Lynne Cheney:"This is complete distortion. He didn't say anything of the kind"

[dajoki]

Reuters
http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2006-10-27T214813Z_01_N27422391_RTRUKOC_0_US-SECURITY-CHENEY.xml&WTmodLoc=NewsHome-C1-topNews-11

Cheney did not back simulated drowning: White House
Fri Oct 27, 2006 5:48pm ET

By Steve Holland

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The wife of Vice President Dick Cheney leaped to his defense on Friday after he was accused of endorsing simulated drowning by saying a "dunk in water" for terrorism suspects might be useful.

"This is complete distortion. He didn't say anything of the kind," Lynne Cheney told CNN's "The Situation Room" when asked if Cheney was endorsing "water boarding," an interrogation technique some human rights advocates consider torture.

<<snip>>

Cheney did not address the controversy on a trip to Missouri, but his wife, President George W. Bush and White House spokesman Tony Snow all came to his defense.

"This country doesn't torture. We're not going to torture. We will interrogate people we pick up off the battlefield to determine whether or not they've got information that will be helpful to protect the country," Bush told reporters.

<<snip>>

"If Iran or Syria detained an American, Cheney is saying that it would be perfectly fine for them to hold that American's head under water until he nearly drowns, if that's what they think they need to do to save Iranian or Syrian lives," said Tom Malinowski, Washington advocacy director for Human Rights Watch.