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Cheney defends his role, criticizes war debate

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published September 11, 2006

WASHINGTON - Vice President Dick Cheney defended his lightning-rod role Sunday as a leading advocate for the invasion of Iraq, for a warrantless surveillance program and for harsh treatment of suspected terrorists.

"Part of my job is to think about the unthinkable, to focus upon what in fact the terrorists may have in store for us," Cheney said on NBC's Meet the Press when asked about his "dark side."

He also offered a veiled attack on critics of the administration's Iraq policy, saying the domestic debate over the war is emboldening adversaries who believe they can undermine the resolve of the American people. "They can't beat us in a standup fight - they never have - but they're absolutely convinced they can break our will, that the American people don't have the stomach for the fight," Cheney said.

The vice president said U.S. allies in Afghanistan and Iraq "have doubts" America will finish the job there. "And those doubts are encouraged, obviously, when they see the kind of debate that we've had in the United States," he said. "Suggestions, for example, that we should withdraw U.S. forces from Iraq, simply feed into that whole notion, validates the strategy of the terrorists."

He said he now recognizes that the insurgency in Iraq was not "in its last throes," as he said in May 2005. "I think there is no question but that we did not anticipate an insurgency that would last this long," he said. "It's still difficult. Obviously, major, major work to do is ahead of us. But the fact is, the world is better off today with Saddam Hussein out of power."

He shrugged off news reports that his influence was waning, as a result of foreign policy miscalculations and as other advisers, especially Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, are getting more attention from President Bush. He said the reports were about as valid "as the ones that said I was in charge of everything."

Rice told Fox News Sunday that "these stories float around Washington - who's up, who's down. The vice president remains a crucial adviser to the president. His role is different than my role. ... These stories are simply ridiculous."

Cheney challenged polls suggesting that a majority of people in the United States do not believe the Bush administration's claim that the war in Iraq is the central front in the fight against terrorism.

"I think we've done a pretty good job of securing the nation against terrorists. You know, we're here on the fifth anniversary (of the Sept. 11 attacks) and there has not been another attack on the United States. And that's not an accident, because we've done a hell of a job here at home. I don't know how much better you can do than no, no attacks for the past five years."

He said the United States had done a good job on "homeland security, in terms of the terrorist surveillance program we put in place, the financial tracking we put in place, and because of our detainee policy."

When asked whether there were more terrorists now than there were before the Sept. 11 attacks, he said, "It's hard to say. Hard to put a precise number on it."

Asked if the United States still would have invaded Iraq had the CIA told Bush and him that Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction in 2003, Cheney said yes. He said Iraq had the capability of obtaining such weapons and would have done so once U.N. penalties were eased.

Democrats pounced. "Vice President Cheney's influence over our nation's foreign policy has made America less safe," said Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. "Vice President Cheney's appearance today proves that he just doesn't get it."

[Last modified September 11, 2006, 02:06:25]