USA: U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney says U.S. must show 'stomach' to win in Iraq

U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney defends plans to send an extra 21,500 troops to Iraq and says American allies in the fight against terrorism must be assured the U.S. won't pull out before there is a successful outcome U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney said on Sunday (January 14) the United States must show it has the "stomach" to win in Iraq or it will confirm al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden's view that the U.S. can be pressured to leave. Cheney defended the plan put forward last week by President George W. Bush to send 21,500 additional troops to Iraq and said critics had not produced an alternative proposal. U.S. allies helping in fighting terrorism -- Pakistan, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, the Gulf states and Egypt -- must have confidence that the United States will not leave before a successful outcome, Cheney said. "Remember what bin Laden's strategy is. He doesn't think he can beat us in a stand-up fight. He thinks he can force us to quit. He believes, that after Lebanon in '83 and Somalia in '93, that the United States doesn't have the stomach for a long war. And Iraq is the current central battlefield in that war. And we must win there, it's absolutely essential that we win there, and we will win there." Cheney also repeated the administration's position that Iran is a growing threat. "Well, I think it's been pretty well known that Iran is fishing in troubled waters, if you will, inside Iraq. And the president has responded to that, as you suggest. I think it's exactly the right thing to do. Iran's a problem in a much larger sense, they have begun to conduct themselves in ways that have created a great deal of tension throughout the region." The U.S. military says that five Iranians it is holding from a raid in Iraq are linked to Revolutionary Guards who are supporting militants in Iraq. But Tehran called them diplomats and demanded their release. Democrats who took control of Congress this year after winning November elections largely due to public discontent with the Iraq war have opposed Bush's new plan. On NBC's "Meet the Press," Democratic Senator Chris Dodd called for a diplomatic initiative to end the fighting in Iraq. "I just think it's more of the same. It seems to me we've rejected, or should reject, this policy of just more military troops on the ground. Everyone who's looked at this issue, including our top military people, our top diplomats, the people who understand the issue the best have all concluded - including the Baker-Hamilton report - that we ought to be focusing our attention on diplomacy and politics inside and outside the region if we're truly interested, as we should be, in succeeding in Iraq." Bush's plan has also met resistance among his own Republican Party. Senator Chuck Hagel, a Nebraska Republican, maintained on NBC's "Meet the Press" that there were alternatives to sending extra troops to Iraq. He pointed to the 79 recommendations made by the Baker-Hamilton commission report including focussing on a political settlement. Senator Hagel also reiterated that no American foreign policy could be sustained without the support of the American people and President Bush's course of action over the last four years had neither the support of the American people or the support of America's allies.

ITN Source | January 15, 2007

Tags:. .demanded. .foreign. .fishing. .iran. .forward