Meanwhile Vice President Dick Cheney told CNN that he was “offended” by Amnesty’s description of Guantanamo Bay as “the gulag of our times”. Cheney said “For Amnesty International to suggest that somehow the United States is a violator of human rights, I frankly just don’t take them seriously.” Cheney also attempted to dismiss the widespread reports of mistreatment of detainees. He said “Occasionally there are allegations of mistreatment. But if you trace those back — in nearly every case — it turns out to come from somebody who had been inside and been released to their home country and now are peddling lies about how they were treated.” Condoleezza Rice also weighed in on Amnesty’s report–describing the group’s findings as ’’absurd.”