Fact-checking the debate

Iraq
Cheney: "I have not suggested there's a connection between Iraq and 9/11, but there's clearly an established Iraqi track record with terror."	Cheney has consistently asserted strong prewar links between Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda, even after the 9/11 Commission definitively concluded that there had not been a collaborative relationship between the two. In a radio interview in January 2004, Cheney said: "I think there's overwhelming evidence that there was a connection between Al Qaeda and the Iraqi government." Cheney has also been one of the strongest administration voices for several years bringing up reports of a possible meeting between 9/11 plot ringleader Mohamed Atta and an Iraqi agent in Prague in April 2001 as possible evidence of an Iraqi connection to the 9/11 attacks; the existence of that meeting has been widely discredited.
Edwards: "The first Gulf War cost America $5 billion. We're at $200 billion and counting."	The war so far has cost roughly $130 billion. The figure of $200 billion includes funds to be spent next year, as well as reconstruction funds for Afghanistan.
Cheney: "We heard Senator Kerry say the other night that there ought to be some kind of global test before US troops are deployed preemptively to protect the United States."	At last Thursday's debate, Kerry said: "No president, through all of American history, has ever ceded, and nor would I, the right to preempt in any way necessary to protect the United States of America. But if and when you do it, Jim, you have to do it in a way that passes the test, that passes the global test where your countrymen, your people understand fully why you're doing what you're doing and you can prove to the world that you did it for legitimate reasons."
Edwards: "John Kerry has been absolutely clear and consistent from the beginning that we must stay focused on the people who attacked us; that Saddam Hussein was a threat that needed to be addressed directly; that the weapons inspectors needed to have time to do their job."	Kerry has made a number of statements about the war that several Republicans and some Democrats have characterized as inconsistent. Kerry said in May 2003 that "it was the right decision to disarm Saddam Hussein, and when the president made the decision, I supported him"; in October 2003, Kerry voted against $87 billion for US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan; in 2004, he said he voted for the $87 billion before he voted against it, then last month said he was "glad" he opposed the $87 billion; and last month, Kerry said he disagreed with every judgment Bush made about the Iraq war and accused the president of "colossal failures of judgment."
Cheney: "You [Edwards] made the comment that the Gulf War coalition in '91 was far stronger than this [US-led coalition in Iraq now]. No. We had 34 countries then; we've got 30 today."	Beyond the US, countries in the current coalition have contributed only about 15 percent &em; or 25,000 &em; of the 160,000 non-Iraqi troops stationed in Iraq. In 1991, coalition countries contributed about 24 percent &em; or 160,000 &em; of the roughly 660,000 troops stationed in the Persian Gulf. Egypt alone sent 38,500 troops, more than all the foreign partners now in Iraq combined.
Osama bin Laden
Edwards: "We had Osama bin Laden cornered at Tora Bora ... And what did the administration decide to do? They gave the responsibility of capturing and/or killing Saddam &em; I mean Osama bin Laden &em; to Afghan warlords."	Neither US intelligence agencies nor other sources have reported with certainty that bin Laden was at Tora Bora, although some intelligence officials suspect that he was.
The 9/11 Commission
Edwards: "With John Kerry as president of the United States, we are committed to immediately implementing all of the reforms suggested by the 9/11 Commission, so that we have the information we need to find terrorists and crush them before they hurt us."	Kerry endorsed all the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission, but it would not be within his power to implement every single one of them unilaterally. Many require agreement with Congress, which is making changes to some implementation legislation. Others are outside the president's power entirely. For example, a recommendation that Congress reorganize itself to streamline oversight of homeland security and intelligence matters is solely up to the legislative branch.
Iran
Edwards: Cheney "has been an advocate for over a decade for lifting sanctions against Iran," which the US says is a state sponsor of terrorism.	As CEO of Halliburton Corp., Cheney said at the time when only the United States had sanctions against Iran: "There's been a decision not to allow US firms to invest significantly in Iran, and I think that's a mistake." In recent years, however, Cheney has been among the key foreign policy advisers supporting broad, multlateral sanctions.
