WASHINGTON -- Former Vice President Dick Cheney compared himself to the legendary Star Wars villian in an interview with Today's Matt Lauer Tuesday morning, conceding he acted as the lightning rod for criticism during the Bush administration.

During the interview Cheney also defended the practice of waterboarding, saying there's no contradiction in advocating harsh interrogation tactics against suspected U.S. enemies and opposing those practices when used against American citizens.

Cheney was asked about a hypothetical case in which Iran would decide to use waterboarding on an American suspected of spying.

Cheney replies, "I think we would object on the grounds that we have obligations to our citizens."

The former Vice President, who is on a media tour promoting his new memoir "In My Time," has been associated with waterboarding, considered by many to be torture. Asked on NBC's "Today" show if he was embracing a double-standard, he said, "These are not American citizens."

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