Just hours before being sworn in for a second term, Vice President Dick Cheney publicly raised the possibility on Thursday that Israel "might well decide to act first" to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. In an interview on the MSNBC program "Imus in the Morning," a highly unusual forum for Mr. Cheney, he appeared to use the danger of Israeli military action as one more reason that the Iranians should reach a diplomatic agreement to disarm, noting dryly that any such strike would leave "a diplomatic mess afterwards" and should be avoided. President Bush, in his inaugural speech on Thursday, appeared to have Iran, among other countries, in mind when he said he was committed to "the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world." After defending the administration's decision to invade Iraq, Mr. Cheney, who appeared on the show with his wife, Lynne, was asked about the Iranian threat. "We believe they have a fairly robust new nuclear program," Mr. Cheney said of the Iranians, carefully not using the word "weapons," though in the American and European intelligence communities there is a widespread belief that the program is intended to build a nuclear arsenal. He also said that Iran "is a noted sponsor of terror," particularly in its support for Hezbollah, and that the combination of nuclear technology and terrorism "is of great concern." "You look around at potential trouble spots, Iran is right at the top of the list," he said. "If, in fact, the Israelis became convinced the Iranians had a significant nuclear capability, given the fact that Iran has a stated policy that their objective is the destruction of Israel, the Israelis might well decide to act first, and let the rest of the world worry about cleaning up the diplomatic mess afterwards." [more] and [more]
- Pictured above: A snowball melts on the side of a limousine as Vice President Richard Cheney waves during the inaugural parade in Washington, January 20, 2005. Flag-draped coffins and anti-war chants competed with pomp and circumstance on Thursday at the inauguration of President George W. Bush (news - web sites) along the snow-dusted, barricaded streets of central Washington. REUTERS/Tim Shaffer [more]