Obama and Cheney clash over Guantánamo torture

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

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.

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