Here’s some of what Dick Cheney wanted you to know about the national security success of the Bush administration

It looks like this will be another case where Democrats and their media house organs are willing to release whatever they believe is politically useful but will make sure the public does not get the truth or even the whole story about the usefulness of enhanced interrogation techniques. Former Vice President Dick Cheney makes a valiant effort to correct the public record and all he gets for his patriotic remarks is ridicule and harassment. However the fact is that many attempted terrorist acts on US soil have been prevented and release of additional internal government memos would show us that the Bush administration did in fact keep us safe. Obama’s policies will endanger the country just as Dick Cheney has said.

Detainees have provided names of approximately 86 individuals – many of whom we had never heard of before – that al-Qaeda has deemed suitable for western operations. These names were shared by the United States with law enforcement agencies here and with intelligence services in friendly countries. Reports I found on the internet indicate that nearly half of these individuals have been compromised. For example, Jafer al Tayer was described by Abu Zabaydah who named him as one of the people to be used by al-Qaeda for operations in the United States or Europe. Other detainees added more details and helped us confirm he is an al-Qaeda operative and reveal his true name (Adnan El Shukrijumah).

Here are only some of the additional terrorist plots that were thwarted as a result of information obtained by interrogators:

The West Coast Airliner Plot – In mid-2002, thanks to leads from many detainees, the US disrupted a plot by the 9/11 mastermind (who had been water boarded) to attack targets on the West Coast using hijacked airplanes.

The 2004 UK Urban Targets Plot – In mid-2004, the US and its counterterrorism partners, with leads from detainees, disrupted a plot involving attacking city targets in the UK with explosive devices.

The 2003 Karachi Plot – In the spring 2003, the US another country detained key al-Qaeda operatives who were in advanced stages of plotting an attack against several targets in Karachi, Pakistan, saving hundreds of lives.

The Heathrow Airport Plot – In 2003, the US working with other countries again upon information from the same 9/11 mastermind disrupted a plot to attack Heathrow Airport with hijacked airplanes.

The 2002 Arabian Gulf Shipping Plot and the Straits of Hormuz Plot – In late 2002 and early 2003, plans to attack shipping by al-Qaeda operatives were disrupted because the key operative was in detention.

The Tall Buildings Plot – Information from detainees enabled the US to prevent destruction of tall buildings in the US. (The 9/11 mastermind had instructed the operatives to make sure the buildings were high enough to prevent people trapped above from escaping out of windows to assure their death from smoke inhalation.)

The Camp Lemonier Plot – In 2004, shortly after his capture, al-Qaeda facilitator Gouled Hassan Dourad revealed that in the previous year al-Quaeda East Africa cell leader Abu Talha al-Sudani sent him from Mogadishu to Djibouti to case the US Marine base at Camp Lemonier as part of a plot to send suicide bombers into the base. The information provided enabled the US to enhance security at the base.

In the years after 9/11 many detainees helped us evaluate our progress in the in preventing al-Qaeda attacks by providing updated information on the changing command structure of the terrorist group. Information obtained by interrogating detainees has also enabled counter terrorism agencies in the US and other countries to better assess threat information as it becomes available. Detainees have also provided information about locations of al-Qaeda operatives and cells. As a result of information gained through interrogation of detainees the US has been able to work with other countries to root out al-Qaeda safe havens and set back attempts to mount additional attacks against the United States.

The foregoing is just a bit of the information denied to the public about successful action by US counterterrorism experts that Dick Cheney wanted to have the Obama administration release to give a fuller picture of what America has been able to accomplish by the interrogation of detainees, “enhanced” and otherwise.

Of course, the Obama-adoring news media won’t let the public know for fear that they might actually get a good impression of the national security provided during the Bush administration in keeping our homeland safe from terrorism after 9/11.