Washington, Sept 13: Asserting that the war on terrorism is a global war, US Vice President Dick Cheney has said it would continue "perhaps as long as we are in office, perhaps even longer." "It is a war that is being fought all over the globe. Just look at the attacks that have occurred in the last two years, not only in New York and Washington but also in Bali, Mombassa, Riyadh, Casablanca, Jakarta, Baghdad and Najaf. The war will continue perhaps as long as we are in office, perhaps even longer," he said in a speech in Charlotte, North Carolina yesterday.
Pointing out that there was nothing the terrorists valued highly enough that "we can put at risk to keep them from ever launching that attack", Cheney said no treaty or arms control agreement or strategy of deterrence will end this conflict. "We need a new strategy--and that is precisely what we have developed." Stating that the September 11 attacks was a "defining moment" for everybody as "we understood how vulnerable we were".
Many nations prior to the incident, he pointed out tended to draw a distinction between terrorist groups and the states that provided those groups with support, sanctuary and safe harbour. They were unwilling, often times in the past, to hold terror-sponsoring states accountable for their actions.
However, after the incident, US President George W Bush made it clear that those states that support terrorists, or provide sanctuary to terrorists, are just as guilty as the terrorists themselves. Bureau Report