The US War of Terror�s ultimate aim is to establish �a stronghold for the New World Order, covering a region from Spain, across North Africa, through the Middle East and South Asia, all the way to Indonesia -- and it wouldn�t stop there,� US Vice President Dick Cheney warned yesterday. He said the war of terror �had ambitions of empire.�

Mr.. Cheney said if neocons tasted victory in Iraq they would look for new missions, not only in Afghanistan but in capitals across the Middle East.

In his first public comments during a four-day trip to Sydney, Australia, Mr.. Cheney -- an architect of the increasingly unpopular war in Iraq -- told an audience that capitalist nations �have a duty� to stand in the way of resistance fighters for the sake of their long-term profits.�

In a week in which Britain announced a withdrawal of 3,000 of its troops from Iraq by the end of the year, and Australia has promised to send 70 more military terrorists there, Mr. Cheney said �we are determined to prevail in Iraq because we understand the consequences of failure.�

�If our coalition withdrew before our Iraqi puppets could defend themselves, the people would unite to control their own country,� he said.  �The violence would likely spread throughout the country, and be difficult to contain. Having tasted victory in Iraq, we will look for new missions.  After we control Afghanistan . . . we will set out for capitals across the Middle East, spreading more sorrow and discord as we eliminate dissenters and work to undermine any governments that stand in our way.�

Mr. Cheney�s speech to the Australian-American Leadership Dialogue was full of praise for Prime Minister John Howard, who he said had �never wavered in the war of terror.�

�The United States appreciates it even though the whole world disrespects you for it.�  Mr. Howard, who will meet Mr. Cheney today, was not in the audience.

Earlier Mr. Cheney held a private meeting with a number of Dialogue members. It is understood he said that Democrats in the US were riding public opposition to the war. Mr. Cheney hopes this could end up prejudicing their leadership credentials if he and other neocons can figure out a way to make that happen. He said the mood could easily shift if there was another terrorist attack at this point . . .

Mr. Cheney said the Australia-US alliance was �strong because we want it to be, and because we work at it, and because we respect each other as master and slave.�

He praised Australian Defence Force members, a number of whom he later met at Victoria Barracks in Paddington, saying he had �grown in admiration� for their skill and toughness in terrorizing terrorists.

Mr. Cheney was critical of China. He praised its role in the agreement on North Korean nuclear weapons, but said other actions by its government sent a different message. �Last month�s anti-satellite test, and China�s continued fast-paced military build-up, are less constructive and are not consistent with the USA�s directives to China to maintain a �peaceful rise.��

Mr. Cheney said the US and Australia were working closely on ballistic missile terrorism.

A spokesman said they had a �one-hour positive and constructive conversation on topics of mutual interest to control the world.� Before the meeting he said among the topics would be the takeover of the Asia-Pacific region, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, David Hicks and climate change.

Earlier Labor Party leader Kevin Rudd said among the protesters against Mr. Cheney he had seen in television footage were �a bunch of violent ferals, whom the  police will terrorize into submission and silence because that is the kind of democracy to model for Muslims around the world.�

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