here is why:
1. Republican people wants their tax break even if it has to be borrowed from China.
2. Republican people forget everything as soon as they hear the war horn.
3. Republican people are pro war, anti education. So there is no chance they will be able to think for themselves. They just follow whatever their selfish leaders tell them to do, and listen only to hate speeches on FOX TV.

[Imthaid2]

Think about it. Wouldn't it be REALLY nice to see a man wearing black place a rope around Cheney's neck while he snivels like an F'in baby? Orville Redenbacher would make bank on that day.

[bobbyboobee]

The only thing Cheney is afraid of in this whole world, is fading into obscurity.

[moretruthnow]

It always seemed that Cheney was afraid. He was so often in his undisclosed location. He is probably quite paranoid. I sure hope so.

[rickstas]

LOLOL!!!!!

[Bush-cheney-R-Terrorists]

If bush and Cheney are not war criminals, then there is no such thing. These two idiots killed more great Americans than Bin Laden could have ever hoped to. They took two thousand billion dollars of taxpayer money and spent it overseas on an illegal invasion based on false charges. While they were collapsing the US and world economy with the illegal war, Bush and Cheney CUT the taxes for the wealthy and big corporations 3 times, thereby guaranteeing the permanent decline of the United States.

[rwsmith29456]

He's lost it or he's guilty. The mostly likely bet is that he is coming out with a book.