Cheney: U.S. Will Halt Saddam's Nuke Bid

NEWSMAX ^ | 3/24/02 | Limbacher

[Tumbleweed_Connection]

Invoking the specter of Israel's 1981 strike on Iraq's Osiraq nuclear reactor, Vice President Dick Cheney vowed Sunday that the U.S. would stop Baghdad from obtaining nuclear weapons.

"I think it would be a great tragedy if Saddam Hussein were to acquire nuclear weapons," Cheney told NBC's "Meet the Press." "The president has been very clear that we will do everything we need to do to make certain that doesn't happen."

Cheney recalled Israel's preemptive strike 21-years ago on the Osiraq reactor, which temporarily halted the Iraqi nuclear program.

"We do know that he was working on it back in 1981, when the Israelis took out the Osiraq reactor. We know he was working on it before the Gulf War. We know as a result of things we found out after the Gulf War.... that he had an aggressive program throughout that period of time."

The vice president declined to echo predictions that Hussein might have a nuclear bomb as early as 2005, but noted "He's got enormous resources because of his oil wealth (and) he's got nobody watching" since U.N weapons inspectors were booted out of Iraq four years ago.

[XBob]

when are the liberals and the muslims going to figure out the obvious? I put their intellects into the same categories.

[Tennessee_Bob]

Hey - if Saddam wants nukes, I say we send him a few.

[dighton]

Candygram!