Vice President Dick Cheney left Israel a short time ago and is headed for Turkey, where he will wind up a nine-day Middle East fact-finding trip. Turkey's troop deployments in Afghanistan and the issue of Iranian nuclear power will dominate discussions.
Before leaving Israel, he recalled his visit to Saudi Arabia and denied reports that he asked the kingdom to increase oil production. However, he added that the Saudis "kept their word" concerning a promise to American President George W. Bush three years ago to increase oil production capacity by 20 percent. His comment sparked a drop in world crude oil prices.