Cheney: A withdrawal from Iraq could damage Israel

US vice president to AIPAC: If US troops leave before the government goals are established, it would "give extremists the taste of victory."

dick cheney  (photo credit: AP)
dick cheney
(photo credit: AP)
US Vice President Dick Cheney told the AIPAC annual conference in Washington on Monday afternoon that "President Bush is committed to the two-state vision, but will only agree to a peace accord that acknowledges Israel's right to exist, as well as the denunciation of all violence and terror." In addition, Cheney said that a possible withdrawal of US forces from Iraq before goals for a stable Iraqi government were completed could hurt Israel.
  • AIPAC conference speeches (video)
  • Non-Jewish students, officials flock to AIPAC The Vice President stated that such a withdrawal would "give extremists the taste of victory" and that they would act to overthrow any moderate forces in the region. Cheney also challenged lawmakers to prove their support for US troops and battling terrorism by approving the Bush administration's requests for financing military action in Iraq and Afghanistan. "When members of Congress pursue an anti-war strategy that's been called 'slow bleeding,' they are not supporting the troops, they are undermining them," he said.