Former Vice
President Dick Cheney cautioned on Sunday that the next attack on the
homeland will be 'far deadlier' than the last one.
'We're
in a very dangerous period,' Cheney told the Weekly Standard's Bill
Kristol in a video interview released on Sunday. 'I think it's more
threatening than the period before 9/11.
'I
think 9/11 will turn out to be not nearly as bad as the next mass
casualty attack against the United States, which, if and when it comes,
will be with something far deadlier than airline tickets and box
cutters,' he continued.
If and when the U.S. is attacked
again, it 'will be with something far deadlier than airline tickets and
box cutters' former Vice President Dick Cheney said in an interview
released on Sunday
Cheney
credited the increased odds of an attack to 'the dramatic spread of
terrorist organizations' over the last several years and the
'proliferation' of areas where terrorists can find safe haven.
All
the U.S. had to worry about before 9/11 was Afghanistan, he said. Now
the U.S. faces significant threats from terrorist cells in Mali,
Nigeria, and all of North Africa up through the middle East to
Indonesia.
The
former George W. Bush administration official acknowledged that 'some of
the decisions' his boss made were controversial and still are now, six
years later, the administration's methods were effective at 'preventing
another mass casualty attack on the U.S.'
'I don't think we have any apologies to make,' Cheney said.
'I think in a similar situation today, I would do exactly the same thing,' he stated.
Sorry I'm not sorry: Cheney told
Weekly Standard founder Bill Kristol he has no regrets about the way he
and George W. Bush's administration aggressively combated terrorist
threats
Not
citing the sitting president, Barack Obama, by name, Cheney suggested
that his unwillingness to engage Middle Eastern countries militarily
could prove detrimental to the U.S. and the international community.
'For
us to look at that part of the world and think we can hide behind our
ocean, everything's fine, that's crazy,' he said. 'You gotta be a fool
to believe isolationist strategy is the way to go.
'We
have no choice to be involved in that part of the world, and if we're
not actively involved, some very bad things are gonna happen,' he added.
Cheney also listed a nuclear Iran, cuts to the military and Chinese hackers as worrisome threats to the U.S.
'I
think we're entering a period of considerable danger with the United
States that relative to other nations is weaker than we oughta be,' he
said.
'What we need is strong leadership. We need a president and a Congress who understand the nature of the threat.
The
retired politician expressed hope that the U.S. 'will rise to the
occasion now as we did in the past' during World War I and World War II
and warned that it's 'very important that we do so.'
'This
is not the time for us to rest on our laurels' or cut defense budget he
said, referring to Obama's reduction in the military's size and scope.
Cheney
did not indicate who he thought would make a good replacement for Obama
once he leaves office in early 2017, but he said America needs
'somebody who will step up and remind the world what the United States
is capable of and demonstrate the ability and willingness to do that.'
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