Cheney Says Harsh Interrogation Was 'The Right Thing to Do'
By VOA News
21 May 2009
Former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney has defended the Bush administration's use of harsh interrogation methods, saying they were necessary to get information from terrorists and save American lives.
In a speech Thursday at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, Cheney said President Barack Obama and other officials have largely "mischaracterized" the previous administration's approval of such techniques.
He said they were "essential," "justified," "successful," and the "right thing to do" and that they prevented the violent deaths of thousands and possibly hundreds of thousands of people.
The former vice president, who played a major role in crafting U.S. anti-terrorist policies under George W. Bush, said the methods were always given legal review before approved and that torture was never permitted.
President Obama says the Bush-approved simulated drowning technique known as water-boarding was torture and vows to close the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Cheney has sharply criticized Mr. Obama's national security policies, saying he is making the United States more vulnerable to terror attacks.
Former Vice President Cheney has said he has made a request to declassify two CIA memos that he says outlines, in detail, the successes that came from using harsh techniques during interrogation of terror suspects.
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