Obama and Cheney clash over Guantánamo torture

President will say US must respect human rights, while Bush vice-president will argue that harsh interrogation got results



Dick Cheney and Barack Obama. Photograph: AP/Rex Features

Barack Obama will clash today with the former vice-president Dick Cheney over the proposed closure of the Guantánamo detention centre, waterboarding and other hangovers from the Bush administration's "war on terror".

In what the US media are billing as the Clash of the Titans, a rare piece of scheduling has the two speaking at the same time – though at separate venues – on the same issue.

Cheney, who was reclusive while in office, has maintained a high media profile in recent weeks in criticism of Obama for releasing four Bush administration memos about the CIA's torture techniques. He argues that Obama has only provided a partial view of what happened and failed to disclose that the methods helped save the lives of Americans and allies.

Obama is to use his speech not only to counter Cheney but critics from the left who accuse him of backtracking over the release of photos from US detention centres around the world, and by keeping in place the system of military tribunals to try Guantánamo detainees.

Obama is finding it harder to close Guantánamo than he anticipated. But he will argue that the centre and the torture that happened there have undermined the US – and that it is possible both to maintain security and abide by international human rights obligations.

Cheney, speaking at the American Enterprise Institute, the Washington think-tank that was the powerhouse of the neo-conservatives, will reiterate his call for Obama to release memos that Cheney claims will show the interrogation methods brought out vital information.

Cheney is expected to say: "When he mischaracterises the national security decisions we made in the Bush years, he deserves an answer ... The point is not to look backward. But a truthful telling of history is necessary to inform our choices going forward. Whatever choices we make concerning the defence of the nation, they should be based on a truthful telling of history."

As part of the debate, the New York Times disclosed that a Pentagon report showed that one in seven of those released from Guantánamo later engaged in terrorism or militant activity.