Cheney: I Hope Panetta Was Misquoted

By: Brian Montopoli
Topics

(AP)

Former Vice President Dick Cheney has responded to CIA Director Leon Panetta's suggestion in the New Yorker magazine that "it's almost as if [Cheney is] wishing that this country would be attacked again, in order to make his point."

"I hope my old friend Leon was misquoted," Cheney said in a statement released to CBS News. "The important thing is whether the Obama administration will continue the policies that have kept us safe for the last eight years."

Panetta is quoted in the story saying he thinks Cheney "smells some blood in the water on the national-security issue." He suggests Cheney's criticisms of President Obama reflect "gallows" and "dangerous" politics.

The former vice president has been among the harshest critics of Mr. Obama's policies, particularly on harsh interrogations of terrorism suspects and the closure of the Guantanimo Bay prison facility, and has suggested that the administration's decisions are making "the American people less safe."

Asked about Panetta's comments at the White House briefing today, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said he is "not going to get into motivations."

"The president's concern is keeping the American people safe," he said. "We've had policy disagreements, but I think what is true for anybody is doing what's -- doing what we need to to keep the American people safe and secure. That's what the President is working on every day."

Asked on "Meet The Press" about the comment yesterday, Vice President Joe Biden said he believes "Dick Cheney's judgment about how to secure America is faulty."

"I think our judgment is correct," Biden added.

Arizona Sen. John McCain, the 2008 Republican presidential nominee, is calling on Panetta to immediately retract the comments, as The Hill reports.

"I disagreed with the Cheney policy on interrogation techniques, but never did it cross my mind that Dick Cheney would ever want an attack on the United States of America," McCain told Fox News. "It's unfair, and I think that Mr. Panetta should retract, and retract immediately."

McCain also took a shot at the CIA director, saying, "I hear morale is not at an all-time high over at the CIA under Mr. Panetta's leadership."

Brian Montopoli
Brian Montopoli is the senior political reporter at CBSNews.com.
Follow on Twitter »

125 Comments Have Your Say
Email Story Send to a Friend
Share This Tell Your Friends
Tweet This Tweet This
More Share It

Add a Comment

See all 125 Comments


by adt13t June 19, 2009 5:06 AM EDT: 911 happened on limp dickies watch
limp dickie is talking tough and bluffing
to cover his incompetent no bid crony 911 tracks; Reply to this comment


by amazedd June 17, 2009 7:21 PM EDT: See no evil, Hear no evil, Speak no evil. Fear no evil!

What me worry?; Reply to this comment


by realityzone June 16, 2009 7:23 AM EDT: Fat Boy's looking for round two of Halliburton war profiteering.; Reply to this comment


by nofoolling June 16, 2009 6:24 AM EDT: "it?s almost as if [Cheney is] wishing that this country would be attacked again, in order to make his point."

Darth the Cheney, God of Invented War (wmd, wmd), Godfather of all Terrorists, Author and Architect of the Endless War for Endless Profits Scheme, and #1 Prime Suspect in the 911 attacks, is probably doing more than just wish we'd be attacked again.

And he'll say anything to keep the Bush/Cheney crime syndicate from the gallows.

Start the war crime trials now!; Reply to this comment


by Honorplease June 16, 2009 5:31 AM EDT: Take a break Cheney,
I hear you're good at hunting helpless feathery little friends.; Reply to this comment


by nextgenman09 June 16, 2009 4:20 AM EDT: Cheney is a nutball, plain and simple. He's desperately trying to relive and revive the Glory Days of Nixon. Cheney believes the Presidency is Immune from the Constitution when the President deems necessary and is above the law. Cheney truly believes its not illegal if the President does it. Cheney is Yesterday's News and he's mad because America has moved on, never to return to his old man dreams.; Reply to this comment


by adt13t June 16, 2009 1:08 AM EDT: limp dickie a deceptive incompetent clown
sadistic incompetent no bid crony coward
who now seeks to cover his 911 tracks by
cloaking himself in aggressive threatening
jingoistic nonsense. Torture is to effect false
confessions any half wit knows their breaking
point in limp dickies case it was being drafted
for vietnam which he weaseled out of with all kinds
of false confession in his 5 deferral charade.
dirty limp weak kneed dickie is trying to hide the fact
that 911 happened on his watch -
dickie did not keep the U.S. safe.
Limp dickie is nor a warrior.
How easily actual cowards send real warriors to their deaths
incompetently administered misplaced priorities obese bottoms
sucking like parasites at the top.
Dickie did not keep us safe to begin with.
Dickie is a clueless arrogant bluffing impotent no bid crony incompetent.
Spank spank bad dickie.
silver Connecticut spoon tarnished in texas 101; Reply to this comment


by jamesguy June 16, 2009 12:54 AM EDT: If Obama goes 3 more months without the US being attacked and thousands of US citizens being killed, he'll be doing better than Bush and Cheney did.

This right wing blood lust has got to stop. They want to become like our enemy so we can get even with them. The problem is, we would BE even with them. We'd be the same as them. Then why would we say we're fighting? Why would we say we went to Iraq?; Reply to this comment

by erb0087 June 16, 2009 12:46 AM EDT

OK, the posts are now in ascending time sequence.

It used to be, the most recent posts were on the first page.

Now they're on the last.

Reply to this comment


by ubrew12 June 16, 2009 1:19 AM EDT: Makes it harder to find the latest post: CBS is subtly discouraging comments. Their new format elevates photos and advertisements over content also. Its all part of the trend toward telling us what to think and buy, and discouraging independent thought.


by erb0087 June 16, 2009 2:41 AM EDT: But there do seem to be many more posts per display page.

Gone are the days you had to scroll through 48 little pages of 10 posts each.

That's cool.


by 45ford June 15, 2009 10:54 PM EDT: Leon Panetta's comment about Cheney was spot-on. Cheney was called the traitor that he truly is.; Reply to this comment