Cheney: Threat to Iran's nuclear program crucial for negotiations
(CNN) - Former Vice President Dick Cheney says he was "probably" the strongest advocate in the Bush administration of a military strike against Iran's nuclear program.
Cheney told FOX News Sunday in an interview conducted Friday that he believed the military threat was crucial to negotiations with Iran on ending its efforts to develop a nuclear weapon.
"I was probably a bigger advocate of military action than any of my colleagues," Cheney said. "I think it was very important that the military option be on the table. I felt that negotiations couldn't possibly succeed unless the Iranians believed the military option was on the table."
Asked if he opposed former President George W. Bush's decision to enter negotiations with Iran and European nations on the issue, Cheney said he would discuss the matter further in an upcoming book on his life.
However, he said a recent Washington Post story that reported he will criticize Bush in his book was wrong.
"We had policy differences, no question about that," Cheney said. "But to say that I was disappointed with the president isn't the way it ought to be phrased."
When asked again if he believed that Bush went "soft" in his second term, as reported in the Washington Post story, Cheney replied: "No, I'm not going to speculate on it. I'm going to write a book that lays out my view of what we did."
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Cheney seems to be continually running interference and I wonder why. What will be uncovered once the Justice Dept. starts probing the tactics of the Bush administration? I wonder if he is worry about being indicted once the facts come to light.
I think Cheney is running scared as he wiped his rear with American constitution and now scared to go to the jail. Keep it up Cheney, your batteries for your heart valve are going to fail soon....
Hilarious. Even the Reagan adminstration thought Cheney was a loon.
Dick Cheney is evil and is responsible for millions of U.S. soldiers deaths due to his lies. Halliburton received large war contracts because Dick Cheney was the CEO of Halliburton when he first became VP. Dick Cheney's hands have blood on them from blood money.
Ya know, who cares what dick Cheney thinks?
Dick Cheney has harmed this country more than anyone else since Vietnam. His decisions have gotten more young Americans killed of my generation than anyone person or group ever could have. 9/11 happened my senior year of high school. Thousands of my peers have suffered through a war that should never have happened and some friends have died. Cheney has no heart
They are animlas not quite not differentiated to human species
Just send that yahoo to the war front and lets see what he will do. It is amazing how this congenital liar and a draft dodger will have the temerity to send other sane peoples children to go and die for his useless political ideology.
A man who calls himself a christian yet who thinks everybody else is a bad person apart from him. We thank God everyday that this close-minded depraved worm-infested pachycephalosaurus with sawdust for brain, is out of power.
And may God keep him and his species extinct forever.
Amen
While the Dick was in power he failed in his attempt to contain the Iranian nuclear program. In fact the program moved along just fine while Dick and Dubya beat their chests and spewed their lies and deceptions about Iraq. They claimed their "school yard bully" fantasy would keep the bad guys of the world in check. What a joke they were and still are.
Faux patriots. "Traitors" is to nice for them. Dick belongs in a cell, padded or otherwise, until it is his turn to testify.
CHENEY is the Poster Child for a Terrorists origanization like the Republican Party...
I bet CNN wont post this the moderators thinks it is to factual.
Apparently Dick has zero knowledge on anything. Attacking Natanz would turn the entire country of Iran against us as the common people of Iran see Natanz the way we see the Statue of Liberty. As it is only a sliver of the ruling group is anti-west, the common people want to be us. Turning those people into rabid anti-west terrorists would of course fit right into Dickies plan for World War III. Arrest him, torture him, give him a military tribunal and hang his sorry ass already.
Wouldn't attacking Iran give them a more solid reason to continue their nuclear program...specifically for military purposes?
I disagree with Orrin Hatch.
In order to maintain integrity, honesty, and uphold the Constitution and GenevaConvention, and attract the best in the country, the investigation go to fruition. The TOP person to authorize this stuff needs to be held accountable or it will go on and on.
I would never work for an agency with all this hanging over it's head. What if they asked me to do something against my Constitution? I'd quit. But then, I'm a REAL American that loves this country, not just profits and freebies.
Get Dick Cheney behind bars and my faith in this country and Government as a whole will begin to heal.
Cheney is and always was all about WAR. His solution to anyone who disagrees with us, or gets in the way of Oil resources. A very dangerous mind set that sat at the top....
He should be held accountable for abuse of power and War crimes.
Wow, talk about a stain that won't go away. To quote Gollum: "Go away (Dick Cheney), go away and never come back"! Of course we all know how that turned out. Haven't you already demonstrated enough incompetence Dick? How about those weapons of mass destruction?
Iran is the biggest threat facing the U.S. today. They must be stopped from developing a nuclear capability. President Obama seems to be willfully blind to this. I've never seen a weaker president on foreign policy than this one. Carter may have been as weak in his actions but Obama, as a post 9/11 president, has no excuse for his weak behaviour.
What a fool.
Cheney's opinion of foreign diplomacy shouldn't even be counted.
His take foreign diplomacy is "act like a beligerant spoiled brat, and use tough talk to get what you want."
We all know where that got us.
No one who dodges the draft 5 times should have any right to make, or comment on foreign diplomacy.
Eisenhower would bend Cheney over his knee and paint his back porch red if he were alive today.
And I would pay good money to see it.
Cheny is no longer the president, I mean vice president.....why are we still listening to anything he has to say? Nothing has changed.....it's still a case of if his lips are moving he's not telling the truth....