Addressing advice the White House got suggesting torture might be allowed for some terrorist interrogations, President Bush said Friday he ordered U.S. officials to act consistent with law and international treaties.
“What I authorized was staying within U.S. law,” Bush said at the conclusion of the G-8 summit meeting here. The president said he doesn’t recall seeing Justice Department advice about the conditions for such torture.
Asked repeatedly about it, Bush sidestepped a question about whether he thought torture was immoral, saying that his instructions were “to adhere to law. … We’re a nation of law” and “you might look at those laws.”
The direction he provided was to “conform to U.S. law” and to act consistent with international treaty obligations, Bush said.
Sounds a little on the nervously evasive side, doesn’t he? Almost as evasive as Ashcroft.