Spokeswoman: U.S. policy 'not to torture'

WASHINGTON, Oct. 4 (UPI) -- The Bush administration hasn't authorized and won't authorize U.S. interrogators to use torture, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said Thursday.

"The policy of the United States is not to torture. The president has not authorized it, he will not authorize it," Perino said, responding to questions about an article in The New York Times reporting the U.S. Justice Department issued a secret finding in February 2005 that endorsed harsh interrogation techniques.

"But he had done everything within the corners of the law to make sure that we prevent another attack on this country, which is what we have done in this administration," she said.

After the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, Bush faced a number of challenges, Perino said during a news briefing. "And he asked his national security team to make sure that we designed and made sure that within the laws we had all the tools that we needed in order to keep this country safe and to prevent another attack."

The United States follows its laws, the spokeswoman said, and "we meet our international obligations, absolutely."