http://au.news.yahoo.com/070223/19/12j28.html
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Saturday February 24, 10:47 AM
<b>Cheney, Australia's Howard to discuss Iraq, Afghanistan</b>
Photo : AFPÂ
SYDNEY (AFP) - US Vice President Dick Cheney on Saturday met Australian Prime Minister John Howard, one of Washington's staunchest allies, for talks likely to focus on troop deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.
The meeting took place in Sydney one day after <b>Cheney issued a stern rebuke to China over its rapid military build-up and also hinted that Washington may consider military action against Iran to thwart its nuclear ambitions.</b>
On the last full day of Cheney's visit to Australia aimed at thanking Canberra for its support in Iraq, the two men smiled broadly and shook hands as Howard welcomed the vice president to his Sydney office.
"It's great to see you again," Howard said.
"It's great to come back," Cheney responded before the pair posed for photographers in front of a glass panel embossed with the Australian coat of arms and flanked by the flags of each nation.
Talks were expected to focus on the war in Iraq and the conflict in Afghanistan where Australia is considering deploying more troops to counter resurgent Taliban and Al-Qaeda fighters.
As the Iraq campaign becomes increasingly unpopular in the United States and Australia amid spiralling violence, both Cheney and Howard have stressed that a hasty pullout would be a catastrophe that would hand victory to terrorists.
Howard said this week he would send more troops to Iraq just before Britain announced it would cut its troop numbers in the strife-torn country even though Washington is preparing for a massive injection of soldiers.
Cheney's visit comes as Howard is under growing political and public pressure for his steadfast support of the US-led war in Iraq, prompting claims by pundits that the timing of the trip is awkward for the prime minister.
Also likely to be on the agenda between the two men is the fate of David Hicks, an Australian arrested in Afghanistan more than five years ago who is currently being held without charges in the US military prison in Guantanamo Bay.
The key deal to freeze North Korea's nuclear programme may also be included in the talks between Cheney and Howard, whose country is one of a handful to maintain diplomatic ties with Pyongyang.
Just hours after Cheney said Friday he was wary of North Korea not keeping to its side of the bargain, UN atomic agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei said the unpredictable Stalinist state had invited him for a visit to discuss implementing the landmark nuclear agreement.
<b>The hawkish Cheney caused a stir when, during the only speech of his Australian visit, he said China's flexing of military muscle and an anti-satellite weapons test were at odds with the goals of a peaceful power.</b>
<b>In an interview with the US ABC television network, he also did not rule out the possibility of military action against Iran to stop it becoming a nuclear power.</b><!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->(1) Cheney rebukes China for how it's expanding its military
(2) Cheney doesn't trust N-Korea's withdrawal from nuclear program
(3) Cheney on possibility of US war in Iran
http://au.news.yahoo.com/070223/19/12iy2.html
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Saturday February 24, 02:17 AM
<b>Cheney warns on China, NKorea</b>
Photo : AFPÂ
SYDNEY (AFP) - <b>US Vice President Dick Cheney warned China Friday that its swift military build-up worried the world and said Washington was not blindly trusting North Korea to implement a landmark nuclear deal.</b>
On the first full day of an official visit, Cheney also used a speech to a group of prominent US and Australian citizens to assail unnamed critics who he said want the allies to "turn our backs" on places like Afghanistan or Iraq.
But his visit, aimed at thanking staunch US ally Australia for its support in Iraq, was marred by a second day of clashes between police and demonstrators protesting Cheney's trip outside the hotel where he was speaking.
<b>In some of his most extensive remarks on the North Korean pact, Cheney praised China's help but said its military build-up and anti-satellite weapons test clashed with its stated goal of being a peaceful power.
"The Chinese understand that a nuclear North Korea would be a threat to their own security," he told the Australian-American Leadership Dialogue, but "other actions by the Chinese government send a different message."
"Last month's anti-satellite test and China's continued fast-paced military build-up are less constructive and are not consistent with China's stated goal of a 'peaceful rise,'" Cheney said.
China shot down one of its own orbiting weather satellites in space with a ballistic missile, provoking an international outcry amid fears over satellite security.</b>
US-China military ties chilled in 2001 following a collision between a Chinese fighter jet and an American spy plane that killed the Chinese jet pilot. Beijing infuriated Washington by holding the spy crew for 11 days.
(America demands the right to spy without interference now?)
