Cheney: U.S. Won't Back Down In Iraq
Vice President Tells Troops In Japan That U.S. Will Complete The Mission
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Photo
Vice President Dick Cheney waves to U.S. forces in Japan before his address aboard the USS Kitty Hawk aircraft carrier, at Yokosuka Naval Base, home to the U.S. Navy's 7th Fleet, in Yokosuka, south of Tokyo, Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2007. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)
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Second In Command
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Cheney, who arrived in Japan on Tuesday, was given a 19-gun salute as he boarded the USS Kitty Hawk at this U.S. Navy base just south of Tokyo.
"The American people will not support a policy of retreat," Cheney told about 4,000 troops in the hangar bay. "We want to complete the mission, we want to get it done right, and then we want to come home, with honor."
Cheney said his brief visit to Japan was a gesture of appreciation for Tokyo, which has been one of Washington's most valuable allies in the war on terror by offering non-combat troops to assist U.S. efforts in both Iraq and Afghanistan.
Japan pulled its troops out of Iraq last year. The country still operates airlifts in the region in support of the U.S.-led forces, a mission set to end in July. Japan's navy has also provided fuel for coalition warships in the Afghan war since 2001.
Cheney also commented on British Prime Minister Tony Blair's announcement that Britain would begin withdrawing its troops from southern Iraq, calling it a sign of progress.
"Well, I look at it and see it is actually an affirmation that there are parts of Iraq where things are going pretty well," Cheney said in an interview with ABC.
Cheney said he had spoken with a friend who traveled recently from Baghdad to Basra and "found the situation dramatically improved from a year or so ago."
In Japan, Cheney met with Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko and Foreign Minister Taro Aso before holding talks with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Cheney and Abe discussed their countries' stances on North Korea, which has rattled the region with its nuclear ambitions but earlier this month agreed to shut down its main nuclear reactor in exchange for energy aid and other incentives.
"We are cooperating to protect our countries from the dangers of nuclear proliferation," Cheney told Abe at a photo session prior to their talks. Earlier, Cheney said the accord with North Korea was "a correct first step," but pledged to keep up pressure on the communist regime to dismantle its nuclear program.
Despite the breakthrough, Japan has declined to contribute aid to the North until the issue of past abductions of its citizens is resolved. North Korea has admitted kidnapping Japanese in the late 1970s and '80s, but Japan believes it has not provided a full accounting of the victims.
Cheney told Abe at the photo session that the U.S. respects Japan's position and wants "to seek a resolution of the tragic case of Japanese abductees." He was to meet the parents of one of the abductees on Thursday before flying to Guam and then on to Australia, his final stop.
Cheney and Abe also discussed China's anti-satellite weapon test last month. They agreed it demonstrated the country's lack of transparency over its military and that Beijing needed to become a more "responsible and constructive force in international society," a Foreign Ministry official said later at a briefing on customary condition of anonymity.
Cheney relayed an invitation from President Bush for Abe to visit the U.S., the Foreign Ministry official said.
Also Wednesday, Cheney and Tokyo's top government spokesman, Yasuhisa Shiozaki, reiterated their countries' intentions to collaborate closely on missile defense and the realignment of U.S. troops stationed in Japan.
The U.S. has about 50,000 troops stationed in Japan under a mutual security pact that dates back to the 1960s. Tokyo and Washington have been reworking that alliance to make the presence more effective. They are also developing a joint missile defense shield.
© MMVII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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See all 122 CommentsBut just wait till the bozo fascists, the spew and vomit clowns, and the sharia enthusiasts get a hold of this.
Ever hear of the angry chimp syndrome? It's coming from the anal retentive America haters...
Opinions on these pages go across the spectrum, with some not easily categorized as left or right. Even though some of us have some heated exchanges here, it is clear that most of us love our country.
With that in mind, here are our rights. Learn them while we still have them:
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These are the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Passed by Congress on September 25, 1789, ratified by 3/4ths of the states on December 15th, 1791:
1. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
2. A well regulated Militia, being necessary for the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.
3. No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in the time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.
4. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
5. No person shall be held to answer for capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation.
6. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trail, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of counsel for his defence.
7. In suits of common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of a trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of common law.
8. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
9. The enumeration of the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
10. The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
From the Number 1 CHICKEN HAWK!
Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah,
No one else can be a lesbian but your daughter. What a freeking a$$hole.
WE? Where the heck are you right now. You're not in Iraq!!
You're in DC, living it up, giving your Halliburton buddies more no-bid contracts!
While the young men and women you sent over are coming back in body bags!
"Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain..."
That's what you said just before you attacked the last country.
I love my country and I am determined to take it back from the small-minded myopia that is destroying the middle-class and making the world less safe.
And the Bill of Rights? I just want to let everyone know what this administration is destroying.
Never believe a man who only moves half his face. Says a lot for what Washington thinks of Tokyo, sending that gnome.
Posted by Scott4261
Thanks for your posts. KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK...
