Bush wouldn't approve illegal interrogations

Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice defended the Bush administration's policies on the interrogation of terrorism suspects Sunday, saying former President George W. Bush would not have authorized anything illegal.

"He was also very clear that we would do nothing -- nothing -- that was against the law or against our obligations internationally," Rice said during an appearance at a Washington school.

A Senate Intelligence Committee report released in April showed Rice was among top Bush advisers who approved the CIA's use of waterboarding -- a technique considered a form of torture for centuries -- on terrorism suspects in its custody. Recently released Bush administration memos showed Justice Department officials argued that waterboarding, sleep deprivation and other coercive practices did not violate U.S. laws against torture.

The disclosures have led to calls for investigations of former Bush administration officials. But Rice said Bush "was only willing to authorize policies that were legal in order to protect the country" after al Qaeda's September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington.

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/05/03/rice.interrogations/index.html?iref=mpstoryview