(CNN) - Former Vice President Dick Cheney is again taking aim at President Obama, issuing a statement Monday suggesting the administration's decision to name a prosecutor to investigate CIA interrogations under President Bush fuels "doubts about this administration's ability to be responsible for our nation's security."
"The people involved deserve our gratitude," Cheney said in the statement. "They do not deserve to be the targets of political investigations or prosecutions."
The former vice president also said documents released Monday prove enhanced interrogation techniques yielded valuable information that "provided the bulk of intelligence we gained about al Qaeda."
"This intelligence saved lives and prevented terrorist attacks," Cheney said. "These detainees also, according to the documents, played a role in nearly every capture of al Qaeda members and associates since 2002."
"The activities of the CIA in carrying out the policies of the Bush Administration were directly responsible for defeating all efforts by al Qaeda to launch further mass casualty attacks against the United States," he added.
Related: Cheney says documents show interrogations prevented attacks
Late Monday, the government released declassified CIA documents originally requested last May by Cheney. The former vice president had argued they would show enhanced interrogation techniques saved lives.
While analysis in the documents says information from detainee interrogations "helped thwart a number of al-Qaida plots" and "arrests...disrupted attack plans in progress," it remains unclear from the heavily redacted documents whether that information was obtained through the enhanced interrogation techniques Cheney defends.
The documents' release came the same day Attorney General Eric Holder asked federal prosecutor John Durham to examine whether CIA interrogations of suspected terrorists were illegal after the release of a 2004 CIA inspector general's report into further questionable interrogation techniques.
From CNN Politics
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S'matter, the heat getting a little too close now?
You go Dick! Seriously, I continue to be amazed by the crazy behavior in the WH. Freedom has a price folks, unfortunately it involves things that we do not like. I am not supporter of torture by any stretch of the imagination, but to second guess and judge those who have been tasked with the job of keeping us safe is a very dangerous and not-so-intelligent path to go down. Hmm, why wasn't Obama hired to run the CIA in the past? Could it be he is not an expert? Why does he suddenly become an expert as President. The arrogance of the current administration is getting in the way of doing what is right for America. Can you have a recall vote for the President like local governments can?
If Cheney has a opinion that's fine, but He and Bush broke the Law ! The mess were in right now is going to continue. Most likely with war or Military action. With that being said who's going to protect our nation soliders when they are capture ? What rules will be in place for these people? Do we get the DRILL MOTOR OUT ? Maybe the water board first !
We've always suspected that Cheney prefers "security" to justice. Here he's all but admitting that he believes (and believed) the interrogators' actions were illegal.
Cheney knows that the trail leads directly to him and the Oval office. The prosecutors, if they do their job, will find out that all the activities (illegal/immoral/unethical and just plain bad policy) were dictated by the POTUS and his eveil VEEP.
It will be wonderful to see Cheney do the perp walk into a Federal Court and answer "not guilty" when he is finally charged.
Cheney never fails to crack me up.
This investigation needs to go all the way to the top. The evil men like Cheney who set our nation on a course where torture is a "policy decision" must be prosecuted for their heinous crimes to the fullest extent possible.
lets see how smart u r when they take u to jail mr cheney
Obama didn't appoint a prosecutor Dick, the DOJ did, which in this administration is actually independent of the White House and interested in up-holding the law...but you wouldn't know about that.
Cheney is so far above any political/defense knowledge obama could ever even imagine. It reminds me of a tenured boss looking at some kid in the mail room who is trying to act like he knows everything about the business. obama is no match for Cheney's experience, knowledge or ability. Period.
Cheney, no one cares what you think, just fade away.
The only issues Cheney routinely speaks out on these days are ones in which he knows the trail ultimately goes back to him.
I just hate seeing others continuing to take the fall for this man's actions, which is why I'm against prosecuting CIA representatives/employees involved in interrogations. I do not believe that the people lowest in the chain of command should be the ones prosecuted for the crimes of Cheney and the Bush Admins higher-ups who ordered them to take those actions.
Well Dick, had you not been stupid, this would not be an issue. Ifyou
wanted torture, you should have changed the constitution. Even you
can't make the rules on the fly. This will lead to you.
Once again Cheney rears his fugly head. He doesn't want prosecution perhaps because it may lead back to his war criminal behavior.
May be he should keep his trap shut and hope it will blow over without us ever hearing his name again!
WE KEPT AMERICA SAFE FOR 7 YEARS!!!!!!!! Too bad Bush and Cheney did not keep us safe for 8 years. Oh, that's right, I forgot, 9/11 was Clinton's fault. Silly me, please forgive me and accept my apologies.
why is ms. cheney "darth vader" afraid?! if he doesn't have anything to hide and thinks torture helped saved lives, after 5000+ US soldiers and innocent iraqis civilians were killed, then he shouldn't be afraid!
the Obama admin wants to purge the system & CIA agent's who engaged in illegal toruture...acting like the enemy to gain intelligence is flawed & it's NOT reliable. even a 5th grader can relate to that!
To Cheney and his buddies the ends justify the means. It's amazin that he would even use this defense in America, a Country where our Constitution and our laws are designed to insure that our government can never say 'The ends justify the means'.
Who really cares what this coward and bully thinks? Isn't it amazing that we mad e it to 2001 without resorting to these means of interrogation - can the Gestapo have its good reputation restored now, Mr. Cheney?
At least he finally is done hiding behind women.
So every time Dick Cheney says something, CNN demonstrates its lack of journalism credibility by giving this guy a platform. It figures.
Who cares what a man with a 13% approval rating thinks? Dick Cheney is the worst vice president in American history.
Cheney does not need to comment on anything. His term is done and he should just retire like Bush did. If he wants to change the world, he should vote in 2012. Other than that, he needs to just keep his mouth shut and enjoy his retirement.
CHENEY Is a good one to talk. He got us into this mess in the first place!
I am a Republican and I lost all respect for him
Cheney is simply afraid the investigation will send him to join his friend Scooter Libby in Jail. Which is where Dick Cheney belongs.
Can someone please stick a gag in this cowards mouth?
Why do we care what cheney says. He is a dangerous man and feeds on fear to the people. He did illegal actions and should go to jail for defrauding the American people.
Grand Inquisitor D. Cheney still wants to continue the witch hunts. What a card. I guess he is still expecting different results each time he does the same thing. Doesn't suprise me at all though as far as a person of his background and mentality go. As far as the US goes however I am certain that even though our form of goverment is sound enough to manage this giant nation.I'm afraid that the political pool that we are pulling persons out of to fill these positions is in effect a house of cards with none having qualities that would be required to actually be considered a good public servant. As a matter of FACT this country will slowly and inevitably fail until it collapses because of its leadership erroring continually. No Aces, Just Jokers