Referring to the Iranian regime’s nuclear activities and its continued meddling in Lebanon, Iraq and Afghanistan, Dick Cheney, US Vice President, warned against the consequences of acquiring nuclear bomb by this regime.
In his speech in Dallas, the US Vice President warned against the consequences of early withdrawal from Iraq and said: no one now can plead ignorance of the potential consequences of walking away from Iraq, of withdrawing coalition forces before Iraqis can defend themselves or control their own sovereign territory.
If we were to do so, moderates would be crushed as extreme groups pushed the country toward chaos. Competing factions — including al Qaeda and militias backed by outsiders, such as the Iranians — could unloose an all-out war, with the violence unlikely to be contained within the borders of Iraq. The ensuing carnage would further destabilize the Middle East and magnify the threat to our friends in the region, as well as provide a potential safe haven for terrorists to once again repeat those devastating attacks against the United States and our friends and allies. A free, democratic Iraq will be a strategic partner in the heart of the Middle East, helping us fight and win the war on terror.
It will send a message, as well, to moderates throughout the region. From Syria to Lebanon to Iran, advocates for democracy and human rights will take heart, and will be reassured that the free world is not indifferent to their fate or to their future. And as hopes rise in the Middle East, a vital and troubled region can move in the direction of peace and stability.
A reporter asked: Do we witness a similar scenario like Iraq for Iran?
Dick Cheney answered: Iran is a situation that is of great concern to us at this point because we have major efforts underway with respect to resolving the matter diplomatically. But Iran is a serious problem, not just for the United States, but especially for people in the area. They are actively seeking to enrich uranium. They are trying to topple the government of Lebanon. They are actively involved in supporting insurgents inside Iraq and Afghanistan. They generally have adopted a fairly aggressive and hostile attitude towards Israel. They’ve pledged repeatedly to destroy Israel.
We are doing everything we can to resolve this issue diplomatically. We’ve imposed economic sanctions unilaterally. We’ve had two major resolutions through the U.N. Security Council, and the third one is pending. We’ve been working with the EU3, European Union representatives, as well as nations in the region to try to persuade Iran that they should change their course of action. To date, they have not done that.
Mr. Cheney added: The President has made it clear that we have taken no options off the table. It’s the only responsible position for him to take. Nobody wants to resolve this in any means other than peacefully if it’s at all possible — and that’s what we’re trying to do. But in the final analysis, the worst outcome would be a situation in which Iran is sort of set loose, if you will, in that part of the world with an inventory of nuclear weapons, prepared to be used against other nations in the region, or to dominate that part of the globe, and to threaten not only the United States but many of our friends and allies out there, as well.