The University of Wyoming will name its international center after former Vice President Dick Cheney. To be frank, it’s a bad idea.
His name only signifies the poor policy decisions of the Bush administration. This is the man who allegedly authorized the use of harsh interrogation techniques, otherwise known as torture, on Guantanamo Bay inmates after Sept. 11. It is hard to see any positive effect from naming a building after him.
At this point, his reputation tells of a ruthless warmonger who used the cloak of national security to sanction atrocious acts that deprived prisoners of basic human rights. The University of Wyoming will become notorious for encouraging its foreign policy students to follow in the footsteps of Cheney, a man who sanctioned torture and claimed it was done for the sake of national security.
The former vice president said the Bush administration used “enhanced interrogation techniques” to keep the country safe after Sept. 11, but what about the events of that date? Does Sept. 11 not count as a failure of national security? There has also been no proof yet that these interrogations led to the demise of other planned attacks on the United States.
The former vice president’s new cause criticized President Barack Obama for not properly protecting this country from terrorist groups. He now calls for transparency in the Obama administration, but the previous administration could not have been more covert in its actions, not just in the War on Terrorism, but in domestic affairs as well.
It is hard to see the University of Wyoming this desperate for money or a famous name that they have to resort to taking money from Dick Cheney. However, if the University of Wyoming refuses to place Cheney’s name on its international center, then the university must refund the $3.2 million the former vice president invested.
Having said that, Dick Cheney is not a man with which I would want my university affiliated. He represents the failed foreign policy practices of the past and that’s something that an institution of higher learning should not associate itself with.
Chris Varano is a freshman film-TV-digital media from Suffern, N.Y.
