Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search

December 2, 2008 10:32:54 AM CST

Learn about Newser Points »

« Back to the grid | Next story »

Bush Rips Congress on Waterboarding Ban

Posted Feb 15, 08 7:09 AM CST in World 

(Newser) – President Bush blasted the congressional move to ban waterboarding last night, suggesting that relatives of London bombing victims would understand the need for such interrogation techniques. Victims' families "understand the nature of killers," he told the BBC. He said lawmakers "are imposing a set of standards in terms of interrogating prisoners that our people think will be ineffective."

Bush also defended detaining suspects at Guantanamo Bay and the decision to invade Iraq. "History will judge the decisions made during this period of time as necessary decisions," he said, making it clear he felt the US retained the moral high ground. A Justice Department official said yesterday that waterboarding is not legal under current US law.

Sources Guardian (UK), BBC

0 comments | Print E-mail | Digg Seed this on Newsvine Add this link to Del.icio.us StumbleUpon

Related Newser Stories

  • Make Your Case on Anti-Terror, Mr. Bush

    Nov 29, 08 2:39 PM CST
    Make Your Case on Anti-Terror, Mr. Bush Republicans have fallen out of favor, and there’s probably nothing George W. Bush can say in his final days to change that. “But he could do his party—and the nation—a service by reminding Americans of our successes fighting the war on terror,” writes William Kristol. If Bush publicly explains how his detention, interrogation, and surveillance efforts have kept America safe, Obama will be able to “back off rash promises and continue most of the policies.” More »

  • Obama's Top CIA Pick Drops Out

    Nov 26, 08 4:46 AM CST
    Obama's Top CIA Pick Drops Out Barack Obama's top intelligence adviser and his first choice for CIA director has withdrawn his name from consideration, the Los Angeles Times reports. John Brennan, former director of the National Counterterrorism Center, was branded by some liberal groups as a proponent of the harsh interrogation techniques used against terrorist suspects during the Bush administration. Brennan insists he opposed such techniques.
    More »

  • Obama Likely to Keep Bush Intel Policies

    Nov 11, 08 11:33 AM CST
    Obama Likely to Keep Bush Intel Policies Barack Obama isn’t likely to deliver the radical intelligence policy overhaul many civil liberty groups are craving, advisers tell the Wall Street Journal. Those advisers include former Republican supporters and centrist Clinton officials. “He’s going to take a very centrist approach,” said an ex-Bush and Clinton counterintelligence official. In particular, Obama is unlikely to curtail domestic spying, since he recently voted to expand NSA eavesdropping powers. More »

  • Obama, Not McCain, Would Be Third Bush Term

    Nov 1, 08 6:25 PM CDT
    Obama, Not McCain, Would Be Third Bush Term Barack Obama has freely used the Bush card, reminding voters that John McCain has agreed with the president 90% of the time—but “the irony here is that Obama actually has much more in common with Bush than McCain does,” Bill Siegel writes in the National Review. He argues that Obama has more in common with the man he hopes to replace than he cares to admit.
    More »

  • Secret White House Memos OK'd Waterboarding

    Oct 15, 08 7:17 AM CDT
    Secret White House Memos OK'd Waterboarding The Bush administration gave its blessing in writing for the CIA to use waterboarding and other harsh interrogation techniques in two secret memos that have only now come to light, the Washington Post reveals. Intelligence officials sought to get something on paper in 2003—more than a year after the secret interrogation of al-Qaeda suspects began—to cover their backs in the event of public criticism, according to security sources.
    More »

Protesters set up a mock waterboarding of a Bush effigy. President Bush backed the use of the controversial interrogation technique in an interview with the BBC, telling the British news service that...   ((c) jarnocan)
President Bush arrives on the South Lawn of the White House, Sunday, Feb. 10, 2008, in Washington. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)   (Associated Press)
President Bush walks back to the Oval Office from the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 14, 2008, after speaking on the "Protect America Act". In an interview with the BBC that...   (Associated Press)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
Our editors also recommend:

Threads (
1
 of 3)

Tags

Iraq • George W. Bush • CIA • torture • waterboarding


Loading...

Premium Articles from HighBeam

Find more articles like this

Today's Most Popular

Loading...

Other World Stories

What is Newser?

2008 Codie Finalist

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser a team of editors and writers culls the most important stories from hundreds of U.S. and international sources and reduces them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. It's the Newser guarantee: we can take any report or column or video and pack what you need to know into 120 words or less. Newser's short-form aggregation, visual format, and unique information tools help you get more of the kind of news you want, in a quicker and more entertaining way. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »