He spent most of his time, though, delivering a strong message from President Bush about the looming war against Iraq.

Mr. Cheney was in Augusta for a fund-raising reception for Mr. Burns, the Republican candidate for the 12th Congressional District who faces Democrat Charles W. "Champ" Walker Jr. in the Nov. 5 election.

Between 400 and 500 people attended the reception at Sheraton Augusta Hotel, paying between $125 and $1,000 for the honor. The event was expected to raise about $175,000 for Mr. Burns' campaign.

Mr. Burns is one of three Georgia congressional candidates whom Mr. Cheney stumped for Friday. In the primary, Mr. Burns defeated Barbara Dooley, the wife of the University of Georgia's athletic director, Vince Dooley, to win the Republican nomination.

"This has been an amazing race," Mr. Burns said before introducing the vice president. "We're so glad to have this distinguished guest here today. That indicates the commitment to this race and the competitiveness this race offers."

Mr. Cheney outlined the obstacles the president has faced in getting a homeland security measure passed and in getting his judicial nominees considered by the Democratic-controlled Senate. He also outlined threats to the United States from terrorist groups and Iraqi President Saddam Husein and voiced the Bush administration's commitment to protecting the country.

The United States has confirmation that al-Qaida terrorists are pursuing weapons of mass destruction, he said, and he warned of the dangers of terrorist groups' joining regimes that have or are seeking to build such weapons.

"In Iraq, we know that Saddam Hussein is pressing forward for these capabilities and that he has used weapons of mass destruction before against Marines and against his own people," Mr. Cheney said. "The government of the United States must not look the other way as threats gather against the American people. And as the president announced on Wednesday, we are very close to a strong bipartisan resolution in Congress supporting military action should it become necessary."

Mr. Cheney reiterated Mr. Bush's recent statements to the United Nations about Saddam's duplicity.

After his defeat in the Persian Gulf War, Saddam pledged to destroy and cease further developments of weapons of mass destruction and long-range missiles and to submit to unrestricted inspections.

"He has flatly broken these pledges," Mr. Cheney said. "He's produced chemical and biological weapons. He is aggressively pursuing nuclear weapons, and he is working to develop long-range missiles.

"Empty words from the Iraqi government will not cause us to ignore history."

Saddam has spent more than a decade in complete defiance of all the demands of the United Nations, Mr. Cheney said. The question for the international community is whether the U.N. Security Council resolutions will be enforced or disregarded.

"As for the United States, the president has made our position very clear," he said. "We will work with the United Nations to meet our common challenge. The Security Council resolutions must be enforced or action will be unavoidable. We must and we will defend our freedom and our security."

Afterward, Dave Barbee, the chairman of the Richmond County Republican Party, said Mr. Cheney was "right on target."

"He is a messenger for the president of the United States, and he came here and talked to us about homeland security and what the president was doing for our country and what he needed to do," Mr. Barbee said. "And also why it's so important that we have that one vote in the Senate and that we keep control of Congress. He laid out those issues."

"The government of the United States must not look the other way as threats gather against the American people." - Vice President Dick Cheney

Reach Sylvia Cooper at (706) 823-3228 or sylviaco@augustachronicle.com.