thedrifter
01-14-07, 02:07 PM
Cheney Says Opponents Won't Stop New Strategy in Iraq (Update1)
By Jon Steinman and Nadine Elsibai
Jan. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Vice President Dick Cheney said mounting congressional opposition to the war in Iraq won't stop the administration from deploying more U.S. troops to bring sectarian violence under control.
Cheney said critics, particularly Democrats in Congress who've called for the U.S. to begin withdrawing from Iraq, are validating the view of terrorist leader Osama bin Laden that America ``doesn't have the stomach'' for a drawn-out conflict.
``Iraq is the current, central battlefield'' in the war against terrorists, Cheney said on the ``Fox News Sunday'' program, repeating the stance he and President George W. Bush have held since the start of the conflict almost four years ago. The U.S. ``cannot run a war by committee,'' Cheney said.
Cheney's appearance was part of an administration effort to halt the slide in support for the war and to buy time for the strategy Bush announced Jan. 10, which includes adding 21,500 soldiers and Marines to the 132,000 U.S. military personnel already in the country. Some of their Republican allies in Congress, such as Senators Norm Coleman of Minnesota and Sam Brownback of Kansas, have joined with Democrats in opposition to the increase.
The vice president, who in May 2005 argued that the insurgency in Iraq was in its ``last throes,'' said the administration won't back down. Any non-binding resolution passed by Congress ``would not affect the president's ability to carry out his policy,'' he said today.
`We're Going Forward'
The remarks echoed those Bush made in a recorded interview with CBS's ``60 Minutes'' program, scheduled for broadcast tonight. The president said he will send the extra troops regardless of whether Congress tries to block him.
``I made my decision, we're going forward,'' Bush said, according to excerpts of the interview released by CBS.
In a separate appearance on ABC's ``This Week'' program, National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley said administration officials expect that after a series of hearings in Congress lawmakers will back the new strategy.
``We will be able to persuade the Congress that this is the only option for success in Iraq,'' Hadley said.
Democratic Representative John Murtha of Pennsylvania, who plans to propose legislation to cut off funding for increasing U.S. troop strength in Iraq, said the administration is forcing Congress to act by ignoring public opposition to the war.
Public Sentiment
``You don't like to micromanage the Defense Department, but we have to, in this case, because they're not paying attention to the public,'' Murtha said on the ABC program.
Lawmakers of both parties will vote for ``very strict guidelines'' for the department without cutting money to pay for the troops already there, Murtha said.
Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona, who has criticized Bush for not sending more troops to Iraq at the start, said the administration and the military need to move faster to get the extra soldiers and Marines into Iraq.
``We're done with half-measures and this is the last chance, I think everyone recognizes that,'' he said on the CBS program ``Face the Nation.''
McCain, who is exploring a run for president in 2008, said that while the extra troops won't guarantee success, failure in Iraq would be a ``catastrophe.''
`Continue the Course'
Senator Barack Obama, an Illinois Democrat who also is considering a bid for president, said that catastrophe already has descended on Iraq, and the solution will come from a political settlement and diplomacy, not military force.
``There's certainly no more risks than the approach that is being pursued by the administration and Senator McCain, which suggests that we can simply continue the course that we've been on for the last several years,'' Obama said on the CBS program. ``That's resulted in over 3,000 Americans dying and us spending over $400 billion with no end in sight.''
Bush's plan also includes demands on the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to enact a law making sure oil revenue is distributed equally, to allow the military to disarm sectarian militias and make good on promises to train more Iraqi forces.
Cheney refused to say what the U.S. would do if those benchmarks aren't met. ``We're focused on making this plan work,'' he said.
Hadley said the U.S. isn't trying to replace Maliki because he ``is who the Iraqis have put forward to represent their nation'' in a democratic election.
Iraqi View
Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, appearing on CNN's ``Late Edition'' program, said the extra troops are needed to bring stability to violence-plagued Baghdad.
``It has to be supported by others,'' Zebari said. ``But this new strategy is firmer, is different from previous ones. It will involve the Iraqi government also to rise up to its challenges, not to shy away from its responsibility.''
``We are prepared and ready to do that,'' he added.
In presenting his new strategy, Bush has acknowledged that the U.S. made fundamental errors in Iraq, including not having enough troops in the country as sectarian violence expanded after the bombing of a Shiite Muslim shrine in Samarra. In the ``60 Minutes'' interview, the president admitted that the country is more unstable now than it was under the late dictator Saddam Hussein.
``No question, decisions have made things unstable,'' Bush said. ``I think history is going to look back and see a lot of ways we could have done things better. No question about it.''
Cheney repeated the warning to Iran that Bush issued in his speech last week. The U.S. will also do what it must to prevent Iran from threatening Iraq's stability, Cheney said.
Iran ``is fishing in troubled waters, if you will, inside Iraq,'' he said. The Islamic Republic ``is a problem in a much larger sense'' in the region and for U.S. allies such as Saudi Arabia, Israel and Jordan, Cheney said. ``The threat is growing, it is multidimensional.''
