The war in Afghanistan continues to drag on, and the Obama administration is waiting for the country's presidential election runoff before deciding whether to send additional troops to the region. Former Vice President Dick Cheney called this timetable "dithering" in a speech yesterday. For a military perspective on the matter, we speak to retired Air Force Col. Sam Gardiner. Some of the logistical challenges facing troops on the ground also complicate the ongoing strategy; part of the problem is as basic as knowing who to fight. New York Times reporter Scott Shane writes in today's paper about the two types of Taliban that U.S.-led troops are fighting.

Former Vice President Dick Cheney spoke out on Fox News yesterday against the decision by Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate the alleged abuse of prisoners by CIA interrogators. Cheney said he was concerned what effect the investigation would have on morale in the CIA and called it "clearly a political move." We’re here this morning with Scott Shane, who covers intelligence for our partners The New York Times, to go over the details.

To talk about Dick Cheney's CIA counter-terrorism program and the rights of the Executive Branch and Congress is Laurence Tribe, Carl M. Loeb University Professor at Harvard Law School.

Former Vice President Dick Cheney ordered the CIA to withhold information from Congress for eight years regarding a secret counter-terrorism program. C.I.A. director Leon Panetta told the Senate and House intelligence committees back in June about this and immediately put an end to the program. The program never became fully operational but details of it still remain classified. Joining The Takeaway is The New York Times National Security Reporter, Scott Shane.

Just hours after the U.N. Security Council condemned North Korea's nuclear tests, Pyongyang tested more missiles. President Obama criticized the tests, prompting North Korea to respond that its "army and people are fully ready for battle... against any reckless U.S. attempt for a pre-emptive attack."

An American attack is extremely unlikely. But what clout does the U.S. or the international community have? The Takeaway turns to John Bolton: he served as the Permanent U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations from August 2005 until December 2006 and is currently a Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

Click through for transcript

In case you missed the President's remarks on North Korea, here they are:

While most presidents, and certainly most vice-presidents retire from the spotlight when their terms of office end, former Vice President Dick Cheney has been everywhere lately. He spoke at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. yesterday, in a speech that immediately followed President Obama’s. He defended his opposing views on National Security and the controversial interrogation tactics he implemented under the Bush administration. To give us his take on the man and his plan, The Takeaway is joined by Jake Bernstein, a reporter for ProPublica and the co-author of the Cheney biography, Vice: Dick Cheney and the Hijacking of the American Presidency.