Cheney rallies troops at Whiteman AFB

By HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH

The Associated Press

WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. -- Vice President Dick Cheney told several thousand troops at Whiteman Air Force Base on Friday that the United States would prevail in the war on terror.

"America's cause is just. America's cause is right, and with you in the fight we will prevail," Cheney said.

Cheney noted that five years, both Iraq and Afghanistan were led by dictators. Now, he said, both of those regimes are gone.

"The war on terror is a battle for the future of civilization," he said. "It's a battle we're fighting. It's a battle we'll win."

He praised Whiteman's role in the war, noting that B-2 bombers departed on missions from the western Missouri base weeks after the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

"You've written a new and proud chapter in American military history. We depend on you. You always get the job done, on target and on time."

The troops, many with spouses and children in tow, packed a B-2 hangar for Cheney's speech. Many waved small American flags, and the B-2 "Spirit of Missouri" was in the foreground as the vice president spoke.

"I think it's nice to see people high up in the chain take the time to come out," said Senior Airman Eric Hubbard, 22, of Tunkhannock, Pa. "I think it helps with morale, lets everyone know that what we do is being seen and appreciated."

After speaking for about 20 minutes, Cheney awarded a Bronze Star to Master Sgt. Mike Morin of the 509th Security Forces.

Morin lobbied for recording equipment to capture conversations between visitors and detainees at Camp Bucca in Iraq. He also was credited with quelling a riot at the detention facility and crafting a plan that allowed 200 detainees to participate in the October 2005 referendum.

Morin, who plans to retire in June 2007, said he learned two days ago that he would receive the award from Cheney. With public discontent over the war rising, he said, he hoped Cheney's visit would provide a better perspective of what is happening in Iraq.

"The information from the press -- we don't get the truth all the time," he said. "We get what sells."

Cheney's visit comes as President Bush has been hitting the campaign trail hard in the election homestretch, raising money and potential voter support for Republican lawmakers across the country seen as vulnerable or challenging embattled Democratic incumbents. Whiteman Air Force Base said Cheney's visit was intended to bolster military morale.

Jack Cardetti, a spokesman for the Missouri Democratic Party, said that while President Bush on Tuesday acknowledged opposition the war, Cheney's visit showed the White House has not changed its tack.

"Even while their rhetoric might change, the Bush administration continues to stay the course in Iraq, despite being on the verge of a civil war and now spending more than $300 billion," Cardetti said. "Their policy has not changed one ounce."

Missouri is seen as a key battleground as the Republicans try to maintain their hold on the Senate with Republican incumbent Jim Talent and Democratic challenger Claire McCaskill about even in the polls.

The administration's campaign script has firmly questioned the Democrats' willingness and preparedness to defend the country from future terrorist attack, should they take over in the House or Senate, suggesting that only Republicans understand the true dangers the country faces abroad and at home.

Americans must "reject any strategy of resignation and deafeatism in the face of determined enemies," Cheney said at a GOP fundraiser in Milwaukee last month.

Democrats have dismissed accusations they would back down to terrorists as fear mongering, but the tactic has worked in the past, helping Republicans gain seats in 2002 and Bush and Cheney get re-elected in 2004.

Whether it will work again, after two more years of almost daily U.S. death and confusion in Iraq, is unknown and many Republican candidates have made a point to avoid the topic or even criticize the Bush administration's handling of Iraq.