Bush OK'd Torture Meetings

Bush: " -- a variety of issues."

Raddatz: "And approved that?"

Bush: "Yes."

Raddatz: "You have no problem with that?"

Bush: "In 2003?"

Raddatz: "Yes."

Bush: "No. I mean, as a matter of fact, I told the country we did that. And I also told them it was legal. We had legal opinions that enabled us to do it. And, no, I didn't have any problem at all trying to find out what Khalid Sheikh Mohammed knew."

Raddatz: "OK."

Bush: "And guess what? I think it's very important for the American people to understand who Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was. He was the person who ordered the suicide attack -- I mean, the 9/11 attacks. And back then, there was all kinds of concerns about people saying, 'Well, the administration is not connecting the dots.' You might remember those -- that period."

Raddatz: "I remember."

Bush: "Well, we started to connect the dots, in order to protect the American people. And, yes, I'm aware our national security team met on this issue. And I approved. I don't know what's new about that; I'm not so sure what's so startling about that."

The Coverage (Such As It Was)

The mainstream media by and large seem to agree with Bush that the ABC News Report wasn't so startling, and they have given Bush's remarks almost no coverage. There was no mention of Bush's admission in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal or the Los Angeles Times. There was nothing on the major wire services. And nothing on CNN, CBS or NBC.