U.S.

Cheney Rattles Saber Against Iraq

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

February 15, 2002 / 8:43 PM EST / CBS

In the latest administration move to notch up the pressure on Iraq, reports CBS News White House Correspondent Peter Maer, Vice President Dick Cheney Friday said if aggressive action is needed to deal with Saddam Hussein or any other country fostering terrorism and developing weapons of mass destruction, it will win support from the American public and U.S. allies.

Cheney said Iraq and any other country dealing with terrorists should think twice about "whether they want to face the wrath of the United States and the kind of threat that that would represent."

Cheney told the Council On Foreign Relations in a question-and-answer session military action is only one option. He describes Iraq as "very much a concern."

U.S. officials have said Washington is considering different ways to topple Hussein but the United States is facing opposition from some European allies and Canada over how to pursue its "war on terrorism."

Cheney also said he was disappointed with what he called "active support" for terrorism by Iran, linked by President Bush with Iraq and North Korea in an "axis of evil" that threatened world security.

"We don't talk about prospective future actions but I think if aggressive action is required, I would anticipate that there will be the appropriate support for that both from the American people and the international community," Cheney said.

Mr. Bush used the annual State of the Union last month to denounce Iraq, Iran and North Korea, saying they each combined backing for terrorists with development of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons and may have to be countered by force.

Answering a question at a lunch at the Council on Foreign Relations, Cheney said: "If you were to put together a list of states, given our concerns of weapons of mass destruction, states that have supported terrorists in the past or have links and ties, clearly (Iraq) has got to be one we focus on.

"We will use all the means at our disposal, military, diplomatic, intelligence, etc, to address these concerns."

Several world leaders have expressed concern about Mr. Bush's belligerent tone, fearing the United States, despite stated commitments to consult with allies, is taking a unilateral approach.

Canada's Prime Minister Jean Chretien said in Moscow on Thursday the war on terrorism had "to be done multilaterally, if we try to do it unilaterally it will go nowhere."

And Chris Patten, the European Union's external affairs chief, writing in the Financial Times on Friday, took further exception with the "axis of evil" connotation.

He said the "stunning" military success in Afghanistan "has perhaps reinforced some dangerous instincts: that the projection of military power is the only basis of true security; that the U.S. can rely on no one but itself; and that allies may be useful as optional extras."

Cheney also said Washington was unhappy with the Iranian government because of what he said were too many examples of fficial support of terrorism.

"We've seen all too many examples of their active support of terrorism and their...unstinting efforts to develop weapons of mass destruction," he said.

Iran's poor relations with the United States seemed to improve somewhat last year when it offered to help downed U.S. pilots in the war in neighboring Afghanistan.

But relations have taken a turn for the worse recently after Israel intercepted a shipment of arms which it said were sent by Iran and destined for Palestinian militants. Iran has denied the allegations.

Cheney did not cite any specific examples of Iran's active support of terrorism but he may have been alluding to this shipment, which the United States says has undermined attempts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Saying the Iranian people wanted improved relations with the United States, Cheney went on to accuse the Iranian government of being committed to destroying the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

"We would hope that they would understand the strength of our feelings about this particular set of concerns and that at some point down the road we could find a way to resolve those concerns," Cheney said.

U.S. officials have also expressed concern about Iran's attempts to influence the turbulent politics of western Afghanistan, with some seeing an attempt by Iran to maintain influence in the country.