Dick Cheney says the European refugee crisis is a 'direct consequence' of President Obama's failed foreign policy 

  • Former VP says that the Obama helped to 'create a huge vacuum' in Iraq for terror groups to grow after not allowing U.S. troops to stay after war
  • Cheney says it would have been 'much easier' to manage this situation had U.S. troops been left in that region
  • He says crisis is of 'major proportions' and called it a 'terrible tragedy'

Former Vice President Dick Cheney blamed President Obama for the European refugee crisis on Sunday. 

While speaking on 'Fox News Sunday' with Chris Wallace, Cheney said that the crisis is 'a direct consequence' of Obama's failed foreign policy and that he does not support the Iran nuclear deal. 

Thousands of refugees from Pakistan, Iran, Syria and other Middle East countries have been flooding into Europe as a result of terror attacks and civil wars in that region.  

Cheney, who served as vice president in the George W. Bush administration, told Wallace that Obama has helped to 'create a huge vacuum' in Iraq for terror groups to flourish and kill as a result of failing to secure an agreement with Iraqi leaders to keep U.S. troops in the country after the war.

Crisis: Former Vice President Dick Cheney (above) blamed President Obama for the European refugee crisis while speaking on 'Fox News Sunday'

Crisis: Former Vice President Dick Cheney (above) blamed President Obama for the European refugee crisis while speaking on 'Fox News Sunday'

Dick Cheney (above )says that the European refugee crisis is 'a direct consequence' of Obama's failed foreign policy

Dick Cheney (above )says that the European refugee crisis is 'a direct consequence' of Obama's failed foreign policy

'That contributed directly to the refugee crisis,' Cheney told Wallace. 

'I think when the U.S. played a major role in the region, when we were there on a significant basis, it would have been much easier to manage this kind of situation. 

'Today what you have is a crisis of major proportions in Syria, supported primarily by the Iranians.

'That's driven hundreds of thousands of people to look for refuge someplace else, they've all headed for Europe and it's a terrible tragedy.'

A troop-withdrawal date of December 2011 was established by the Obama administration after the the war in Iraq began during the Bush administration. 

The date had to be kept because then-Iraqi Prime Ministers Nouri al-Maliki rejected a proposal to keep several thousand U.S. troops in the country for training purposes, the Obama administration has argued in the past. 

Cheney also said that the nuclear deal with Iran is bad for the United States because 'Iran got everything that they asked for.'

'It's a major, major defeat in terms of our position in that region,' Cheney told Wallace.

Dick Cheney (above) also said that he does not support the nuclear deal with Iran

Dick Cheney (above) also said that he does not support the nuclear deal with Iran

He did acknowledge that Iran built an estimated 5,000 nuclear centrifuges during the Bush administration from 2007 to 2009 after Wallace pressed him on the issue. 

Cheney disagreed with the argument that in those two years, the Bush administration allowed their nuclear program to grow.  

  

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