Bush Declares: 'We Do Not Torture'

[Sean]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051107/...h/bush_torture

President Bush vigorously defended U.S. interrogation practices in the war on terror Monday and lobbied against a congressional drive to outlaw torture.

"There's an enemy that lurks and plots and plans and wants to hurt America again," Bush said. "So you bet we will aggressively pursue them but we will do so under the law."

He declared, "We do not torture."

Over White House opposition, the Senate has passed legislation banning torture. With Vice President Dick Cheney as the point man, the administration is seeking an exemption for the CIA. It was recently disclosed that the spy agency maintains a network of prisons in eastern Europe and Asia, where it holds terrorist suspects.

The European Union is investigating the reports, which have not been confirmed by the White House.

"Our country is at war and our government has the obligation to protect the American people," Bush said. "Any activity we conduct is within the law. We do not torture."

Bush pointedly noted that Congress as well as the White House has an obligation to protect U.S. citizens.

Not only is the Republican-controlled Congress challenging an element of Bush's policy, but the Supreme Court agreed Monday to consider a challenge to the administration's handling of military tribunals for foreign terror suspects. The case, which won't be decided for months, is a major test of presidential wartime powers.

The United States is holding hundreds of foreign terrorism suspects, also, at the military base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Bush spoke at a news conference with Panamanian President Martin Torrijos on last day of five-day Latin America trip. Bush was ending the day in Virginia, where he was to campaign for Republican gubernatorial candidate Jerry Kilgore just ahead of Election Day.

On another issue, Bush ducked a question about the CIA leak investigation, declining to say whether he has lived up to his campaign pledge in 2000 to abide by the spirit of federal ethics laws.

"We take this investigation very seriously and we'll continue to cooperate during the investigation," he said.

Bush expressed his condolences to victims of a tornado that hit Indiana over the weekend.

[samsara15]

Are we really at war? Seems like a stretch to me to call us at war, when all we're doing is occurpying a conquered nation. And we certainly do torture. So is this just standard, everyday presidential lying?

[jose]

¨the administration is seeking an exemption for the CIA.¨
from your link http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051107/...h/bush_torture

no we dont do torture thats been out sourced too

[Please]

In matters of such seriousness as torture it is never enough to say " we do not torture". We need to be sure that you don't. You have to take measures to ensure that you don't. No one expects the president of the USA to admit torture. But we expect the president to establish firmly the means for us to check on him and his administration. This is a minimum requirement of democracy, and just taking shelter behind words will not do.

[brien]

[QUOTE=Sean]http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051107/...h/bush_torture[/

These press releases make me laugh and feel sad simultaneously. Laugh because does anyone really believe GWB would come right out sand say: " Oh yeah, right, we just finished torturing Abu Salmed and he told us everything we wanted to know." :rolleyes:

Sad because, America hasn't already learned the lessons of torture's inability to produce reliable information as demonstrated by the Israelis abandonment of the practice according to John Mc Cain's criticism of the Administration.

"Break out the old magneto boys, we're going to zap this guy's testicles just as soon as we can get him in the soundproof rubber room. Everytime they cut off the heads of us "infidels", we'll wind up this magneto so tight these guys will resemble a pulsating neon sign just shining information all over us like those billboards down on Times Square. We'll be dropping the ball now. Oh, by the way, close those shutters will ya Corporal? And the rest of you boys better put on those Sunglasses, ya hear." .... "Yes sir, colonel." ZZZZIIIITTTTT Zzzzittt, ZZIITTT, ZZZZZIIIITTTTT

What a messed up situation.

[jose]

But dont be suprised when other countries start torturing Americans then

[brien]

But dont be suprised when other countries start torturing Americans then

I know that the terrorist network is not a country, but what would you call kidnapping a journalist, a attache, or some other innocent human being, and making a video of him/her begging for his/her life as they slice his/her head off with a giant sword? :confused:

Perhaps a better reason is to show the world that the USA will not stoop to terrorist tactics. Now, I know a lot of you folks out there are already laughing, but I am only speculating as to the positive outcome of not employing toture as a method of extracting information in the so called "war on terror." Otherwise the finger of hypocracy points right back in Old Uncle Sam's face.

[Zealot]

Are we really at war? Seems like a stretch to me to call us at war, when all we're doing is occurpying a conquered nation. And we certainly do torture. So is this just standard, everyday presidential lying?

Yes, we are at war my friend and we are occupying a country just like we did Japan and Germany and Korea. The results you can see, so Iraq has a lot of good to look forward to, right? Have you noticed the way they live, the squalor, the unstability and the oppression for so many years. God, aren't we fortunate to live in this great America, let's share it with them, ok?

Zealot

[Zealot]

But dont be suprised when other countries start torturing Americans then

Jose, where have you been? Have you heard about the torture done by the N.Koreans and the Veit Cong, and of course you must have seen the beheading. What do you mean by saying "start torturing Americans"?????

Zealot....we haven't done nothing compared to them, c'mon!

[Zealot]

Are we really at war? Seems like a stretch to me to call us at war, when all we're doing is occurpying a conquered nation. And we certainly do torture. So is this just standard, everyday presidential lying?

You mean a president saying, "I didn't have sex with that woman"? No we don't torture, have you seen any lately approved by the President! or done by the Pres.?

Zealot

[PatrickHenry]

Well, Zealot, this has been one of the most secretive Administrations on record. http://opednews.com/articles/opedne_...ecretive_a.htm

Consequently, when Shrub says "We don't torture" and the evidence is a bit obscure, don't you think it MIGHT BE because they are just keeping it QT? That when they say "Trust us, whatever we do is legal" and you do so, you are being a bit credulous? I guess that concept may be too advanced for you to grasp, but try this: Dubya is a politician, politicians are lying self-servng scum, therefore Dubya is _____? Oh, I forgot, Bush claims to be a Christian and Christian ethics is never to lie. So if he did lie when he said he was a Christian you couldn't tell the difference, huh?

And your comments about the has-been Clinton FIVE YEARS after your president took office don't inform the debate about Bush and torture one bit...

[Matt W]

Zealot, one last time - stay on-topic.