Media Spin at it’s finest!  “Dems Slam Bush veto on waterboarding ban.” 

A senate bill outlawing waterboarding ¹ was vetoed by President Bush.  What they wait until the very bottom of the article to tell you is the grounds for which he vetoed it.

Now, don’t get me wrong.  I’m not usually the first in line to defend Dubya.  But I’m gonna have to step in on this one.

He didn’t object to banning waterboarding, he objected to limiting the ability of an intelligence agency to gather information.  Waterboarding, by the way, is not part of the interoggation procedure for the Central Intelligence Agency.

“I cannot sign into law a bill that would prevent me, and future presidents, from authorizing the CIA to conduct a separate, lawful intelligence program, and from taking all lawful actions necessary to protect Americans from attack.”

-President George W. Bush

I feel that with the exception of the appropriate oversight committee, tactics of the CIA should be a government matter; it should not be a matter of public record.  Keep ‘em guessin’.

Let the debate storm begin.