<

Cheney Tells Sailors and Airmen That U.S. Terror War Isn't Over
Friday, March 15, 2002
By Holly Rosenkrantz
Bloomberg

The U.S. will send 100 military advisers to train Yemeni forces patrolling for al-Qaeda members who may be regrouping in the country, Saleh said.

ABOARD THE USS JOHN STENNIS -- Bloomberg
U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, taking a day off from meetings with Middle East leaders, toured an aircraft carrier and watched F-18 jets fly off to drop bombs on al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan.

``This war will end when our allies have delivered justice in full measure and no terrorist group or government can threaten the peace of the world,'' Cheney told about 5,000 sailors and airmen assigned to the USS John Stennis, sailing in the Arabian Sea off the coast of Oman.

Cheney is using meetings in 12 countries to lay out plans for the next phase of the U.S. fight against terrorism, which the Bush administration said may target countries such as Iraq. Cheney faced criticism from many of the Arab leaders he met in the region, while the U.S. military personnel with whom he lunched said they were eager for the next battle.

``It would give people back home something to feel good about,'' said Brad Biros, a 24-year-old from Ohio. ``Why not bomb them in Iraq? They've got terrorists there, too.''

Cheney added stops at U.S. military installations to his tour itinerary so he could meet service members, his spokeswoman, Mary Matalin, told reporters. ``He likes to be with them, schmooze with them,'' she said.

Cheney's visit to the carrier was scheduled on Muslim weekly holy day, when many of the Arab leaders on his itinerary don't conduct business. The vice president was given a blue helmet, goggles, and a white flotation vest with the initials ``VP'' to wear on the carrier's deck.
* Attack on Iraq
* U.S. Options
(More: Bloomberg News Source)
2002 © Bloomberg L.P.

Dan