US Vice President Dick Cheney conceded on Sunday that the Iraq insurgency had lasted far longer and proved far more stubborn than he had anticipated, walking back two of his most criticized earlier statements on the war.
Speaking on NBC's 'Meet the Press,' Cheney acknowledged he had been wrong to predict the insurgency was in its final stages and wrong to expect American troops would be welcomed as liberators. He called the ongoing conflict 'long and bloody.'
Despite those admissions, Cheney remained firm that the invasion was correct, arguing that a Saddam Hussein still in power would have used oil revenues to sponsor terrorism and threaten American security. 'To suggest the world is not better off' with Saddam jailed, he said, 'is just dead wrong.'
Cheney also defended the decision to invade even in the absence of weapons of mass destruction or any proven link between Saddam and the 11 September 2001 attacks. He maintained the action was 'absolutely the right thing to do.'
Looking back at the war's timeline, Cheney identified 2005 as a turning point, citing Iraqi steps toward self-governance, including drafting a constitution and holding 3 national elections.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in September 2006, in its own words.