Cheney: U.S. wants Europe support
By John King
CNN Senior White House Correspondent
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Cheney and his wife Lynne places a rose on the Italian grave of a U.S. soldier who died in WWII.
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Cheney signas the Bush administration wants to avoid disagreements with European partners over postwar Iraq.
Vice President Dick Cheney at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland.
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ROME, Italy (CNN) -- U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney sent a clear signal that the Bush administration wants to avoid major disagreements with traditional European partners as the postwar transition in Iraq unfolds and the U.S. presidential campaign moves into a higher gear.
It was the second time in three days Cheney has delivered that message. He also thanked Italy Monday for its strong support in Iraq.
"This journey gives me the opportunity to pay homage to some of those who have sacrificed for our common security," Cheney said in a morning speech in Rome.
Speaking to an audience of college students and political and business leaders in the library of the Italian Senate, Cheney thanked Italy for its support and sacrifices in Iraq -- and then spoke in a conciliatory tone about the broader trans-Atlantic alliance.
"Members of this alliance have faced monumental challenges, and we have overcome them together," Cheney said. "And in this new century, facing new challenges, we must remain united to defend our freedom and meet the shared duties of free nations."
But Cheney also reminded Europe of its debt to the United States by dedicating several hours of his day Monday to a stop at a U.S. military cemetery at Nettuno, near where allied forces staged the critical landing at Anzio in World War II 60 years ago this week.
In the speech at the Italian Senate, Cheney said U.S. President George W. Bush's special Middle East envoy, John Wolf, would return to the region this week "to continue this difficult but essential work" toward peace.
Many Europeans have questioned the administration's commitment to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian dispute and its willingness to pressure the Sharon government in an U.S. election year.
Cheney also strongly defended the decision to go to war in Iraq, making no direct reference to the current stir over comments by the outgoing head of the U.S. search for weapons of mass destruction, David Kay, who said he now does not believe Saddam Hussein had stockpiles of banned weapons before the war.
Cheney said: "Today the former dictator sits in captivity; he can no longer harbor and support terrorists, and his long efforts to acquire weapons of mass destruction are finally at an end."
On Sunday the vice president stopped briefly for photographers as he was greeted at the Borghese Palace museum. But he headed inside when a reporter asked if he had any reaction to U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell's weekend statement that it was an "open question" whether Iraq had banned weapons of mass destruction before the U.S.-led invasion. (Full story)
