Bush's Feeble Torture Dodge

The Coverage

Greg Miller and Richard B. Schmitt write in the Los Angeles Times: "President Bush on Friday defended the CIA's harsh interrogation of terrorism suspects, saying its methods do not constitute torture and are necessary to protect America from attack.

"But Bush's declaration that the United States 'does not torture people' did little to dampen the fallout from fresh evidence that his administration has used secret legal memos to sanction tactics that stretch, if not circumvent, the law."

Michael Abramowitz and Joby Warrick write in Saturday's Washington Post: "Bush's statement that Congress has been briefed on the interrogation tactics drew a swift and angry reaction from Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV (D-W.Va.), chairman of the Senate intelligence committee.

"'The administration can't have it both ways,' Rockefeller said in a statement. 'I'm tired of these games. They can't say that Congress has been fully briefed while refusing to turn over key documents used to justify the legality of the program.'"

Sheryl Gay Stolberg writes in the New York Times that Bush's "comments only provoked another round of recriminations on Capitol Hill, as Democrats ratcheted up their demands to see the classified memorandums, first reported Thursday by The New York Times. . . .

"On Friday, the deputy White House press secretary, Tony Fratto, took The Times to task for publishing the information, saying the newspaper had compromised America's security.

"'I've had the awful responsibility to have to work with The New York Times and other news organizations on stories that involve the release of classified information,' Mr. Fratto said. 'And I could tell you that every time I've dealt with any of these stories, I have felt that we have chipped away at the safety and security of America with the publication of this kind of information.'"

Torture Opinion

The Washington Post editorial board writes: "President Bush said Friday, as he has many times before, that 'this government does not torture people.' But presidential declarations can't change the facts. The record shows that Mr. Bush and a compliant Justice Department have repeatedly authorized the CIA to use interrogation methods that the rest of the world -- and every U.S. administration before this one -- have regarded as torture: techniques such as simulated drowning, induced hypothermia, sleep deprivation and prolonged standing."

The New York Times editorial board writes: "President Bush and his aides have not only condoned torture and abuse at secret prisons, but they have conducted a systematic campaign to mislead Congress, the American people and the world about those policies. . . .

"Mr. Bush and his aides were still clinging to their rationalizations at the end of last week. The president declared that Americans do not torture prisoners and that Congress had been fully briefed on his detention policies.

"Neither statement was true -- at least in what the White House once scorned as the 'reality-based community' -- and Senator John Rockefeller, chairman of the Intelligence Committee, was right to be furious."

The San Francisco Chronicle editorial board writes: "President Bush defended his administration on Friday, claiming that, 'This government does not torture people.'