Cheney says ignoring Iraq threat 'irresponsible'

WASHINGTON – Vice President Dick Cheney lashed out at critics of the Bush administration's Iraq policy Thursday. He said that ignoring or wishing away evidence of the threat posed by Saddam Hussein would have been “irresponsible in the extreme.”

He also said a new Iraqi army will soon be formed and the new government will become a model for the Middle East.

Cheney's comments continued the string of administration responses to Democratic presidential candidates and members of Congress questioning how truthful the administration was about what it knew about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction in the months preceding the war. Many have called for an independent investigation.