Rogue government: Is the Vice President of the United States doling out the nation’s secrets to its allies, such as the Saudis or the Israelis? Or how about our enemies — the Chinese, North Korea, Iran?

No one knows the answer to these questions because Cheney refuses to allow his own administration’s inspectors to certify his compliance with his own administration’s security directives. He has exempted himself from oversight.

Since noothing compels him to tell the truth, why in the world would anyone believe a word he says? Why should we give him the benefit of a doubt that he is not giving away national secrets?

In the 1990s, the rightwing accused Vice Pres. Al Gore of selling weapons plans to the Chinese in exchange for campaign donations. This led to a House investigation chaired by Rep. Dan Burton (R-Indiana) that eventually cost American taxpayers $7.4 million, making it the costliest congressional inquiry ever — all for nothing, of course.

Without oversight on how Dick Cheney is handling our nation’s secrets, for all we know he is packing them up in crates and shipping them to the Saudis or the Chinese or the North Koreans.

Cheney has visited Saudi Arabia twice in the past seven months — at the end of November and again in May. Who can say whether his mission was to deliver state secrets to the Saudi king? Apparently, even Pres. Bush does not know what his vice president is up to.