As for the nuclear deal, which requires North Korea to shut key facilities in exchange for energy aid, Cheney sought to allay concerns in Asia -- especially in Japan -- that the United States was going soft on Pyongyang.
"We go into this deal with our eyes open. In light of North Korea's missile tests last July, its nuclear test in October and its record of proliferation and human rights abuses, the regime in Pyongyang has much to prove," he said.
"Yet this agreement represents the first hopeful step towards a better future for the North Korean people," said Cheney, who was here after a visit to Tokyo aimed at soothing worries about the agreement.
Cheney also made a full-throated defence of the Iraq war and the new US plan to pacify Baghdad, which has drawn opposition in the United States even as key ally Britain announced a troop draw-down.
With US Democrats and a majority of the US public pushing to withdraw troops, Cheney warned that hastily quitting Iraq would unleash terrorists and sectarian violence on the Middle East and the world.
"The notion that free countries can turn our backs on what happens in places like Afghanistan, Iraq or any other possible safe haven for terrorists is an option we simply cannot indulge," said Cheney.
Washington and its allies are waging a battle for the survival of their civilisation, he said.
"We've never had a fight like this and it's not a fight we can win using the strategies from other wars," he said.
"The only option for our security and survival is to go on the offensive, face the threat directly, patiently and systematically till the enemy is destroyed."
<b>He also held out a hand to China, asking Beijing to "join us in our efforts to prevent the deployment and proliferation of deadly technologies, whether in Asia or in the Middle East" -- an apparent reference to Iran's nuclear program.</b>
Outside the venue around 100 protesters struggled with police, who arrested four people.
Cheney later met Australian Prime Minister John Howard's chief political rival, opposition leader Kevin Rudd, who has vowed to pull Australian troops from Iraq if elected later this year.
Cheney was to hold talks Saturday with Howard, who he described as an old friend and staunch US ally who shared Washington's values, before taking a tour of Sydney's scenic harbour, US officials said. He leaves Sunday.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Some more of the same:
http://au.news.yahoo.com/070223/21/12ixk.html
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Saturday February 24, 09:42 AM
<b>Howard, Cheney to discuss troop deployments</b><!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd--><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->China is also likely to be on the agenda after Mr Cheney's strong rebuke yesterday that its fast-paced military build-up is not consistent with its stated goal of a peaceful rise.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Saturday February 24, 10:47 AM
<b>Cheney, Australia's Howard to discuss Iraq, Afghanistan</b>
Photo : AFPÂ
SYDNEY (AFP) - US Vice President Dick Cheney on Saturday met Australian Prime Minister John Howard, one of Washington's staunchest allies, for talks likely to focus on troop deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.
The meeting took place in Sydney one day after <b>Cheney issued a stern rebuke to China over its rapid military build-up and also hinted that Washington may consider military action against Iran to thwart its nuclear ambitions.</b>
On the last full day of Cheney's visit to Australia aimed at thanking Canberra for its support in Iraq, the two men smiled broadly and shook hands as Howard welcomed the vice president to his Sydney office.
"It's great to see you again," Howard said.
"It's great to come back," Cheney responded before the pair posed for photographers in front of a glass panel embossed with the Australian coat of arms and flanked by the flags of each nation.
Talks were expected to focus on the war in Iraq and the conflict in Afghanistan where Australia is considering deploying more troops to counter resurgent Taliban and Al-Qaeda fighters.
As the Iraq campaign becomes increasingly unpopular in the United States and Australia amid spiralling violence, both Cheney and Howard have stressed that a hasty pullout would be a catastrophe that would hand victory to terrorists.
Howard said this week he would send more troops to Iraq just before Britain announced it would cut its troop numbers in the strife-torn country even though Washington is preparing for a massive injection of soldiers.
Cheney's visit comes as Howard is under growing political and public pressure for his steadfast support of the US-led war in Iraq, prompting claims by pundits that the timing of the trip is awkward for the prime minister.
Also likely to be on the agenda between the two men is the fate of David Hicks, an Australian arrested in Afghanistan more than five years ago who is currently being held without charges in the US military prison in Guantanamo Bay.
The key deal to freeze North Korea's nuclear programme may also be included in the talks between Cheney and Howard, whose country is one of a handful to maintain diplomatic ties with Pyongyang.
Just hours after Cheney said Friday he was wary of North Korea not keeping to its side of the bargain, UN atomic agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei said the unpredictable Stalinist state had invited him for a visit to discuss implementing the landmark nuclear agreement.
