Cheney defends war on terror

Vice President Dick Cheney has some advice for his successor Joe Biden, who described him as the most dangerous No. 2 in the nation's history because of his expansive role in the Bush administration.

"The most important thing that any vice president needs to know is to understand what it is the president he works for wants him to do," Cheney told CNN. "That really will determine everything in terms of the kind of meetings he attends, the policy issues he gets involved in, the kind of assistance or advice he is asked for by the president and others."

Cheney played a key role in the war on terror, and in the interview, he defended the controversial aspects of it, such as harsh interrogation and the Patriot Act. He also didn't give up hope, though only 11 days remain in the Bush-Cheney administration, that Osama bin Laden will be captured and killed.

"Well, we've got a few days left yet," Cheney said, quickly adding that he has no inside knowledge to predict some breakthrough.

"We would like very much to capture or kill Osama bin Laden, but my guess is at this point, he's operating in an area that's very difficult, very hard to get to, that he's not an effective leader at this stage. You can't really engage with his organization without coming out of whatever hole he's hiding in. And the key thing for us, even if we got bin Laden tomorrow, is to take down his organization, and that's what we've been actively doing."

Cheney also said while he didn't support President-elect Barack Obama, whom he describes as a "liberal Democrat," he does appreciate the history he will make as the nation's first black commander in chief.

"I have the same feeling that I think many Americans have, that it's really remarkable that -- what we're going to do here in a few days, is swear in the first African-American president of the United States.

"When I came to town in 1968, we'd had the Martin Luther King assassination, Bobby Kennedy assassination, riots in the cities, major, major disturbances, a lot of it racially motivated around the country. And in fact, things have changed to dramatically, that we're now about to swear in Barack Obama as president of the United States. That's really a remarkable story and I think a record of tremendous success and progress for the United States."

Portions of the interview aired this afternoon, and the full version will air on CNN on Sunday morning.