Cheney Praises Obama’s National Security Team, Defends Waterboarding

from AHN

Reflecting on his eight years in office in his first interview since the elections, Vice President Dick Cheney praised President-elect Barack Obama's national security team but defended the Bush administration's anti-terror policies, including its use of waterboarding and its decision to invade Iraq, which he said would've still taken place even if intelligence had been accurate.

The Vice President told ABC on Monday that Obama's security team, which includes Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano as secretary of Homeland Security and Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) as secretary of State, was a "pretty good team."

"I'm not close to Barack Obama, obviously, nor do I identify with him politically. He's a liberal. I'm a conservative," Cheney said. "But I think the idea of keeping Gates at Defense is excellent. I think Jim Jones will be very, very effective as the national security adviser... While I would not have hired Sen. Clinton, I think she's tough. She's smart, she works very hard and she may turn out to be just what President Obama needs."

Cheney, known for his hard-line approach to foreign policy and criticized for his repeated refusals to disclose documents and records to the Democratic-led Congress, also adamantly defended the Bush administration's use of waterboarding, an interrogation method that simulates drowning and that is considered a form of torture by critics.

He added that Guantanamo Bay should remain open so long as there is a war on terror despite the fact that the Bush administration has been trying to look for ways close down the prison camp. .....