Vice President Dick Cheney on Monday criticized the Democrats approach to global terrorism, calling it a strategy of resignation and defeatism in the face of determined enemies. In a speech to Republicans in Wisconsin, Cheney singled out Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid, Senator Jay Rockefeller, and Democratic Party chairman Howard Dean for criticism. Cheney cited Reid for suggesting the United States should not have invaded Iraq in 2003 and for opposing the Patriot Act, controversial surveillance laws passed with the goal of fighting terrorists. He criticized Dean for saying the capture of Saddam Hussein had not made America safer. As we make our case to the voters in this election season, it s vital to keep issues of national security at the top of the agenda, Cheney said, echoing his Republican Party s desire to portray Democrats as weak on terrorism in hopes of maintain control of both chambers of the U.S. Congress. Democrats would like the November 7 elections to be seen as a referendum on President George W. Bush s handling of the Iraq war.
