YOKOSUKA, Japan, Feb. 21 (UPI) -- U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney told sailors aboard the USS Kitty Hawk in Japan Wednesday terrorists would win if the United States abandoned its missions.
Cheney made the remarks at the Yokosuka Naval Base near Tokyo, and referred several times to the missions in Afghanistan and Iraq, as U.S. public support for the mission is dwindling.
"The terrorists know they cannot beat us in a stand-up fight," Cheney said. "The only way they can win is if we lose our nerve and abandon our mission. So they continue committing acts of random horror, believing they can intimidate the civilized world and break the will of the American people."
Cheney told the troops the terrorists have global aspirations.
"These enemies want to seize control of a country in the Middle East, so they can acquire a base for launching attacks, and oil wealth to finance their ambitions," he said. "They want to target and overthrow other governments in the region, and eventually to establish a totalitarian empire that encompasses the region from Spain, across North Africa, through the Middle East and South Asia, all the way to Indonesia."
