DAR AL HARB - U.S.A.: INTERVIEW WITH V.P. CHENEY

Interview: Cheney on Iran, Iraq, Syria and Pelosi
The Associated Press
Interview of the Vice President by Ann Compton, ABC News Radio
WASHINGTON—Office of the Vice President

Q Mr. Vice President, did Iran blink?

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Well, I don’t know all the details, obviously, but I’m glad to know that the British sailors are apparently going to be released. I think it was unfortunate that they were ever taken in the first place. There’s considerable evidence that they were, in fact, in Iraqi territorial waters when this happened. And so it’s one of those events that should not have happened. I think the Iranians were wrong to capture the sailors, and it’s good now that they have been released.

Q Do you think there was any quid pro quo for their release?

THE VICE PRESIDENT: I don’t know.

Q Do you think there should have been?

THE VICE PRESIDENT: No, I don’t think there should have been. I think —

Q Why?

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Well, I think it’s important that if you get into the business where you reward that kind of behavior, there will be more of that kind of behavior. Once people start taking hostages, or kidnapping folks on the high seas, and then are rewarded for it by getting some kind of political concession or some other thing of value, that would be unfortunate.

Q Let me switch to the war supplemental, which President Bush will be addressing again today. In our system of government — you’ve certainly been in the civilian side of defense policymaking in this and other administrations — in our system, civilians call the shots. They run the military. So why isn’t it appropriate that Congress speak out on something — not only on the amount of money being given to the Iraq effort, but any conditions attached to it?

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Well, there’s an important distinction to be made here. Clearly, Congress has a role to play. They are responsible for appropriating funds. But there’s an area, once they cross over a line, that’s pretty well drawn in the Constitution that says, under I think it’s Article Two of the Constitution, the President is the Commander-in-Chief. He’s the one who makes the decisions about the use of military force, how they’re deployed, when they’re deployed, what purposes they’re deployed for.

And when we have the kind of effort that’s being made now in the war supplemental, to impose restrictions on — and set timetables, and so forth, it’s not just a question of Congress appropriating funds and either supporting or not supporting the effort, you begin to get in the area where, in fact, they are trying to usurp the ability of the President to make those basic decisions, as well as, I think, to interfere with the activities of our troops on the ground in Iraq.

We charge Dave Petraeus, General Petraeus, with the responsibility of commanding the force in Iraq, with accomplishing the mission of achieving our objectives in Iraq, and then Congress comes along and adds all kinds of bells and whistles to it that makes it doubly difficult for him to do his task — I think that’s inappropriate.

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Pertinent Links:

1) Interview: Cheney on Iran, Iraq, Syria and Pelosi