Cheney: Sept. 11 Changed Everything

DoD - American Forces Press Service ^ | Sept. 14, 2003 | K.L. Vantran

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

Cheney: Sept. 11 Changed Everything

By K.L. Vantran
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Sept. 14, 2003 -- Emphasizing that any loss of life or injury is "regrettable," Vice President Richard B. Cheney said here today that the cost of doing nothing or being unsuccessful in the global war on terror would be far higher than getting the job done right.

Sept. 11 changed everything, continued Cheney during an interview on NBC's "Meet the Press." "It changed the way we think of threats to the United States. It changed our recognition of our vulnerabilities. It changed in terms of the security strategies we need to pursue to guarantee the safety and security of the American people."

The vice president said it would be "nice to say" that another attack on the United States can't happen. But he said he begins every day reading intelligence reports from the CIA and FBI, and the reality is that there are plots by al Qaeda and related groups to launch attacks against the United States.

If anything was learned from the tragic events of Sept. 11, it's that a campaign of terror is mounted against this country and elsewhere, he said.

Before Sept. 11, the vice president said, people tended to think of terrorist acts as "find the bad guy, put him in jail, case closed." Since then it's been learned that certain terrorist attacks -- bombings of the World Trade Center in 1993, the East Africa Embassy in 1998 and the USS Cole in 2000, as well as the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States -- all were directed by al Qaeda.

"It's very important to make the transition to the understanding that we're at war," said Cheney, a war against "a global enemy that struck not only in New York and Washington, but in Bali and Jakarta."

As of Sept. 13, the vice president said there have been 372 casualties (combat and noncombat) since the beginning of the war on terror two years ago.

Stressing that "we'd like to do everything casualty free," the vice president pointed out the loss the country suffered on Sept. 11, 2001.

America will be "safer and more secure" when the tasks in Iraq are successfully completed, said Cheney. Whatever the costs -- casualties or financial resources -- they will be a lot less than trying to recover from another attack in the United States, he asserted.

Cheney noted "significant successes" in the war on terror. He cited taking down the Taliban, destroying the al Qaeda base, launching an attack into Iraq, destroying Iraqi armed forces, taking down the government of Iraq, getting rid of Saddam Hussein, and killing or capturing 42 of the deposed regime's 55 top leaders.

There have been many changes in Iraq in the last four months, he added. The new Iraqi Governing Council is in place. Democratic councils now govern more than 90 percent of Iraq's cities, towns and villages. Schools and hospitals are open, and there's progress on restoring electricity and rebuilding infrastructure. An Iraqi security force of 55,000 continues to grow.

"We're moving aggressively," said Cheney. "We've got some first-rate troops undertaking many efforts to stand up the new government. We've achieved a great deal and (need to) stay committed to get the job done, to get the guys on the ground the resources they need."

Winning in Iraq is vital to winning the global war on terror, said the vice president.

"If we're successful in Iraq, if we can stand up a good representative government that secures the region so that it never again becomes a threat to its neighbors or to the United States or so that it is not pursing weapons of mass destruction, so that it's not a safe haven for terrorists," Cheney said, "we would have struck a major blow right at the heart at the base of the terrorists. They understand what's at stake here, and that's one of the reasons they're putting up a struggle."

The United States will do what it has to do to prevail in this conflict, said Cheney. "Failure is not an option. This is not just about Iraq. This is about a continuing operation in the war on terror. It's very important we get it right."

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

 Thanks,Tonkin!

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

"We've achieved a great deal and (need to) stay committed to get the job done, to get the guys on the ground the resources they need."

Adults in charge, ping!

If you want on or off my pro-Coalition ping list, please Freepmail me. Warning: it is a high volume ping list on good days (most days are good days).

[SAMWolf]

the cost of doing nothing or being unsuccessful in the global war on terror would be far higher than getting the job done right.

About time we had Officials who know the score.

[dts32041]

As much as I hate to disagree with MR. Cheney, it didn't chnage a thing.

Rqts are still liars, and the Klown Klintoon go get relected in a lnadlide.

We Moan the rats moan about $87bn but don't blink and eye at $400 bn.

The canadian and mexicaliforna borders are still open.

So tell me what has really changed?

Other than having soliders overseas fighting the WOT.

[visualops]

Unfortunately the twits of the world do not realize the importance of directing the fight where it is. They somehow think if we hadn't gone to war, that everything would be OK.
Makes ya wanna scream, don't it?

[visualops]

Good read.

[alwaysconservative]

Bump and thanks for posting this! As a (sort of) related comment, a friend of mine taped the Showtime docu-drama about President Bush and 9/11 for me, "DC: 9/11". I hate to say it, but I was a little disappointed. President Bush came off as being egotistical, and less earnest or sincere than real life, and there was that hokey sob inserted in the "I'm a loving guy" press interview that just wasn't right at all. It took dynamic, smooth, in control statesmen and made them less dynamic, diminished somehow. Did anyone else feel this way?

[ALOHA RONNIE]

...One Thing Unchanged since Sept. 11th =

...The CLINTONS refused 3 Free Offers during the 1990's to bring our No. 1 Terrorist Enemy OSAMA bin LADEN to an American Jail & Trial that would have prevented the Attacks on us all on September 11, 2001.

'Remember the Lost and Suffering on September 11, 2001'

http://www.TheAlamoFILM.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=33

[Taiwan Bocks]

911 changed some things it shouldn't have.

Questioning authority, especially Homeland Security, is now treasonous or being a terrorist.

Going along no matter how you perceive massive wrongs of government is patriotic.

