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http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/World/Story/STIStory_744381.html

 US should have destroyed drone downed in Iran: Cheney

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Former vice-president Dick Cheney said on Monday that President Barack Obama should have ordered an air strike to quickly destroy a US drone that was downed in Iran this month.

'The right response to that would have been to go in immediately after it had gone down and destroy it,' Mr Cheney said an interview with CNN, according to excerpts released by the network.

'You can do that from the air. You can do that with a quick air strike. And, in effect, make it impossible for them to benefit from having captured that drone,' Mr Cheney told CNN's Erin Burnett OutFront program.

Mr Cheney, known as a hawk on foreign policy and outspoken critic of the current president, also alleged Mr Obama was presented with three possible courses of action and declined all of them. 'I was told that the president had three options on his desk. He rejected all of them,' Mr Cheney said, without offering more details.

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http://www.khq.com/story/16314497/cheney-rips-obama-over-iran-drone-capture

Cheney Rips Obama Over Iran Drone Capture

WASHINGTON (AP) - Former Vice President Dick Cheney says Iraqi leaders have progressed toward a stable society, but he's worried about the failure of Washington and Baghdad to negotiate a "stay-behind" U.S. force there.

Cheney says the emerging democracy is "not perfect by any means, but they clearly are much better off than when Saddam Hussein was in charge."

Cheney tells CBS's "The Early Show" the Iraqi government is still working to organize. On Iran, he says the Obama administration hasn't done enough to inhibit Tehran from developing
a nuclear program, and says Iran is trying to become the dominant power in the region. He calls the downed U.S. drone in Iran "a significant intelligence loss" and says he thinks the administration should have considered going in and "taking out the drone."