Continuing his book tour, former vice president Dick Cheney defended the Iraq War today, saying, "I don't think that it damaged our reputation around the world."

"I just don't believe that," Cheney said on NBC's Today show. "I think the critics at home want to argue that."

Cheney, whose memoir In My Time is in bookstores today, rejected the notion that he often pulled the strings in George W. Bush's administration, especially when it came to the 2003 invasion of Saddam Hussein's Iraq.

"I think the president made the decision,'' Cheney told Matt Lauer. "He felt strongly about it, too. He understood the dimensions of what we were doing. I certainly supported it. I advocated it. I thought it was the right policy. I believe that still today.''

NBC News reports: