Politico's Ben Smith reports on Cheney's appearance at a debate in NY, in which he cited a giant conspiracy on Iran:

The former Vice President characterized the Iranian goal in negotiations on ending that country's nuclear program as mere stalling for time, and the Europeans as trying to "restrain the U.S." from military action.

"Everybody's in a giant conspiracy to achieve a different objective than the one we want to achieve," Cheney said.

The negotiations are "bound to fail unless we are perceived as very credible" in threatening military action against Iran, he said.

"Most of the other nations out there are willing to live with a nuclear-armed Iran" he said, citing France, Germany and the United Kingdom in particular.

Cheney was echoing his daughter's comments during the formal debate at Rockefeller University on Manhattan's East Side.

Former undersecretary of state for political affairs Nick Burns pushed back on Cheney pere et fille:

"You negotiated for weak sanctions," she told Burns.

"No I didn’t," he replied, at one point noting that it seemed as if he and Ms. Cheney "live in alternate universes."

"We ought to have the courage to see it and the courage to admit it," Burns said, "What President Obama is trying to do is to create a new type of diplomacy," which he described as "tough-minded."

Cheney and Senor, he said, are "leaving [Obama] with one option -- and that is war."

Posted by Laura at May 13, 2009 12:43 AM