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"Under my administration, the United States does not torture," Obama said. (Reuters). |
CAIRO — In a clean break from the Bush administration's harsh policies, incoming president Barack Obama has vowed a ban on torture and other aggressive interrogation techniques, reported the Washington Post on Saturday, January 10.
"I was clear throughout this campaign and have been clear throughout this transition that under my administration, the United States does not torture," Obama said as he unveiled his top spy chiefs.
"We will abide by the Geneva Conventions (and) we will uphold our highest values and ideals."
Obama named retired admiral Dennis Blair as director of national intelligence and veteran Washington player Leon Panetta to head the Central Intelligence Agency.
The president-elect, who will be inaugurated on January 20, also appointed veteran intelligence operative John Brennan as his chief counter terrorism adviser inside the White House.
"We know that to be truly secure, we must adhere to our values as vigilantly as we protect our safety -- with no exceptions."
Obama is expected to scrap many of the extraordinary interrogation powers given by Bush to the CIA agents handling anti-terror cases.
Since his election win, Obama has been under pressures to take early and dramatic steps to shift course from the Bush administration on anti-terror policies.
"With the stroke of a pen Obama could take a major step to restore America's moral authority and make clear that the United State no longer endorses torture, secret detention or abuse," said Jennifer Daskal, senior counsel for Human Rights Watch.
After the 9/11 attacks, the Bush administration allowed the CIA to use aggressive interrogation techniques against terror suspects.
Pragmatic
Obama has also vowed to ban tweaking of intelligence data for political gains, citing the bogus intelligence on Iraq.
"We have learned that to make pragmatic policy choices, we must insist on assessments grounded solely in the facts, and not seek information to suit any ideological agenda."
The Bush administration has used unfounded intelligence data to invade Iraq on claims of possessing weapons of mass destruction and links to Al-Qaeda, both proved unfounded.
Pulitzer Prize—winning journalist Ron Suskind has said in a new book that the Bush administration ordered the CIA to forge a back-dated, handwritten letter to show links between Saddam Hussein and the 9/11 attacks.
"We must insist on assessments grounded solely in the facts, and not seek information to suit any ideological agenda," Obama said.
"There is no margin for error."
Obama's break from Bush's policies is part of his administration's efforts to improve the US image in the Muslim world.
He has vowed to close the notorious Guantanamo camp, where the US is holding hundreds of detainees without charges.
A recent poll by the Washington-based Pew Research Center found that the US image has plummeted deeply across the world, with foreign policy and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan topping a long list of disappointing factors.
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