- Vice-president Dick Cheney has signalled the Bush administration's
renewed determination to take military action against Iraq despite the
reservations of Pentagon generals over the likely scale of casualties.
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- He said: "In the case of Saddam Hussein, we have
a dictator who is clearly pursuing these deadly capabilities. Saddam has
also shown that he's willing to use weapons of mass destruction.
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- "A regime that hates America and everything we stand
for must never be permitted to threaten America with weapons of mass destruction."
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- The tough speech came after his aides were said to have
been angered by recent co-ordinated leaks from the six joint chiefs of
staff warning against "Iraq hysteria".
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- The military jitters followed a White House briefing
by Gen Tommy Franks, head of the US Southern Command, which covers the
Middle East, in which he said toppling Saddam would require 200,000 troops
and result in terrible casualties.
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- But Mr Cheney used an address to America's National Association
of Homebuilders to indicate that the Bush administration was firmly committed
to using armed force to overthrow the Iraqi leader.
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- Emphasising that "wars are not won on the defensive",
he said: "We must take the battle to the enemy and, where necessary,
pre-empt grave threats to our country before they materialise."
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- He continued: "This gathering danger requires the
most careful, deliberate and decisive response by America and our allies."
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- His comments seemed to show that the views of Mr Cheney,
Donald Rumsfeld, the defence secretary, and his deputy, Paul Wolfowitz,
were prevailing over the more cautious counsel of Colin Powell, the secretary
of state, and Pentagon generals.
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- Mr Cheney's words on Thursday were described by one defence
official as "the settled position of the Bush administration"
rather than evidence of a split or an attempt to strike back against the
generals.
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- "Generals are paid to warn of heavy casualties and
are understandably cautious about committing their forces to military action,"
said the official, who dismissed suggestions of a "revolt" by
the generals.
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- "That does not mean they are not fully behind the
president as the war on terrorism is widened. Since September 11 we have
all learned that the cost of preventing civilian loss of life in America
will inevitably be military casualties."
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- He added that Gen Powell had been reluctant to go to
war against Saddam after Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, but "the military
followed the orders of the president's father and victory was achieved".
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- Mr Cheney's speech was significant because it specifically
named Saddam as a serious danger to America. President Bush had used the
phrase "take the battle to the enemy" in an important speech
to cadets at West Point last Saturday but did not mention Saddam by name.
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- In a prime-time television address on Thursday night
announcing a reorganisation of "homeland security", Mr Bush sought
to steel the country for difficult times ahead in the "titanic struggle
against terror" as well as reassuring people that progress was being
made.
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- © Copyright of Telegraph Group Limited 2002.
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