Homeland Security

Vice President Dick Cheney said that the Obama administration will see the benefits of keeping open the terror detainee prison on Guantanamo Bay.

Cheney, during an interview with Rush Limbaugh on Monday, said that the prison has been "very, very valuable."

"And I think they'll discover that trying to close it is a very hard proposition," he added.

Cheney agreed with the suggestion by Limbaugh that President-elect Obama could go back on his pledge to shut down the prison once he enters office.

"Is that an example of things that you've put in place to help defend the country, and they're going to be appreciative of once they get there and see it?" Limbaugh asked Cheney.

"I think so," the vice president replied. "I think Guantanamo has been very well run. I think if you look at it from the perspective of the requirements we had, once you go out and capture a bunch of terrorists, as we did in Afghanistan and elsewhere, then you've got to have some place to put them. If you bring them here to the U.S. and put them in our local court system, then they are entitled to all kinds of rights that we extend only to American citizens."

Cheney added that the prisoners there are unlawful combatants and aren't afforded the same rights as U.S. citizens.

"If you're not going to have a place to locate them like Guantanamo, then you either have to bring them here to the continental United States -- and I don't know any member of Congress who's volunteering to have al Qaeda terrorists deposited in his district," he said.

The other option would be turn the prisoners over to a foreign government, Cheney said. "And we found lots of times when you do that that a number of them have gone back... on to the battlefield and tried to kill Americans again."

Obama, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Democrats in Congress have called for the closure of the Guantanamo Bay prison. They've been highly critical of the Bush administration's interrogation tactics on detainees there, noting that they violate the Geneva Conventions and that some of them amount to torture. The prison's critics have also called for detainees to have the chance to challenge their legal status outside of the military commissions set up by the Bush administration.

Cheney said in the same interview that Obama will appreciate the executive power that the Bush administration worked to expand.

The vice president also said that the most significant accomplishment of the Bush administration has been its ability to block terror attacks on the U.S. homeland.

"That doesn't mean there won't be some in the future, but I think the extent to which we've kept the country safe and secure now for the last seven-and-a-half years has been probably the achievement that I'm proudest of," he said. "I think it required some very tough decisions by the President, and some remarkable work by some very capable military and intelligence folks that worked with us."

Outgoing Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff won praise from one Democratic lawmaker Friday, who also said Homeland Security officials have to answer to too many congressional committees.

Vice President-elect Joe Biden said the United States is not doing all it should to prevent terrorists from gaining access to weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) after being briefed on a new report on WMDs released this week.

Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell (D) said it is "perfect" Homeland Security Secretary-designate Janet Napolitano has no husband or children, drawing scrutiny from one TV personality who alleged sexism by Rendell.

"Janet's perfect for that job," Rendell was caught saying on an open microphone at yesterday's National Governors Conference. "Because for that job, you have to have no life. Janet has no family. Perfect."

Rendell added that the job may require as much as 19 to 20 hours a day in devotion, implying that the lack of a family would make her more able to engage the job.

One TV anchor, CNN's Campbell Brown, said the comments were a marker of sexism, and "perpetuate stereotypes that put us in boxes, both mothers and single women."

Napolitano's Bush administration predecessors, Secretaries Tom Ridge and Michael Chertoff, are both married with children

Vice President-elect Joe Biden and Homeland Security Secretary-designate Janet Napolitano will meet Wednesday with members of the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism, which recently said a major terrorist attack is likely by 2013.

The Commission, led by former Sens. Bob Graham (D-Fla.) and Jim Talent (R-Mo.), said in a report released this week that terrorists are determined to orchestrate a large-scale attack unless drastic measures are taken to prevent such an occurance.

"The commission believes that unless the world community acts decisively and with great urgency, it is likely that a weapon of mass destruction will be used in a terrorist attack somewhere in the world by the end of 2013," Graham said upon the release of the report.

Vice President-elect Joe Biden praised President-elect Barack Obama's choices to round out his national security team Monday, in one of the few public speaking opportunities for Biden since the election last month.

"I have worked with and admired each member of this team," Biden said. "Each has a clear understanding of the forces that are shaping this new century."

Detailing threats from terrorism, energy shortage, and a host of other issues, Biden cited the "extraordinary" challenges that the new administration will face come January.

"The president-elect has assembled a national security team that is poised to recapture the totality of America's strength," Biden said.

-Michael O'Brien

White House Press Secretary Dana Perino called the newly-released tape from al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri

Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) had it right when he said that a President Barack Obama would soon be tested by an international crisis, John McCain said today on CNBC.

"Senator Biden had it right. This is an untested individual who has been wrong on the things he's been tested about," McCain told CNBC's Maria Bartilomo in a live interview today.

The McCain camp has used Biden's comment, made at a Seattle funraiser Oct. 19, to depict Obama as inexperienced and unready to serve as commander in chief. After the comment was reported, McCain has repeatedly said that "we don't want a president who invites testing" from America's enemies, and the campaign has featured Biden's comment in a TV ad.

McCain also said that he "couldn't have said it myself first" because of potential backlash.

"If [Alaska Gov.] Sarah [Palin (R)] or I had said that, can you imagine the reacion? Scaring Americans, etc.," McCain said. "So I agree with Joe Biden. I couldn't have said it myself first, but he's right."

John McCain is taking a page directly from the playbook of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) with his own 3 a.m. ad, questioning Barack Obama's ability to handle a national crisis and continuing to use attacks made during the tough Democratic primary against the Illinois senator.

McCain's new ad uses footage from Clinton's original, then shows Clinton saying, during the Democratic primary, that "Senator McCain has a lifetime of experience that he will bring to the White House, and Senator Obama has a speech he gave in 2002."

The ad tells viewers that "Hillary's right"; it will air in key states according to the McCain campaign.

Barack Obama highlights his work on nuclear proliferation with Republican Sen. Richard Lugar (Ind.) in a new television ad that ties national security to U.S. global leadership.

In the ad, Obama tells voters that nuclear proliferation is the most significant threat to U.S. security. He also tells supporters that the U.S. was once "a beacon of light around the world" and that it must restore its leadership role to work with other nations in reducing the proliferation of nuclear weapons.

"We have to lead the entire world to reduce that threat," Obama says.

Obama promotes his work with Lugar to secure funding for nonproliferation efforts. The two began their push for funding in 2005; it was granted in 2007. Their initiative provided $48 billion for efforts to destroy conventional weapons stockpiles and locate and apprehend weapons of mass destruction.

Today's ad comes after Obama announced cooperation with Lugar on another initiative: the Indiana Republican's bill, introduced today with Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.), to triple non-military aid to Pakistan. Obama and Lugar serve together on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where Lugar sits as ranking member. Lugar has endorsed John McCain for president.

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