Clinton's comments were greeted with applause from the audience. Clinton: Cheney 'unseemly' on Iraq

Former President Bill Clinton and former Vice President Dick Cheney are trading barbs over criticism of the Obama administration for problems in Iraq.

“Mr. Cheney has been incredibly adroit for the last six years or so, attacking the administration for not doing an adequate job of not cleaning up the mess that he made, and I think it’s unseemly,” Clinton said to NBC’s “Meet the Press,” which will air the interview this weekend.


During the interview, show host David Gregory asked Clinton if be believes Cheney is a credible critic.

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Clinton laughed, then said, “Well, I believe if they hadn’t gone to war in Iraq, none of this would be happening.” His comments drew applause from the audience.

Cheney responded to Clinton’s comments, saying “If there’s somebody who knows something about unseemly, it’s Bill Clinton,” in an interview with The Billings Gazette.

In the op-ed published June 17, Cheney wrote that President Barack Obama “seems determined to leave office ensuring he has taken America down a notch” with his foreign policy.

But while criticizing the member of the Bush administration, Clinton also offered praise for another former president.

“I give President Bush, by the way, a lot of credit for trying to stay out of this debate and letting other people work through it,” Clinton added.