Cheney Refuses to Set Timetable for Withdrawal from White House

Washington – Vice President Dick Cheney said he will refuse any attempt to impose “unwise, politically-motivated timelines” for the Bush administration’s withdrawal from the White House. President Bush’s term officially ends January 20, 2009, when Barack Obama will be sworn in as the nation’s next president. However, Cheney said today, only “the situation on the ground” should determine the appropriate time for the administration to withdraw.

Vice President Dick Cheney speaks to the Heritage Foundation December 2, 2008. Cheney said timetables for the Bush administration’s withdrawal from the White House were “politically-motivated” and would “embolden the opposition.”

“It is as foolhardy as it is premature for these armchair tacticians to declare a certain date as the date on which withdrawal should begin,” Cheney said at a dinner hosted by the Heritage Foundation. “Every expert has said time and again that the only determining factor for when forces withdraw is the situation on the ground. That means, not the political agenda of the day, not the whim of a certain group of politicians. Only the situation on the ground. Those same experts will also tell you that naming the day you will withdraw does one thing, and one thing only: it emboldens your opposition.”

Cheney went on to say that the imposing of timetables for withdrawal was politically motivated and was meant to undermine the current administration and the Republican party in general. “This is not the time to be playing partisan politics,” Cheney said. “Saying, ‘Our candidate won and will be sworn in on this date,’ is not only unwise, but I dare say unpatriotic, and un-American. It is to invite failure, to invite defeat, to invite catastrophe.”

Vice President-elect Joe Biden disagreed with Cheney, saying the withdrawal date is clear, is official, and has been known for some time. “This is another game they play,” Biden said. “They love games. They say ‘no timetables’ because they don’t ever want to present a plan for withdrawal. You know why? They don’t want to to withdraw. It’s as simple as that. Now, I like games as much as anyone. Yahtzee, I love. Just the name – Yahtzee. It’s fantastic. But, yeah… What was I saying? Oh, Cheney. Yeah. He’s crazy. He’s really just bat-shit crazy.”

Towards the end of his remarks, Cheney acknowledged that a withdrawal will happen at some point, but he urged caution in rushing to any decision about when exactly it will occur. “We know from history that if we rush to a decision in this instance, it could be disastrous. I think it only wise to be patient and not jump the gun based on the ‘will of the people’ or ‘the election.’ Such arbitrary indicators of opinion are not facts, and they are not reason enough to withdraw from such an important endeavor, namely this administration holding power over this great nation.”