Petraeus delivers

A smackdown on Cheney, that is.

Petraeus has maintained for some time that he has no intentionof seeking either Party's nomination in 2012, but such denials tend to be pro forma at such an early date and would not be held against him should he change his mind as 2012 nears. However, in an appearance on CNN yesterday, Petraeus made comments that ran afoul of one of the modern GOP's litmus tests: Petraeus suggested that he opposes the use of torture, and that he disagrees with Vice President Cheney when the latter asserts that abstaining from torture makes our country less safe.

When presented with Cheney's assertion to that effect, Petraeus said the following (via Think Progress):

Well, I wouldn’t necessarily agree with that. I think in fact that there is a good debate going on about the importance of values in all that we do. I think that if one violates the values that we hold so dear, that we jeopardize [our troops]...We think for the military, in particular that camp, that’s a line [torture] that can’t be crossed. [...]

It is hugely significant to us to live the values that we hold so dear and that we have fought so hard to protect over the years.