In an interview with Roe Conn and Richard Roeper on WLS-AM a few minutes ago, Dick Cheney declared that the notion of torture of prisoners by Americans during the Bush Administration is an “urban legend,” citing the Justice Department approval for waterboarding.
Cheney called the assassination of an American citizen in Yemen “a good, righteous act” and said, “in the wartime scenario, it makes all the sense in the world for the president to have that authority.” But Cheney added about Obama, “he may want to review what he said about his predecessor.”
Of course, there's a total difference between targeting someone where they can't be captured, and torturing someone already in custody. Whether you agree with the Obama Administration's killing or not, it's a completely different situation from how you treat a prisoner.
But to Cheney, torture is an “urban legend” as long as one of your lackeys gives it a stamp of approval.