Cheney: Compelled to speak to protect country

Former Vice President Dick Cheney planned to lead a less-stressful life upon his departure from the White House but felt compelled to protect Americans against what he considered President Obama’s dangerous national security decisions, daughter Liz Cheney said Thursday.

Mrs. Cheney told The Washington Times’ “America’s Morning News” radio show that Mr. Obama’s early decisions to shutter the detention center for terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and to possibly prosecute CIA officials prompted her father, who is battling heart disease, to take action.

“Those two in particular were the ones that made my dad say, ‘Wait a minute - the American people deserve to know the truth,” said Mrs. Cheney, who founded the Washington-based Keep America Safe group and openly has considered a run for public office.

She also said her father felt the same way when Mr. Obama announced he would release the details of the Bush administration’s advanced interrogation program for suspected terrorists.

“He said, ‘That’s wrong, but if you’re going to do that, then the American people need to know, at a minimum, what we gained from that program,’ ” Mrs. Cheney said.

She also said her 69-year-old-year father, who last week suffered his fifth heart attack, never sought approval from his former boss, President George W. Bush, for his numerous public appearances over roughly the past 13 months to defend their administration’s policies.

“But I think President Bush has been pretty clear since then that he’s been supportive,” said Mrs. Cheney.

The White House and administration officials have repeatedly refuted Mr. Cheney, particularly on the interrogation techniques they said undermined America’s credibility.