DeProgram with John Kiriakou and Ted Rall

DeProgram with Ted Rall and John Kiriakou: “Dick Cheney Is Dead”

Nov 4, 2025

Ted Rall and John Kiriakou dive into the controversial legacy of Dick Cheney, examining his role in post-9/11 warfare and torture. They discuss Israel's political drama surrounding a whistleblower's imprisonment for revealing military abuses, and the fallout from Tucker Carlson's controversial interview, sparking divisions at the Heritage Foundation. The hosts also reflect on the challenges faced by whistleblowers, drawing parallels to their personal experiences. Additionally, they touch on Tanzania's election unrest and the implications for the region.

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INSIGHT

Cheney's Enduring War-On-Terror Legacy

Dick Cheney centralized post-9/11 power and engineered programs like torture, rendition, secret prisons, and assassination lists.
John Kiriakou and Ted Rall argue those policies stripped constitutional rights while weakening U.S. global standing.

ANECDOTE

Running Scared In Cheney's Meetings

John Kiriakou recounts working around Cheney and fearing for his safety in high-level meetings where Cheney would storm out.
He describes Cheney as the dominant force who effectively ran foreign policy while Bush was passive.

INSIGHT

How Cheney Manipulated Presidential Power

Cheney exploited George W. Bush's weaknesses by meeting daily and shaping presidential briefings.
Kiriakou calls Bush a 'dum-dum' who was manipulated into appearing in charge while Cheney led policy.

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Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou explore the legacy of Dick Cheney, America's most powerful modern vice president and chief architect of the "war on terror,” Israel’s top army lawyer imprisoned after she exposed IDF’s sexual abuse of a Palestinian detainee, the shakeup at the Heritage Foundation over Tucker Carlson's interview with Nick Fuentes, and Tanzania's sham elections and resulting street unrest.

Dick Cheney’s Death: Complications from pneumonia and cardiac disease kill the influential VP at 84, surrounded by loved ones praising his legacy of national service and personal virtues like fly fishing. As the neoconservative architect of post-9/11 wars including the Iraq invasion based on lies, he leaves a polarizing mark, ending his political life by criticizing Trump and endorsing Harris. Recent tributes highlight his bunker directives on 9/11 and unyielding defense of torture, shaping two decades of brutal U.S. foreign policy.

Israel’s Wrong Scandal: Maj. Gen. Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi's remains in jail on fraud and obstruction charges, following a frantic beach search sparked by her disappearance post-resignation. The whistleblower leaked a video revealing soldiers' knife sodomy assault on a Palestinian at Sde Teiman, causing severe rectal perforation and rib fractures. Weirdly, Israelis are mad at HER. The saga, also detaining ex-prosecutor Matan Solomesh, amplifies Israel's polarization, eclipsing abuse inquiries amid Netanyahu allies' insults like "resume the lynch."

Heritage Shakeup: Chief Kevin Roberts announces reassignments amid uproar over defending Tucker Carlson's Nick Fuentes interview. Roberts' reaffirms anti-antisemitism efforts and anti-cancel culture stance, balancing Israel views while pushing Heritage 2.0 unity and moral conviction.

Tanzania Election Violence: Africa’s crises spread. President Samia Suluhu Hassan takes office privately amid 98% "win" after banning Chadema, with leader Tundu Lissu in solitary on treason charges facing execution, as over 1,000 protesters reportedly die in crackdowns—bodies piling in streets, mass graves piling up under internet blackouts. Schools close, transport stops, hospitals overflow with bullet-riddled youth, despite 2021 reforms now reversed into worse repression than "Bulldozer" Magufuli. Pope Leo calls for dialogue, AU applauds, but opposition vows endurance against the "total sham," echoing African disputed polls in Cameroon and Ivory Coast.