Cheney says al-Qaida could be linking with rogue nations

<br>TULSA, Okla. (AP) _ Al-Qaida could be linking with rogue nations as it pursues weapons of mass destruction, a risk that further justifies a pre-emptive U.S. strike against Iraq, Vice President Dick

Tuesday, October 15th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

TULSA, Okla. (AP) _ Al-Qaida could be linking with rogue nations as it pursues weapons of mass destruction, a risk that further justifies a pre-emptive U.S. strike against Iraq, Vice President Dick Cheney said Tuesday.

``We must take the attack to the enemy if necessary,'' Cheney said in Tulsa. ``We will pre-empt threats. The only path to safety is the path of action.''

Cheney came to Oklahoma Tuesday to raise funds for Rep. John Sullivan's re-election campaign and for Republican congressional candidate Tom Cole. He was also to speak at Tinker Air Force Base.

The vice president said at Sullivan's fund-raiser in Tulsa Tuesday morning that the United States has confirmation from its war in Afghanistan that al-Qaida is pursuing weapons of mass destruction.

Also, Cheney said the administration believes the terrorist network blamed for the Sept. 11 attacks could be joining forces with nations like Iraq, which the administration accuses of supporting terror and aggressively creating biological, chemical and nuclear weapons.

``That's why confronting Iraq is crucial to winning the war on terrorism,'' Cheney told about 450 people who paid $250 for breakfast at Tulsa's Doubletree Hotel.

Cheney also said last week's bombings in Bali, Indonesia _ which killed nearly 200 people _ and of a French tanker off the coast of Yemen, as well as the fatal shooting of a U.S. Marine in Kuwait, all appear to be the work of al-Qaida.

The vice president said those attacks show that al-Qaida remains active despite the United States' success in driving them from Afghanistan and defeat of that country's Taliban regime.

``We are still closer to the beginning of this conflict than we are to the end,'' Cheney said. ``There are enemies out there who are determined to do significant harm to the American people.''

Cheney blamed Iraq for violating a series of commitments it made after the Gulf War in 1991, including promises to disarm its weapons of mass destruction, provide basic human rights to its citizens and the return of Kuwaiti and American prisoners of war.

``Saddam Hussein must disarm for the sake of peace or the U.S. will lead a coalition to disarm him,'' Cheney warned the Iraqi leader.

Iraq has denied pursuing weapons of mass destruction and has said it will give United Nations weapons inspectors full access to the country. Cheney reiterated the administration's distrust of Iraq's promise.

``Empty words from the Iraqi regime will not cause the U.S. to ignore a decade of history,'' he said.

The United Nations is debating the best way to disarm Iraq, and the United States is facing opposition from France and China on a resolution threatening ``serious consequences'' if Iraq fails to comply.

Sullivan, seeking his first full term in Congress after winning a special election in January, said he expected to raise $300,000 Tuesday for his campaign against Democrat Doug Dodd. Many fund-raiser attendees also spent $1,000 to have their picture taken with the vice president.

In Midwest City later Tuesday, Cheney was to speak at Rose State College to raise campaign funds for Tom Cole, the Republican candidate seeking to replace retiring Rep. J.C. Watts.