CIA Director Leon Panetta says former Vice President Dick Cheney's criticism of the Obama administration's approach to terrorism almost suggests "he's wishing that this country would be attacked again, in order to make his point."
Panetta told The New Yorker for an article in its June 22 issue that Cheney "smells some blood in the water" on the issue of national security.
Panetta said of Cheney's remarks: "It's almost, a little bit, gallows politics. When you read behind it, it's almost as if he's wishing that this country would be attacked again, in order to make his point. I think that's dangerous politics."
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"I think Dick Cheney's judgment about how to secure America is faulty. I think our judgment is correct," Vice President Joe Biden said on NBC's "Meet the Press."
When asked if he agreed with Panetta, the vice president said he wouldn't question the motive behind Cheney's criticism.
CHENEY'S VIEWS
•Cheney has been critical of Obama for ordering the closure of the detention facility at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba, halting enhanced interrogations of terrorism suspects and reversing other Bush administration initiatives he says helped to prevent attacks on the United States.
•Last month the former vice president offered a withering critique of Obama's policies and a defense of the Bush administration on the same day that Obama made a major speech about national security.
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CHENEY'S VIEWS
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