1. "Tough work lies ahead." But, he added, the evidence from Iraq was "beyond question: The troop surge has achieved some solid results, and in a relatively short period of time." Cheney returned to well–hammered Bush administration themes, warning of dire consequences of pulling troops out of Iraq too early and the dangers of extremist groups like al Qaeda, which he called "the main enemy we face." If U.S. and coalition forces left Iraq before Iraqis could defend themselves, moderates would be "crushed," extremists would push the country into "chaos," and competing factions including groups backed by Iran "would unloose an all–out war, with the violence unlikely to be contained within Iraq," Cheney said.