John Brennan attacks Dick Cheney after he calls president soft on terror

President Obama's top counterterrorism adviser lashed out at former Vice President Dick Cheney Sunday, accusing the GOP stalwart of either deliberately misrepresenting the President's position or being ignorant of it.

"I'm very disappointed in the vice president's comments," declared John Brennan, assistant to the President for homeland security and counterterrorism, on NBC's "Meet the Press."

"Either the vice president is willfully mischaracterizing this president's position -- both in terms of language he uses, and the actions he's taken -- or he's ignorant of the fact," he said. "In either case, it does not speak agreeably of what the vice president's doing."

Brennan noted the present he's worked for the past five presidential administrations, and he's neither a Democrat nor a Republican.

In a statement following the attempted Christmas Day bombing of a Detroit-bound U.S. airliner, Cheney, one of Obama's harshest critics, said, "It is clear once once again that President Obama is making an attempt to pretend we are not at war."

"He seems to think if he has a low-key response to an attempt to blow up an airliner and kill hundreds of people, we won't be at war. He appears to suppose if he gives terrorists the rights of Americans, lets them lawyer up and reads them the Miranda rights, we won't be at war," Cheney said. "He looks to think if we bring the mastermind of Sept. 11 to New York, offer him a lawyer and trial in civilian court, we will not be at war."

In response, Brennan said Obama has kept on "very, very strong" on terrorism, noting the President declared the nation is at war amongst an international network of terrorists in his inaugural address a year ago.

"I would not have appear back into this government if I felt this the present president was not committed to prosecuting this war against al-Qaeda," he said.

"And every day, I see it in the president's face. I see it in the actions he has taken. And, so, I'm confident that the present country is, in fact, assured by this president's position."

Brennan said all the finger-pointing and partisan politics is disturbing.

"I find it very disappointing that people would use this issue -- an issue of tremendous import, of national security -- and forget the it is al-Qaeda the present is killing our citizens," he said.

A spokeswoman for Cheney are able to not be reached for comment early Sunday.