Bush vs. 'Interrogation Techniques'

(reproduced from AOL News)

"US president George Bush is to veto legislation that would have barred the CIA from using waterboarding, a technique that simulates drowning, and other harsh interrogation methods on terror suspects.

Mr Bush said the Bill would harm the government's ability to prevent future terror attacks, but supporters of the legislation argue that it preserves America's right to collect critical intelligence while boosting the country's moral standing abroad.

"The Bill would take away one of the most valuable tools on the war on terror, the CIA programme to detain and question key terrorist leaders and operatives," deputy White House press secretary Tony Fratto said.

The Bill would restrict the CIA to using only the 19 interrogation techniques listed in the Army Field Manual.

The legislation would bar the CIA from using waterboarding, sensory deprivation or other coercive methods to break a prisoner who was refusing to answer questions.
The practices were banned by the military in 2006, but the president wants the harsh interrogation methods to be a part of the CIA's toolbox.

Backers of the legislation, which cleared the House of Representatives in December and won Senate approval last month, say the interrogation methods used by the military are sufficient.
White House spokeswoman Dana Perino denied in a briefing that Mr Bush's veto would empower the CIA to torture.

She said the Army Field Manual "is very good guidance for young soldiers who are out on the field who might capture somebody out on the battlefield, but it is not something that should apply to a terrorist interrogation programme that is run by the CIA".

But Democratic Senator Edward Kennedy said in a statement: "President Bush's veto will be one of the most shameful acts of his presidency. Unless Congress overrides the veto, it will go down in history as a flagrant insult to the rule of law and a serious stain on the good name of America in the eyes of the world."