To contact the reporter on this story: Jon Steinman in Washington at jsteinman@bloomberg.net ; Nadine Elsibai in Washington at +_ nelsibai@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: January 14, 2007 13:34 EST
Ellie
By Jon Steinman and Nadine Elsibai
Jan. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Vice President Dick Cheney said mounting congressional opposition to the war in Iraq won't stop the administration from deploying more U.S. troops to bring sectarian violence under control.
Cheney said critics, particularly Democrats in Congress who've called for the U.S. to begin withdrawing from Iraq, are validating the view of terrorist leader Osama bin Laden that America ``doesn't have the stomach'' for a drawn-out conflict.
``Iraq is the current, central battlefield'' in the war against terrorists, Cheney said on the ``Fox News Sunday'' program, repeating the stance he and President George W. Bush have held since the start of the conflict almost four years ago. The U.S. ``cannot run a war by committee,'' Cheney said.
Cheney's appearance was part of an administration effort to halt the slide in support for the war and to buy time for the strategy Bush announced Jan. 10, which includes adding 21,500 soldiers and Marines to the 132,000 U.S. military personnel already in the country. Some of their Republican allies in Congress, such as Senators Norm Coleman of Minnesota and Sam Brownback of Kansas, have joined with Democrats in opposition to the increase.
The vice president, who in May 2005 argued that the insurgency in Iraq was in its ``last throes,'' said the administration won't back down. Any non-binding resolution passed by Congress ``would not affect the president's ability to carry out his policy,'' he said today.
`We're Going Forward'
The remarks echoed those Bush made in a recorded interview with CBS's ``60 Minutes'' program, scheduled for broadcast tonight. The president said he will send the extra troops regardless of whether Congress tries to block him.
``I made my decision, we're going forward,'' Bush said, according to excerpts of the interview released by CBS.
In a separate appearance on ABC's ``This Week'' program, National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley said administration officials expect that after a series of hearings in Congress lawmakers will back the new strategy.
``We will be able to persuade the Congress that this is the only option for success in Iraq,'' Hadley said.
Democratic Representative John Murtha of Pennsylvania, who plans to propose legislation to cut off funding for increasing U.S. troop strength in Iraq, said the administration is forcing Congress to act by ignoring public opposition to the war.
Public Sentiment
``You don't like to micromanage the Defense Department, but we have to, in this case, because they're not paying attention to the public,'' Murtha said on the ABC program.
Lawmakers of both parties will vote for ``very strict guidelines'' for the department without cutting money to pay for the troops already there, Murtha said.
Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona, who has criticized Bush for not sending more troops to Iraq at the start, said the administration and the military need to move faster to get the extra soldiers and Marines into Iraq.
``We're done with half-measures and this is the last chance, I think everyone recognizes that,'' he said on the CBS program ``Face the Nation.''
McCain, who is exploring a run for president in 2008, said that while the extra troops won't guarantee success, failure in Iraq would be a ``catastrophe.''
`Continue the Course'
Senator Barack Obama, an Illinois Democrat who also is considering a bid for president, said that catastrophe already has descended on Iraq, and the solution will come from a political settlement and diplomacy, not military force.
``There's certainly no more risks than the approach that is being pursued by the administration and Senator McCain, which suggests that we can simply continue the course that we've been on for the last several years,'' Obama said on the CBS program. ``That's resulted in over 3,000 Americans dying and us spending over $400 billion with no end in sight.''
Bush's plan also includes demands on the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to enact a law making sure oil revenue is distributed equally, to allow the military to disarm sectarian militias and make good on promises to train more Iraqi forces.
Cheney refused to say what the U.S. would do if those benchmarks aren't met. ``We're focused on making this plan work,'' he said.
Hadley said the U.S. isn't trying to replace Maliki because he ``is who the Iraqis have put forward to represent their nation'' in a democratic election.
Iraqi View
Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, appearing on CNN's ``Late Edition'' program, said the extra troops are needed to bring stability to violence-plagued Baghdad.
``It has to be supported by others,'' Zebari said. ``But this new strategy is firmer, is different from previous ones. It will involve the Iraqi government also to rise up to its challenges, not to shy away from its responsibility.''
``We are prepared and ready to do that,'' he added.
In presenting his new strategy, Bush has acknowledged that the U.S. made fundamental errors in Iraq, including not having enough troops in the country as sectarian violence expanded after the bombing of a Shiite Muslim shrine in Samarra. In the ``60 Minutes'' interview, the president admitted that the country is more unstable now than it was under the late dictator Saddam Hussein.
``No question, decisions have made things unstable,'' Bush said. ``I think history is going to look back and see a lot of ways we could have done things better. No question about it.''
Cheney repeated the warning to Iran that Bush issued in his speech last week. The U.S. will also do what it must to prevent Iran from threatening Iraq's stability, Cheney said.
Iran ``is fishing in troubled waters, if you will, inside Iraq,'' he said. The Islamic Republic ``is a problem in a much larger sense'' in the region and for U.S. allies such as Saudi Arabia, Israel and Jordan, Cheney said. ``The threat is growing, it is multidimensional.''
To contact the reporter on this story: Jon Steinman in Washington at jsteinman@bloomberg.net ; Nadine Elsibai in Washington at +_ nelsibai@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: January 14, 2007 13:34 EST
Ellie