Posted on 11/16/2005 4:05:19 PM PST by Oeconomicus
CHENEY FIGHTS BACK Wed Nov 16 2005 18:56:46 ET Excerpts As Prepared For Delivery Tonight by Vice President Cheney
THE VICE PRESIDENT: "As most of you know, I have spent a lot of years in public service, and first came to work in Washington, D.C. back in the late 1960s. I know what its like to operate in a highly charged political environment, in which the players on all sides of an issue feel passionately and speak forcefully.
In such an environment people sometimes lose their cool, and yet in Washington you can ordinarily rely on some basic measure of truthfulness and good faith in the conduct of political debate. But in the last several weeks we have seen a wild departure from that tradition.
And the suggestion thats been made by some U. S. senators that the President of the United States or any member of this Administration purposely misled the American people on pre-war intelligence is one of the most dishonest and reprehensible charges ever aired in this city...
Some of the most irresponsible comments have, of course, come from politicians who actually voted in favor of authorizing force against Saddam Hussein. These are elected officials who had access to the intelligence, and were free to draw their own conclusions.
They arrived at the same judgment about Iraqs capabilities and intentions that was made by this Administration and by the previous Administration. There was broad-based, bipartisan agreement that Saddam Hussein was a threat that he had violated U.N. Security Council Resolutions and that, in a post-9/11 world, we couldnt afford to take the word of a dictator who had a history of WMD programs, who had excluded weapons inspectors, who had defied the demands of the international community, who had been designated an official state sponsor of terror, and who had committed mass murder.
Those are facts.
What were hearing now is some politicians contradicting their own statements and making a play for political advantage in the middle of a war. The saddest part is that our people in uniform have been subjected to these cynical and pernicious falsehoods day in and day out. American soldiers and Marines are out there every day in dangerous conditions and desert temperatures conducting raids, training Iraqi forces, countering attacks, seizing weapons, and capturing killers and back home a few opportunists are suggesting they were sent into battle for a lie.
The President and I cannot prevent certain politicians from losing their memory, or their backbone but were not going to sit by and let them rewrite history.
Were going to continue throwing their own words back at them. And far more important, were going to continue sending a consistent message to the men and women who are fighting the war on terror in Iraq, Afghanistan, and many other fronts.
We can never say enough how much we appreciate them, and how proud they make us. They and their families can be certain: That this cause is right and the performance of our military has been brave and honorable and this nation will stand behind our fighting forces with pride and without wavering until the day of victory.
Developing...
Sorry, I'm happily married ladies.
Let me thank the good people of Frontiers of Freedom - George Landrith, Kerri Houston, Al Lee - for bringing us all together this evening. I see many good friends in the room, including current and former office holders. It's a pleasure to see all of you. I'm sorry that we couldn't be joined by Senators Harry Reid, John Kerry, or Jay Rockefeller. They were unable to attend due to a prior lack of commitment.
OMG that is so funny! I can almost hear him saying it too. Then that grin of his!
ping to #34
Naming names now. The administration is escalating this, Dems and sorry useless Republicans cowering in the Senate are going to regret what they have done.
Better they regret and still live, though, then succeed and regret when more cities are attacked here for ceding Iraq to the enemy.
Thanks.
It is good to hear from you.
The incredible thing about that picture in #30 is how old Howard Baker has gotten.
If you look at the "Properties," you'll see he linked directly to the web site...never a good idea.
Considerate posting of pics involves saving the pic, resizing (if necessary) and then using a hosting service like TinyPic.com.
Thank you Vice President Cheney!
Good catch and thanks for the new tagline (slightly modified)!
"The timing (the delay in response) can only be explained as a rope-a-dope ploy"
As I read his speech,I was thinking the exact same thing.
My beloved Bigtime. How I adore him. I wish they'd wheel him out more often-- my favorite Bushie.
Cheney / Rice '08! or Cheney / Guiliani! Or Cheney / Allen! ...Whatever, we just gotta have this guy as President!
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x2255041 (if i've violated any policy of linking to "overthere" i apologize)
He's been picking a fight and saying the most wild things on the senate floor
He's been playing up to their base ... they are itching for an impeachment
Don't tell us, tell the Republican Senators!
http://www.senate.gov
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