WASHINGTON, Jan. 24 (UPI) -- U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney denies that mistakes in Iraq have hurt the Bush administration's credibility with Republicans in Congress.
Cheney, in an interview Wednesday with CNN's Wolf Blitzer, said the administration is committed to moving ahead with its plan to send more troops to Baghdad, even if Congress opposes it.
He said pulling U.S. forces out of Iraq "would simply validate the terrorists' strategy that says the Americans will not stay to complete the task."
Cheney told CNN the U.S.-led ouster of Saddam Hussein has made the world "much safer."
"Saddam has been brought to justice and executed, his sons are dead, his government is gone. And the world is better off for it," he said.
Cheney, however, did acknowledge "ongoing problems" in Iraq.
"We still have more work to do to get a handle on the security situation, and the president's put a plan in place to do that," he said.
