Cheney says US must stick with Iraq

US Vice President Dick Cheney has insisted that America must not turn its back on Iraq, despite the hammering the Bush administration…

US Vice President Dick Cheney has insisted that America must not turn its back on Iraq, despite the hammering the Bush administration took in mid-term elections this month over the issue.

Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was sacked after the election which saw Democrats gain majorities in both the Senate and the House of Representatives and the majority of state governorships.

"Some in our country may believe in good faith that retreating from Iraq would make America safer. Recent experience teaches the opposite lesson," Mr Cheney said in a speech to the Federalist Society, a conservative legal group.

He was speaking publicly for the first time since the November 7 thelections. Mr Cheney praised Mr Rumsfeld as a reformer and "one of the great public servants of the age," drawing applause from the audience. Mr Cheney is a close ally of Rumsfeld.

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Some analysts believe Mr Bush's announcement of the Pentagon chief's dismissal the day after the election may signal diminished influence for Mr Cheney, seen by some historians as one of the most influential vice presidents in modern history.

Mr Cheney made no mention of Robert Gates Mr Rumsfeld's replacement. Mr Bush said he turned to Mr Gates, who headed the CIA during the president's father's administration, because he wanted a "fresh perspective" on the war.

Underscoring his openness to a new approach in Iraq, the President has also said he is eager to hear the recommendations of an independent panel led by former Secretary of State James Baker and ex-congressman Lee Hamilton that is weighing alternative strategies.

The commission is expected to report its findings within the coming weeks.

Mr Cheney, echoing Mr Bush, said adjustments in military tactics were always under review. "We'll be flexible. We'll do all we can to adapt to conditions on the ground. We'll make every change needed to do the job.

But he reiterated the current strategy of helping to train Iraqi forces with a view to handing over security remained the preferred policy.

He warned that pulling out of Iraq would only embolden militant groups like al Qaeda, which he said were aiming to find a safe haven to plot attacks against the United States.

"To get out before the job is done would convince the terrorists, once again, that free nations will change our policies, forsake our friends, and abandon our interests whenever we are confronted with violence and blackmail," he added.