Your words above hit home for so many of us.
Posted by dallison7 at 10:31 AM : Feb 21, 2007
You have a hammer and cicle tattooed on your a**, don't you? I swear, you and your ilk are the best friends our enemies have.
Hey *** wake up....the MAJORITY of Americans no longer support your war. The only supporters you have are the politically ignorant and the bible thumping evangelicals. Do us all a favor and SHUT THE F*** UP.
This guy is insane!
The indolence and incapacity of Stultus Dumus the Younger being clearly unequal to the burdens of the supreme office, a lieutenant was sought who could stiffen his resolve, supply his want of energy and ensure that the designs of the Oligarchs were unrelentingly advanced. Appointed to preside over the selection of this lieutenant, Imbustus Vulturinus was a longtime servitor whose loyalty to the House of Dumus was cemented by criminal guilt in a numerous sequence of misdeeds (Journandes, op. cit., p. 103). Well ensconced in the Oligarchy, Vulturinus was nimble in the hydrocarbon fuel extraction industry; had profited immensely from his dealings with the artificers of hyper lethal weapons and had served the officials of the Hegemon whenever a deft lie or low stratagem was required. A secretive nature presented the appearance of quiet probity; and the affectation of piety supported an imaginary rectitude. But every sentiment of virtue and humanity was extinct in the mind of Vulturinus. Upon inspecting a series of candidates, he concluded rightly that none were his equal in the deadly arts of rapacious cruelty. Whereupon, Imbustus Anguis Vulturinus elevated himself to chief lieutenant, tutor, guardian and keeper of Dumus the Younger.
The resources of the entire Oikoumene were open to plunder, and it was the first care of Vulturinus to host a convocation of the energy extraction Oligarchs in order to agree upon the division of spoils. A signally important measure of the efficiency of an energy extraction enterprise and an essential prop to its reputation was the ratio of known reserves to annual production. The energy supply oligarchs presided over an enterprise based upon an ever depleting resource. They could never resist the temptation to profess a reserves-to-production ratio far in excess of reality. When the actual ratios were disclosed, the entire energy extraction industry was discovered to rest upon a most precarious foundation. Readily accessible supplies were rapidly disappearing; and strenuous efforts must be made by the Hegemon to acquire control over new sources. To avoid premature collapse of the energy enterprises, all information concerning the deliberations of the convocation was withheld from the populace and a long-cherished scheme of the oligarchy was revived. Realization of their dream of an imperial demesne extending from the banks of the Indus to the confines of Syria would have excited the envy of the son of Philip. But above all, when combined with the resources of the House of Saaud, such a conquest would furnish the Oligarchs with most of the fossil fuel supplies of the globe.
Get a grip you right wing nut bag. If it were not for power and money hungry jerks like Cheney and Bush the Islamic world would not hate us. They and other right wing jerk offs have insisted for decades on interfering with the Islamic culture and lands. All this so they could rape the land of its resources, enforce servitude over the people, and drive Christianity down their throats.
I love it when these a$$holes speak for us. Also the BS about it getting better so Blair is bringing some troops home, well why aren't they going where they are needed then!
Cheney translation:
"We want to complete the mission,(so my company gets paid maximum payola dollar) we want to get it done right, (so Harlliburton gets every penny of your US tax $$ they can) and then we want to come home, with honor. (after my cronies and I have milked all the money we'll ever need for the next several generations.)"
What is this jerk's approval rating ?...5 ?
"We are marching to Pretoria from the shores of Tripoli.." what a wonderful piece of music. Do you have any idea what that song is based on? Why we were in Africa in the firts decade of 1800? Who we were fighting? Why they were attacking our interests then?
History just didn't begin the day you were born man. This is the typical muslim m.o. - they kill, they sugjugate for the sheer pleasure of it and believe it pleases allah and secures their home in paradise.
anal retentive ISN'T THAT YOUR MOUTH
If only ONE news outlet wasn't GOVERNMENT PROPAGANDA. Just one.
Not CNN. Not CBS. Definetly NOT FOX. Not Newsweek. Not ABC.
The ONLY News that isn't 100% regulated by the Government is online.
Is he defending us the way he did during Vietnam?
Seriously, this man is an embarressment everytime he opens his mouth. All his talking shows how very far afield he is. He is clearly delusional with all his talk about about "winning the war". Even dubya has stopped all that talk and confines his statements to helping the Iraqis find stability.
Cheney is in la la land. The last of the neocons still holding on to that dream of a democratic Iraq.
To have the VP of this country so clearly out of touch with the American people and so clearly out of touch with current events is embarressing. This only goes to show just how little control Bush has over his people otherwise, Cheney would not be making such a fool of himself in front of the world.
He requires euthanization before he inflicts anymore damage.
He should follow Kenneth Lay's example. Today.
If it was anybody else the police would have crashed the gate. WHAT A JOKE TEXAS LAW JUST GOOD OLD BOYS
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