[arasina]

I didn't get to see the Showtime program, but the 60 Minutes II program "9/11: The President's Story" that re-aired on TLC Thursday night was VERY good. It was more of a true documentary. Excellent.

[Mulder]

Well, the pilots and passengers are still unarmed, so from that viewpoint it didn't change a thing (unless you count the Nazification of the airports).

[Hazzardgate]

So tell me what has really changed? Other than having soliders overseas fighting the WOT

Having soldiers overseas fighting the WOT.

[Pan_Yans Wife]

In terms of our troops fighting al Qaeda in Iraq, we should look at it this way.

We could sit idle at home, waiting for the sleeper cells to attack us, or we could engage them in the sandbox that they have created. Better there, than here.

And, if 50% of them are now incarcerated or dead, I think the odds are in our favor, only two years out.

In the meantime, we bring stability and a future to both Iraq and Afghanistan. Sounds like we are winning this war, one battle at a time.

[Go Gordon]

As much as I hate to disagree with MR. Cheney, it didn't change a thing.

You are either ignorant of whats going on, or stupid. Which is it?

[Go Gordon]

Questioning authority, especially Homeland Security, is now treasonous or being a terrorist.

Buy a vowel, or get a clue my friend. You can't treat terrorists the same as common criminals with all the rights of discovery, open trial, etc. Thats how 911 happened. If you are not a terrorist, you've got no fear of the patriot act. After your 18th birthday, maybe you'll understand the serious nature of whats going on. In the meantime, don't count on your teachers to help much.

[windchime]

"The United States will do what it has to do to prevail in this conflict, said Cheney. "Failure is not an option."

How many times does this have to be said before people 'get it'?!!

[Taiwan Bocks]

Wow, you sure showed me.

Guess open borders until only dictatorial Homeland Security II is enacted is the best way.

Gosh, you have all the answers.

Are you saying "Seig Heil Homeland Security!" yet?

You are naive or stupid. There's a cure for one of those, sir.

[dts32041]

My life hasn't changed, I go to work, I buy things, I bought a new car I don't fly.

My life has changed.

[dts32041]

My life has not changed.

Those things that happened in New York and Washington DC didn't happento me.

My Life didn't change.

[FreedomCalls]

If you are not a terrorist, you've got no fear of the patriot act.

Unless you are a petty criminal running a meth lab, now charged with "making chemical weapons" or a criminal making a pipe bomb now charged with making "a weapon of mass destruction."

New Terror Laws Used Vs. Common Criminals

By DAVID B. CARUSO, Associated Press Writer
PHILADELPHIA - In the two years since law enforcement agencies gained fresh powers to help them track down and punish terrorists, police and prosecutors have increasingly turned the force of the new laws not on al-Qaida cells but on people charged with common crimes.

The Justice Department said it has used authority given to it by the USA Patriot Act to crack down on currency smugglers and seize money hidden overseas by alleged bookies, con artists and drug dealers.

Federal prosecutors used the act in June to file a charge of "terrorism using a weapon of mass destruction" against a California man after a pipe bomb exploded in his lap, wounding him as he sat in his car.

A North Carolina county prosecutor charged a man accused of running a methamphetamine lab with breaking a new state law barring the manufacture of chemical weapons. If convicted, Martin Dwayne Miller could get 12 years to life in prison for a crime that usually brings about six months.

Prosecutor Jerry Wilson says he isn't abusing the law, which defines chemical weapons of mass destruction as "any substance that is designed or has the capability to cause death or serious injury" and contains toxic chemicals.

Civil liberties and legal defense groups are bothered by the string of cases, and say the government soon will be routinely using harsh anti-terrorism laws against run-of-the-mill lawbreakers.

"Within six months of passing the Patriot Act, the Justice Department was conducting seminars on how to stretch the new wiretapping provisions to extend them beyond terror cases," said Dan Dodson, a spokesman for the National Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys. "They say they want the Patriot Act to fight terrorism, then, within six months, they are teaching their people how to use it on ordinary citizens."

Prosecutors aren't apologizing.

Attorney General John Ashcroft completed a 16-city tour this week defending the Patriot Act as key to preventing a second catastrophic terrorist attack. Federal prosecutors have brought more than 250 criminal charges under the law, with more than 130 convictions or guilty pleas.

The law, passed two months after the Sept. 11 attacks, erased many restrictions that had barred the government from spying on its citizens, granting agents new powers to use wiretaps, conduct electronic and computer eavesdropping and access private financial data.

Stefan Cassella, deputy chief for legal policy for the Justice Department's asset forfeiture and money laundering section, said that while the Patriot Act's primary focus was on terrorism, lawmakers were aware it contained provisions that had been on prosecutors' wish lists for years and would be used in a wide variety of cases.

In one case prosecuted this year, investigators used a provision of the Patriot Act to recover $4.5 million from a group of telemarketers accused of tricking elderly U.S. citizens into thinking they had won the Canadian lottery. Prosecutors said the defendants told victims they would receive their prize as soon as they paid thousands of dollars in income tax on their winnings.

Before the anti-terrorism act, U.S. officials would have had to use international treaties and appeal for help from foreign governments to retrieve the cash, deposited in banks in Jordan and Israel. Now, they simply seized it from assets held by those banks in the United States.

"These are appropriate uses of the statute," Cassella said. "If we can use the statute to get money back for victims, we are going to do it."

"The record is clear," said Ralph Neas, president of the liberal People for the American Way Foundation. "Ashcroft and the Justice Department have gone too far."