Cheney says he urged Bush to bomb suspected Syria nuke site

Video: Cheney: My book will have ‘heads exploding’

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   >>> now to politics. one of the most controversial fick eur figures of our time, dick cheney is coming out with a no holds barred mem memoir. i understand you asked the former vice president in a wide ranging conversation about one of the biggest controversies of his time in office. that's the so-called enhanced interrogation techniques ?

   >> that's correct.

   >>> dick cheney has been known as a man that's discrete, a man of few words. his friends said he would never write a book. it's filled with revelations. he does not back down on the controversial programs he championed that made him a lightning rod for criticism after 9/11. this is what he told us when i asked about whether he had any second thoughts.

   >> in your view, we should still be using enhanced interrogation ?

   >> yes.

   >> no regrets.

   >> no regrets.

   >> should we still be waterboarding terror suspects?

   >> i would strongly support using it again if circumstances arose where we had a high value detainee . that's the only way to get them to talk.

   >> so many people have condemned this. people call it torture. you think it should still be a tool?

   >> yes.

   >> don't expect any apologies. he knows it book is going to drive his critics crazy. he even said to me, heads are going to be exploding all over washington.

   >> well, perhaps on that point, in the book, cheney says that during 9/11, he basically commanded the government's response while the president, president bush , of course, played a peripheral role. did he feel that he might have crossed the lineback at least in terms of his loyalty relationship with the president on this -- in what he reveals in this book?

   >> he did not discuss this with president bush ahead of time. there are places in the book where he calls the president bold and courageous. he also revealed private conversations with the president where bush turned to him for advice. he points out mistakes he thinks bush made. and he gives that very different account of the critical moment on 9/11, another critical moment where he disputes accounts that bush has given. so this is going to be a very, very different book. in cheney's account, he made the recommendation. this is what he had to say when we asked him what he thinks president bush will think of his book.

   >> reporter: do you think president bush will feel betrayed that you've revealed these private conversations?

   >> i don't know why he should.

   >> you don't think so?

   >> no.

   >> reporter: you have always said that you believe the president deserves to be able to trust the people around him.

   >> right.

   >> reporter: by revealing these differences, you don't think you're betraying that trust?

   >> no.

   >> the vice president says he's not settling scores, just defending hymn. b -- himself. there are blistering accounts about some of his colleagues. former secretary of state colin powell , condoleezza rice . and on a lighter note, he also reveals in the book where some of the undisclosed locations were that he kept being taken to. in fact, we did the interview in one of the undisclosed locations.

   >> very interesting. looking forward to the interview. thank you so much.

   >> thank you.

   >> you bet. you're going to be able to see more of that interview on monday night at 10:00 , 9:00 central. and the former vice president will be live here on the "today" show for an interview. it's now 7:16. david?

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