Dick Cheney: Next Attack On America Will Be Far More Deadly Than 9/11

The next terrorist attack on America will be even worse than the September 11 attacks, according to former Vice President Dick Cheney. In an interview this week, Cheney cited ISIS and Iran as the primary reasons that America cannot withdraw from the world.

In a two-hour interview with the Weekly Standard’s Bill Kristol, Cheney appeared to wax fatalistic regarding the situation the United States faces in what he deems an increasingly dangerous world. Cheney, a former secretary of defense that served in three administrations, said that the U.S. cannot afford to pull away from the world, specifically the larger Middle East.

“You’ve got to be a fool to believe isolation as a strategy is the way to go,” Cheney said. “We have no choice but to be involved in that part of the world, and if we’re not actively involved, there are some very bad things that are going to happen.”

One of Cheney’s main concerns, as Russia Today notes, continues to be the possibility that Iran’s ongoing nuclear program will result in the development of a nuclear weapon. Such a weapon would unbalance the region, leading to other states acquiring nuclear weapons.

Those weapons, Cheney seemed to imply, could wind up in the hands of the Islamic State or Syria.

“So we’re in a very dangerous period,” Cheney continued, “I think it’s more threatening than the period before 9/11. I think 9/11 will turn out to be not nearly as bad as the next mass casualty attack against the United States, which – if and when it comes – will be something far more deadlier than airline tickets and box cutters.”

Dark and troubling words from Cheney, and they of course came round to reflect Cheney’s view of the current occupant of the White House.

“This is not a time for us to rest on our laurels or think we can cut the defense budget and spend all that money on highways or whatever else we might want to spend it on,” Cheney said. “We really need a strong leader, and we need somebody who can step up and remind the world what the United States is capable of and demonstrate the ability and the willingness to do that.”

Cheney, of course, has always been vocal in criticizing the policies of President Obama. Recently, Cheney dubbed Obama’s strategy on Syria as “too little, too late,” saying that Obama seemed “willfully blind to one of the key facts about the post-9/11 security apparatus.”

As in previous interviews, Cheney remained unapologetic regarding the controversial “enhanced interrogation techniques” the Bush administration engaged in during its tenure.

“[Enhanced interrogation] prevented another mass casualty attack against the United States for the next seven and a half years,” Cheney said. “And I, you know, I’m very familiar with the program, I was actively involved in helping get it started and supporting it. And I don’t think we have any apologies to make. I think if in a similar situation today, I would do exactly the same thing.”