Cheney: Iraq pullout would hurt Israel

By · March 25, 2007

A U.S. military withdrawal from Iraq would be damaging to Israel, Dick
Cheney said. “We must consider, as well, just what a precipitous
withdrawal would mean to our other efforts in the war on terror, to our
interests in the broader Middle East, and to Israel,” the U.S. vice
president said over the weekend to a Republican Jewish Coalition
leadership gathering in Latana, Fla. “Commentators enjoy pointing out
mistakes through 20/20 hindsight. But the biggest mistake of all can
be seen in advance: A sudden withdrawal of our coalition would
dissipate much of the effort that has gone into fighting the global war
on terror, and result in chaos and mounting danger. And for the sake of
our own security, we will not stand by and let it happen,” Cheney said. He has a similar message earlier this month to the American Israel
Public Affairs Committee’s annual policy forum.