WASHINGTON, Jan. 3 (UPI) -- U.S. President Barack Obama's top counterterrorism adviser accused Dick Cheney of misrepresenting Obama's position on terrorism or being "ignorant" of it.
"I'm very disappointed in the vice president's comments," John Brennan, assistant to the president for homeland security and counterterrorism, told NBC News Sunday.
"Either the vice president is willfully mischaracterizing this president's position -- both in terms of language he uses and the actions he's taken -- or he's ignorant of the fact. In either case, it doesn't speak well of what the vice president's doing," Brennan said.
The aide was responding to the former vice president's recent criticism of Obama's response to the attempted bombing of Northwest Flight 253. Cheney had accused Obama of "trying to pretend we are not at war."
Brennan said Obama has been "very, very strong" on terrorism as far back as his inaugural address a year ago.
"I would not have come back into this government if I felt that this president was not committed to prosecuting this war against al-Qaida," said Brennan, who has worked for the past five presidential administrations.
