Former Vice President Dick Cheney on Tuesday night said President Obama “abandoned” Iraq despite warnings of chaos from Pentagon advisors, and the result is that “now you’ve got [the Islamic State] controlling a third or more of the country.”
In a forceful foreign policy address that was cheered at a fundraiser for the National Republican Congressional Committee, Cheney also declared that America must never let Iran get a nuclear weapon.
“If there is any single objective of national security policy that allows for no equivocation whatsoever, it’s this: America needs to make absolutely certain that the fanatics who rule Iran don’t get a nuclear weapon,” he said in excerpts provided to Secrets. No press coverage was allowed.
Honored to introduce the best VP ever at the NRCC March dinner. pic.twitter.com/4aOaXZNuwz
— Liz Cheney (@Liz_Cheney) March 25, 2015
Cheney was the headliner for the annual event, which raised $17.5 million. That take shattered last year’s record by $2.4 million, when former Bush Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice spoke.
Several who attended said Cheney presented a clear picture of the dangers of a muddled foreign policy, especially in Iraq, where the Islamic State has taken control of cities U.S. forces spilled blood to secure during the Iraq war he helped oversee.
“In reality, if any regrets are in order, they should be directed at the allies this administration has failed to lead in recent years, and to the friends they have abandoned — especially in Iraq,” said Cheney.
“President Obama was cautioned by military advisors to leave enough forces to secure the stability we had finally achieved there. He didn’t listen, and now you’ve got ISIS controlling a third or more of the country,” Cheney said, using another term for the Islamic State.
Cheney, who remains the GOP’s top voice on military and international policy, also addressed the current budget war in Congress and impact on security. “I can think of no more urgent business than this: We have got to right the course, working together, and remembering that there is no higher priority in the budget, than the security of the United States.”
He was introduced by his daughter, Liz Cheney, and opened with some humor and discussion of his health. “You know it was three years ago today that I received a heart transplant. And I am very grateful. My health is good, I feel great,” he said, according to one donor in the audience.
He also talked about his different roles in Congress. “I still think of myself as a man of the House, and pride myself on being the only vice president to keep an office on the House side of the Capitol,” said the former Wyoming congressman. “There was even a day when my highest political ambition was to preside over the House as speaker. Fate had other things in store, however. I had to settle for second best and preside over the Senate,” he joked.
“It was an excellent speech. Delivered vigorously — and effectively. Several standing O’s during and after he spoke,” said one attendee.
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected].
