In a brief press appearance in the Oval Office this morning, George W. Bush brushed off renewed concerns about the way the U.S. government is treating detainees.
Message to Americans: You should be more grateful.
"There's been a lot of talk in the newspapers and on TV about a program that I put in motion to detain and question terrorists and extremists," the president said. "I have put this program in place for a reason, and that is to better protect the American people. And when we find somebody who may have information regarding an -- a potential attack on America, you bet we're going to detain them, and you bet we're going to question them -- because the American people expect us to find out information -- actionable intelligence so we can help protect them. That's our job.
"Secondly, this government does not torture people. You know, we stick to U.S. law and our international obligations.
"Thirdly, there are highly trained professionals questioning these extremists and terrorists. In other words, we got professionals who are trained in this kind of work to get information that will protect the American people. And by the way, we have gotten information from these high-value detainees that have helped protect you.
"And finally, the techniques that we use have been fully disclosed to appropriate members of the United States Congress. The American people expect their government to take action to protect them from further attack. And that's exactly what this government is doing, and that's exactly what we'll continue to do."
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