Libya
Cheney: Said Libya "was one of the biggest sources of proliferation in the world" before Moammar Khadafy gave up his program days after the capture of Saddam Hussein.	While the black market network that sold Libya nuclear components was among the biggest proliferation threats in the world, nonproliferation specialists did not consider Libya's program very developed or as great a threat as Iran and North Korea.
Defense spending
Cheney: "Then, in the mid-'80s, [Kerry] ran on the basis of cutting most of our major defense programs. ... It's a consistent pattern over time of always being on the wrong side of defense issues."	Running for Senate in 1984, Kerry did propose cutting or downsizing several weapons system programs, and ultimately voted to do so in some cases; Kerry later called some of his positions in those days "ill-advised." Yet when Cheney himself was secretary of defense from 1989 to 1993, he, too, opposed some of the same weapons, such as fighter planes and tanks now being used in the war on terror. Some of Cheney's downsizing proposals that were not implemented would have affected today's military &em; including disbanding part of the Army's Fourth Infantry Division, the unit that captured Saddam Hussein in 2003. As Pentagon chief he also cancelled the B-2 and A-12 bombers, while scaling back the Seawolf submarine.
Edwards' record as senator
Cheney: "You've missed a lot of key votes .... Your hometown newspaper has taken to calling you Senator Gone. You've got one of the worst attendance records in the United States Senate. Now, in my capacity as vice president, I am the president of Senate, the presiding officer. I'm up in the Senate most Tuesdays when they're in session. The first time I ever met you was when you walked on the stage tonight.''	Edwards has indeed missed many votes and hearings since he began running for office, notably skipping a vote on energy policy that would have forced him to choose between the competing interests of Iowans and New Hampshire residents. Cheney is on the Hill on Tuesdays, but he is virtually unseen. Cheney attends weekly Republican lunches, and is only on the fl oor if his constitutional tie-breaking vote is required. Elizabeth Edwards and the Kerry campaign said last night the two men had met at the National Prayer Breakfast in 2001, where Cheney acknowledged Edwards's presence. Edwards also escorted incoming Senator Elizabeth Dole to a swearing-in ceremony in 2003, where Cheney administered the oath of office.
Jobs
Edwards: "In the time that they have been in office, in the last four years, 1.6 million private sector jobs have been lost, 2.7 million manufacturing jobs have been lost." Cheney: The US has "added 1.7 million new jobs in the last year."	Both statements are technically correct, but each man glossed over figures that would take away from their point. When public-sector jobs are included, the number of people in payroll jobs is 913,000 lower than it was when Bush took office in January 2001. Barring a tremendous rebound, Edwards was right that Bush is on track to be the first president since Herbert Hoover to lose jobs while in office.
Taxes
Cheney: "The fact of the matter is a great many of our small businesses pay taxes under the personal income taxes rather than the corporate rate. And about 900,000 small businesses will be hit if you do, in fact, do what they want to do with the top bracket."	That number is probably twice as high as reality. The 900,000 figure counts all high-salaried people who have any outside business income, not the number of actual small businesses. The Tax Policy Center's latest estimate suggests that 471,000 small employers would be affected.
Gay marriage
Cheney: "In Massachusetts we had the Massachusetts Supreme Court direct the state of &em; the legislature of Massachusetts to modify their constitution to allow gay marriage."	The Supreme Judicial Court ruling found that the state Constitution requires same-sex couples to be allowed to marry, and ordered the Legislature to make sure state laws comply. The Legislature voted this year to change the state Constitution to ban same-sex marriage, but that initiative requires additional votes and could not take effect until at least 2006.
Compiled by Farah Stockman, Susan Milligan, Michael Kranish, Bryan Bender, Charles Savage, Rick Klein, Michael Schmidt, and Patrick Healy of the Globe staff