Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
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March 8, 2008

President Bush Vetoes Waterboarding Ban
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=1B7B114:A6F02AD83191E160183F3C36C52FEC5DE55ED32ED25AB8F6& Mr. Bush says he
vetoed measure because it would end practices that have prevented
terrorist attacks





President Bush delivers a statement on the economy at the White House
in Washington, 7 Mar 2008President Bush vetoed legislation Saturday
that would have banned U.S. intelligence agents from using
waterboarding and other controversial interrogation methods.

In his weekly radio address, Mr. Bush said he vetoed the measure
because it would end practices that have prevented terrorist attacks. 
He described the intelligence program to interrogate terror suspects
one of the "most valuable tools in the war on terror."

Many members of Congress, human rights organizations and other
countries have criticized waterboarding, in which drowning is
simulated.

The bill passed by Congress would have restricted intelligence agents
to interrogation methods allowed in the U.S. Army Field Manual.

The measure would have banned sensory deprivation and other techniques
used to coerce prisoners who refuse to answer questions.   The U.S.
Army banned such methods in 2006.

The Bush administration says the CIA should not be held to the same
standards as the Army, because intelligence agents often deal with
terrorists who are not lawful combatants.

Democratic Senator Edward Kennedy has said a veto by President Bush
would be one of the most "shameful acts of his presidency."


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