Brandon

Monday, May 14, 2007

Vice President Cheney in Middle East Stressing Engagement, NOT Appeasement

Here's photo documentation of engagement at the highest level:


Vice President Dick Cheney gestures during a meeting with Egyptian Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi Sunday, May 13, 2007, at the Presidential Palace in Cairo. White House photo by David Bohrer


Amman, JORDAN: US Vice President Dick Cheney (L) shakes hands with Jordan's King Abdullah II, 14 May 2007 in the Jordanian Red Sea resort of Aqaba. King Abdullah II urged visiting US Vice President Dick Cheney to help revive the stalled Middle East peace process during talks also focused on Iraq and Iran. Jordanian officials said the meeting between Abdullah and Cheney -- who is on the final leg of a regional tour -- would focus on bolstering security and stability in Iraq and reviving peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians.


Abu Dhabi, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: US Vice President Dick Cheney (L) meets with Emirati President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahayan at the al-Bateen Palace in Abu Dhabi, 12 May 2007. Cheney heads to Saudi Arabia today to seek its aid in Iraq, two months after close US ally King Abdullah slammed the "illegitimate foreign occupation" of that war-torn land. Over the weekend, Cheney was also to visit Egypt and Jordan to wrap up a week-long Middle East visit aimed at getting Washington's friends to help pull Iraq's minority Sunni Muslims into the country's fragile political process.


Abu Dhabi, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: US Vice President Dick Cheney (L) meets with Emirati Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahayan upon the former's arrival to Abu Dhabi, 10 May 2007. Cheney arrived today in the United Arab Emirates, the second stop on a Middle East tour to seek more help from US allies to quell violence in Iraq and limit Iran's influence in the region.
Interview of the Vice President by Bret Baier, FOX News
Beit al-Bahr Palace, Aqaba, Jordan

QUESTION: Mr. Vice President, thanks for being with us. Since we last talked, you've met one-on-one with a number of Arab leaders for long periods of time. What did you accomplish?

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Well, my assignment from the President was to come out and talk with our friends in the region -- most of them are old friends of mine, people I've known and dealt with over the last nearly 20 years - to focus specifically on the problems in the region, issues such as Iraq, what's happening there, the Iranian situation, the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, seek their advice and counsel as well as tell them what our thinking is on those major issues of the day.
...
QUESTION: There's another question about messages. You were on the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis 150 miles from the coast of Iran. You delivered a warning to Iran, a very visual warning, and now we have confirmation that these meetings in Baghdad are moving forward with the Iranians. Help people understand the different messages there to the Iranian Government.

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Well, the meetings in Baghdad will be at the ambassadorial level and the President has made it abundantly clear that they are to focus specifically on the situation in Iraq. The Iraqis have been interfering - or, excuse me, the Iranians have been interfering in the internal affairs of Iraq and that subject will be discussed at the ambassadorial level.

That's got nothing to do with the fact that we are obviously opposed to what the Iranians are trying to do in the nuclear area. They appear to be determined to develop the capacity to enrich uranium in order to produce nuclear weapons. The UN Security Council now has twice unanimously passed resolutions calling for an end to that Iranian nuclear program. So far, the Iranians have ignored it. They shouldn't ignore it. They ought to comply with the UN resolutions.
...
QUESTION: Last time we talked, we talked about George Tenet's book a little bit. In that book, he says that the al Qaeda leadership is inside Iran; and while they're under some loose house arrest, they may have been plotting attacks and they have plotted attacks from Iranian soil. Do you believe that to be true?

THE VICE PRESIDENT: We are confident that there are a number of senior al Qaeda officials in Iran and they've been there since the spring of '03. About the time that we launched operations into Iraq, the Iranians rounded up a number of al Qaeda individuals and placed them under house arrest and they're still there.

We think obviously there are other elements that are responsible for overall leadership of al Qaeda, specifically Osama bin Laden, Zawahiri. They are not in Iran, but there are some senior officials in Iran. They've been held there for some time. But activities they've been engaged in, I'm really not at liberty to discuss.



10 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's hard to come by experienced people for this topic, but you seem like you know what you're talking about!
Thanks
My website: hair care

Anonymous said...

It's a pity you don't have a donate button! I'd without a doubt donate to this brilliant blog! I suppose for now i'll settle for bookmarking and adding your RSS feed to my Google account.

I look forward to new updates and will talk about this website with my Facebook group.
Talk soon!

Also visit my web site wii u rumors

Anonymous said...

What's Taking place i am new to this, I stumbled upon this I have found It positively helpful and it has helped me out loads. I am hoping to give a contribution & assist other customers like its helped me. Good job.

Feel free to visit my blog post - random rants

Anonymous said...

Excellent pieces. Keep writing such kind of info on your blog.

Im really impressed by your site.
Hi there, You've done a fantastic job. I'll certainly digg
it and individually suggest to my friends. I'm confident they will be benefited from this web site.

Also visit my web blog: 800 calorie hcg diet

Anonymous said...

This is a topic that is near to my heart... Cheers! Where are your contact details though?



my web site :: I love you

Anonymous said...

Keep on working, great job!

Feel free to visit my web blog Keflex cost

Anonymous said...

Greate article. Keep posting such kind of information on your blog.
Im really impressed by your blog.
Hi there, You've done an excellent job. I will definitely digg it and individually suggest to my friends. I'm sure they will be benefited from this website.


my web site :: Http://Www.Jnmassage.Info/

Anonymous said...

Hey there I am so grateful I found your weblog, I really found you by error, while I was searching on Aol for something
else, Regardless I am here now and would just like to say
cheers for a incredible post and a all round entertaining blog (I also love the theme/design), I don't have time to read it all at the moment but I have saved it and also added in your RSS feeds, so when I have time I will be back to read a great deal more, Please do keep up the awesome job.

Here is my site http://xxx-fuck.net/

Anonymous said...

I really like your blog.. very nice colors & theme. Did you make this
website yourself or did you hire someone to do it for you?
Plz reply as I'm looking to design my own blog and would like to know where u got this from. thanks

Also visit my site - Amateur Teen Fucking

Anonymous said...

It's enormous that you are getting ideas from this piece of writing as well as from our discussion made here.

Feel free to surf to my blog post ... free an porn

fsg053d4.txt Free xml sitemap generator