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U.K. opposed possible bin Laden torture

LONDON, July 28 (UPI) -- British ministers told the CIA they would only help the U.S. agency capture Osama bin Laden if it promised he would not be tortured, it was reported Saturday.

The British Secret Intelligence Service, known as MI6, believed it was close to finding the al-Qaida leader in Afghanistan in 1998 and again the following year, The Guardian reported.

The plan was for British agents to pass vital information about bin Laden to the CIA on condition that the CIA would promise to treat him humanely. However, the CIA never gave those assurances.

That information is revealed in a 75-page report generated by Parliament's intelligence and security committee on rendition, the practice of transporting suspects to places where they may be tortured.

The report slams the Bush administration's approval of practices which would be illegal if carried out by British agents.

Ally confirms Musharraf-Bhutto meeting

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, July 28 (UPI) -- An adviser to Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf confirmed Saturday he has had a "very successful" meeting with former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

Musharraf faces challenges from militant Islamists over the recent assault on the Red Mosque in Islamabad, and from the middle class for his attempt to remove the country's chief judge. Bhutto has been living outside the country since 1999 and faces criminal charges if she returns.

Sheikh Rashid, the federal minister, said the two met in the United Arab Emirates, The Washington Post reported.

"The country is in a serious crisis," Rashid told the Dawn News television station in Pakistan. "So we have to move fast, and we have to move to national consensus."

It is unclear whether a Musharraf-Bhutto government would stabilize the country. An alliance with Musharraf could cost Bhutto many of her allies, like the Pakistan Muslim League, headed by another exiled former prime minister, Nawaz Sharif.

"She has betrayed the cause of democracy," said Ahsan Iqbal, a spokesman for the league. "Musharraf has lost all legitimacy, and he must resign."

Data mining was problem for Justice Dept.

WASHINGTON, July 28 (UPI) -- National Security Agency data mining was the break point in a U.S. Justice Department dispute on warrantless surveillance, The New York Times reported.

The warrantless wiretapping program included electronic searches through databases containing records of telephone calls and e-mails by U.S. citizens. In 2004, the program had not been disclosed, but many government lawyers were dubious about the constitutionality of the data mining, the newspaper said Saturday.

In 2004, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, then the White House counsel, visited then-Attorney General John Ashcroft's hospital room. Gonzales and Andrew Card, then President George W. Bush's chief of staff, tried to convince Ashcroft to sign off on reauthorizing the program -- after acting Attorney General James Comey refused to do so.

Gonzales, in testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, denied that his visit involved the surveillance program. Democratic leaders say he has been, at best, misleading, and have called for an investigation into whether he committed perjury.

Poll: More think Supreme Court tilts right

WASHINGTON, July 28 (UPI) -- The percentage of U.S. voters who think the Supreme Court is too conservative has jumped from 19 percent to 31 percent in two years, a new poll found.

The shift follows President George W. Bush's nomination of Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito, which has changed the ideological balance on the court. Since July 2005, the percentage of people who describe the court as "generally balanced in its decisions" has fallen from 55 percent to 47 percent, The Washington Post-ABC poll found.

The court has made a number of significant rulings, especially upholding a ban on the procedure known as partial-birth abortion and limiting school districts' ability to achieve racial balance through school assignments.

Roberts replaced the reliably conservative William Rehnquist, who died in 2005. Alito replaced Sandra Day O'Connor, an appointee of former Republican President Ronald Reagan, who tilted liberal on social issues, the Post said.

The poll found that 55 percent approved of the partial-birth abortion ruling. But almost the same percentage, 56 percent, disagreed with the ruling on race-based school assignments.