<b>The hawkish Cheney caused a stir when, during the only speech of his Australian visit, he said China's flexing of military muscle and an anti-satellite weapons test were at odds with the goals of a peaceful power.</b>
<b>In an interview with the US ABC television network, he also did not rule out the possibility of military action against Iran to stop it becoming a nuclear power.</b><!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->(1) Cheney rebukes China for how it's expanding its military
(2) Cheney doesn't trust N-Korea's withdrawal from nuclear program
(3) Cheney on possibility of US war in Iran
http://au.news.yahoo.com/070223/19/12iy2.html
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Saturday February 24, 02:17 AM
<b>Cheney warns on China, NKorea</b>
Photo : AFPÂ
SYDNEY (AFP) - <b>US Vice President Dick Cheney warned China Friday that its swift military build-up worried the world and said Washington was not blindly trusting North Korea to implement a landmark nuclear deal.</b>
On the first full day of an official visit, Cheney also used a speech to a group of prominent US and Australian citizens to assail unnamed critics who he said want the allies to "turn our backs" on places like Afghanistan or Iraq.
But his visit, aimed at thanking staunch US ally Australia for its support in Iraq, was marred by a second day of clashes between police and demonstrators protesting Cheney's trip outside the hotel where he was speaking.
<b>In some of his most extensive remarks on the North Korean pact, Cheney praised China's help but said its military build-up and anti-satellite weapons test clashed with its stated goal of being a peaceful power.
"The Chinese understand that a nuclear North Korea would be a threat to their own security," he told the Australian-American Leadership Dialogue, but "other actions by the Chinese government send a different message."
"Last month's anti-satellite test and China's continued fast-paced military build-up are less constructive and are not consistent with China's stated goal of a 'peaceful rise,'" Cheney said.
China shot down one of its own orbiting weather satellites in space with a ballistic missile, provoking an international outcry amid fears over satellite security.</b>
US-China military ties chilled in 2001 following a collision between a Chinese fighter jet and an American spy plane that killed the Chinese jet pilot. Beijing infuriated Washington by holding the spy crew for 11 days.
(America demands the right to spy without interference now?)
As for the nuclear deal, which requires North Korea to shut key facilities in exchange for energy aid, Cheney sought to allay concerns in Asia -- especially in Japan -- that the United States was going soft on Pyongyang.
"We go into this deal with our eyes open. In light of North Korea's missile tests last July, its nuclear test in October and its record of proliferation and human rights abuses, the regime in Pyongyang has much to prove," he said.
"Yet this agreement represents the first hopeful step towards a better future for the North Korean people," said Cheney, who was here after a visit to Tokyo aimed at soothing worries about the agreement.
Cheney also made a full-throated defence of the Iraq war and the new US plan to pacify Baghdad, which has drawn opposition in the United States even as key ally Britain announced a troop draw-down.
With US Democrats and a majority of the US public pushing to withdraw troops, Cheney warned that hastily quitting Iraq would unleash terrorists and sectarian violence on the Middle East and the world.
"The notion that free countries can turn our backs on what happens in places like Afghanistan, Iraq or any other possible safe haven for terrorists is an option we simply cannot indulge," said Cheney.
Washington and its allies are waging a battle for the survival of their civilisation, he said.
"We've never had a fight like this and it's not a fight we can win using the strategies from other wars," he said.
"The only option for our security and survival is to go on the offensive, face the threat directly, patiently and systematically till the enemy is destroyed."
<b>He also held out a hand to China, asking Beijing to "join us in our efforts to prevent the deployment and proliferation of deadly technologies, whether in Asia or in the Middle East" -- an apparent reference to Iran's nuclear program.</b>
Outside the venue around 100 protesters struggled with police, who arrested four people.
Cheney later met Australian Prime Minister John Howard's chief political rival, opposition leader Kevin Rudd, who has vowed to pull Australian troops from Iraq if elected later this year.
Cheney was to hold talks Saturday with Howard, who he described as an old friend and staunch US ally who shared Washington's values, before taking a tour of Sydney's scenic harbour, US officials said. He leaves Sunday.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Some more of the same:
http://au.news.yahoo.com/070223/21/12ixk.html
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Saturday February 24, 09:42 AM
<b>Howard, Cheney to discuss troop deployments</b><!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd--><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->China is also likely to be on the agenda after Mr Cheney's strong rebuke yesterday that its fast-paced military build-up is not consistent with its stated goal of a peaceful rise.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->