Cheney: Strategy for Success in Iraq Is Working

WASHINGTON, Feb. 28, 2006 – Terrorists have demonstrated through their violence that they understand what's at stake in Iraq, Vice President Dick Cheney said today, insisting that the terrorists will ultimately fail and that the strategy for success is working. Speaking here to the 46th Annual American Legion Washington Conference, Cheney said terrorists are committing acts of horror in Iraq in a calculated move to shock and intimidate the civilized world. Similarly, he called last week's attack on the Golden Mosque in Samarra "a clear attempt to ignite a civil war."

Osama bin Laden and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi recognize Iraq as the central front in the war on terror and the United States must do the same, Cheney said.

"This nation has made a decision: We will stand by our friends and engage our enemies with the goal of a victory," he said. "And as the president said in the State of the Union (address), 'We are in this fight to win, and we are winning.'"

While acknowledging that more violence and destruction can be expected, the vice president said he and President Bush are optimistic that Iraq's political factions will work together to form a stable, viable representative government.

"We expect, as well, that as freedom takes hold, the ideologies of hatred and resentment will lose their appeal, and the advance of democracy in Iraq will inspire reformers across the broader Middle East," he said.

As the region experiences new hope and progress, "a terrible threat will be removed from the lives of our children and our grandchildren," he said.

Reaching that point won't happen overnight and will demand patience and perseverance on the part of the American people, Cheney said.

It will also require continued sacrifice by the country's men and women in uniform, he said.

Cheney thanked members of the American Legion for their strong support for the military. "I know it means a great deal to them to know how deeply you believe in them and in the cause they serve during a time of enormous consequence," he said.

America's armed forces, currently serving in 100 countries around the world, provide a visible sign of the country's global commitments, he said. These men and women are "defending our interests, standing by our friends, keeping patient vigil against possible dangers and above all, directly engaging the enemies of the United States," he said.

Military service has always involved accepting extremely perilous missions, the vice president said. "The war on terror is a new kind of war against the most ruthless of enemies, and the fight we are waging is every bit as urgent as it is dangerous," he said.

The servicemembers carrying out this fight are carrying out longstanding military ideals, he said. "In this new generation, we are seeing once against that the American in uniform places the mission first, never accepts defeat, never quits, and never leaves a fallen comrade," Cheney said.

By showing compassion and decency even in what Cheney called "the cruelties of battle," these troops are showing the world America's true character, just as the legionaries who served before them, he said.

"Our people in uniform today are following noble traditions and upholding a brave legacy," Cheney said. "And they find inspiration from those who came before them."

Post-war Germany had some guerrilla groups that continued to fight after the war. Notably, the Werewolf group which acted on behalf of the SS during the war continued operations after the war was over, but was never considered a genuine threat to the occupation. Almost the same thing could be said of the guerrillas in Iraq if the statement were limited to guerrillas of Iraqi born origins. The resistance to date, in the absence of media attention and public opinion would be completely and totally ineffectual in real military terms, exactly as was the resistance offered by the Werewolves in Germany after WWII.

A majority of the guerrillas in Iraq are not Iraqi born. In fact, a majority are foreign born fighters whose primary purpose is to destabilize Iraq so foreign interests other than those of the coalition can be pursued at the expense of the coalition and, in fact, the Iraqi people. As such, the the guerrilla war in Iraq is not a true expression of resistance to the occupation of Iraq. Ending the occupation is not the primary aim of the parties who are guiding and directing the partisan resistance there. In stead, the guerrilla activities in Iraq can only be viewed as a visible focal point in a much broader regional struggle for dominance of ideology. From the perspective of the coalition, this is the very definition of the war on terror.

Although it has not been expressed in these terms in mainstream media, the expansion of the extremest ranks aligned against the western forces in Iraq serves to draw out the element in that region which is most fanatically dangerous to western interests into conflicts where they may potentially be eliminated, or better yet, make mistakes that will alienate the popular majority of people native to the region. The cost of this process is not the same as the cost of occupying Germany after WWII. In that case, the cost was only the blood of American soldiers, fighting a beaten foe with no allies outside its own borders. In Iraq, the cost is not only blood, but the minds and hearts of a 30 second sound bite respecting, rather short memoried, product consuming American public that is easily swayed from staying any significantly difficult course that doesn't also pose an immediate threat to the life or limbs of the average voter.

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