Vice President Dick Cheney used the second day of a four-day swing through California to continue advocating the administration’s position that Iran, Iraq and North Korea constitute an “axis of evil” that threatens world peace.
“Each of these regimes has a choice to make,” Cheney said in a speech here at the Richard Nixon Library and Birthplace, where he and his wife, Lynne, received the library’s Architect of Peace Award.
“The international community should encourage all of them to make the responsible choice, and to do so with a sense of urgency,” Cheney added.
In his 20-minute speech to about 175 guests who paid $2,500 to attend the luncheon fundraising event for the library, Cheney outlined what he called the compelling evidence against the three nations.
Calling the Iranian government “the world’s leading exporter of terror” for its support of Hamas, Hezbollah and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist groups, Cheney said Tehran is doing “everything it can to destroy prospects of peace in the Middle East.”
Cheney said Iraq is harboring terrorist groups, identified in his prepared remarks as Abu Nidal, the Palestine Liberation Front, the 15 May organization and the Arab Liberation Front. In addition, he said, Iraq claims to have a suicide terrorist capability in the Fedayeen Saddam, which he said is directed by Saddam Hussein’s eldest son.
He criticized North Korea for what he said is its program to develop weapons of mass destruction and its export of ballistic missile technology.
Cheney’s appearance at the library came on the 30th anniversary of President Richard Nixon’s historic trip to China, President Bush’s next destination on his current Asia trip.
Echoing remarks he made the previous day at the Marine Corps’ Miramar Air Station near San Diego, the vice president reminded the audience that the war against terror “will not end soon.”
“America must be committed to a lengthy, sustained effort against ruthless and resourceful enemies,” said Cheney, paying what he said was his first visit to the library and birthplace of Nixon, the first president Cheney worked for in his long public service career. The vice president recalled working as a junior staffer in the Nixon White House, where he was “occasionally asked to flip charts” at meetings.
After Tuesday’s ceremony, Cheney traveled to Los Angeles for an appearance on NBC’s “Tonight Show With Jay Leno,” during which Cheney poked fun at his recent low profile.
In the opening, Leno knocked on the vice president’s dressing room door–to no avail. A frustrated Leno then walked away.
Cheney then stepped out before the camera and said, “What the country needs–another undisclosed location joke.”
Cheney later told Leno that he often hunts birds while at his undisclosed location and joked that he misses juicy steaks.
“I can’t go to restaurants without someone putting in The Washington Post not only what I ate, but what I tipped,” he said.
The vice president did touch on some serious issues, saying someone at Enron “needs to pay a heavy price” for the company’s failure. He also said that Congress’ request for notes on his energy policy meetings “weakens the presidency.”
