'Cheney told Bush to bomb Syrian nuclear reactor'

Former US vice president releases autobiography, discusses US foreign policy in Middle East; calls Bush "in charge, strong, resolute."

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Dick Cheney 311 R (photo credit: Jason Reed / Reuters)
Dick Cheney 311 R
(photo credit: Jason Reed / Reuters)
Former US vice president Dick Cheney wrote, in his soon to be released memoir, that he advised former US president George W. Bush to bomb Syria's secret nuclear facility in 2007, The New York Times reported on Thursday.
"I again made the case for US military action against the (Syrian) reactor," Cheney wrote in his autobiography, In My Time: A Personal and Political Memoir, which was slated for release by Simon and Schuster on August 30, 2011. However, according to the review, former president Bush opted for the diplomatic approach.
RELATED:UNSC gets 'devastating briefing' about Syrian nuke plant'Syria's nuclear plant linked to 3 other facilities'
Israel was suspected to have bombed Syria's alleged nuclear facility near Deir al-Zor in September 2007.
According to The New York Times, which received a copy of the former vice president's book, Cheney wrote that in times of crisis, former president Bush was "in charge, strong and resolute," and defended the administration's highly criticized foreign policy moves, including his role. He also detailed certain internal decisions within the administration, such as his support for Colin Powel's resignation as secretary of state, and the difference in the level of his involvement between the first and second terms of the Bush presidency.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported in June that the suspected Syrian nuclear facility in Deir al-Zor, which Israel allegedly destroyed in September 2007, was linked to three other facilities in the country, according to London-based Al-Hayat.