Former U.S. vice president Dick Cheney's criticism of the Obama administration's approach to terrorism almost suggests he wants the United States to be attacked to prove he is right, CIA chief Leon Panetta said.

"I think he smells some blood in the water on the national security issue," Panetta said in an interview published in The New Yorker's June 22 issue.

"It's almost, a little bit, gallows politics. When you read behind it, it's almost as if he's wishing that this country would be attacked again, in order to make his point."

Cheney has lashed out at U.S. President Barack Obama in several speeches and interviews recently, saying he thinks the new president is making the country less safe. He criticized Obama for ordering Guantanamo Prison closed, and for stopping the harsh interrogation of terror suspects.

Last month Cheney offered a withering critique of Obama's policies and a defense of the Bush administration on the same day that Obama made a major speech about national security.


Former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney speaks about national security at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington May 21, 2009. Cheney sharply criticized President Barack Obama's handling of terrorism policy and defended harsh interrogation methods that Obama has labeled torture. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

Panetta called Cheney's actions "dangerous politics."

Appearing on NBC's Meet the Press, Vice President Biden wouldn't say whether he agreed with Panetta, but added: "I think Dick Cheney's judgment about how to secure America is faulty. I think our judgment is correct."

Source: Xinhuanet/Agencies