Cheney: Rise in violence in Iraq partly due to U.S. election

WASHINGTON (Map, News) - Vice President Dick Cheney on Monday said the recent surge in violence against U.S. forces in Iraq is partly due to insurgents trying to influence next week’s elections in the U.S.

Asked by Neil Cavuto of Fox News Channel whether “these insurgent attacks are timed to influence our midterm elections,” Cheney replied: “That’s my belief.

“I think they are, very, very cognizant of our schedule, if you will,” he added. “It’s my belief that they’re very sensitive of the fact that we’ve got an election scheduled.”

Many political observers are predicting Democrats will wrest control of the House, and possibly the Senate, from Republicans in the Nov. 7 midterm elections. The White House has warned that Democrats will “cut and run” from Iraq if they win next week.

Cheney suggested the terrorists share this view.

“They are betting on the proposition they can break the will of the American people,” he said. “They think we won’t have the stomach for the fight long-term.”

He said the terrorists believe “that the same thing will happen here that happened in Beirut in 1983 or Somalia in 1993, when after we lost a number of people, then we packed it in and came home.”

At least 100 U.S. soldiers have been killed in Iraq during October, making it one of the deadliest months since America invaded in 2003. But the increase in violence is not entirely due to the looming midterm elections, Cheney said.

“We’ve also seen, of course, a higher level of violence because of Ramadan,” he said. “Traditionally, there’s a spike about this time of year in terms of level of activity.”

bsammon@dcexaminer.com

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