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Bush will 'reserve judgment' on CIA tapes

WASHINGTON, Dec. 20 (UPI) -- U.S. President George Bush said he would reserve judgment about the CIA destroying videoed interrogations of terrorist suspects until all inquiries are done.

"I will render no opinion from the podium," Bush said Thursday during a 50-minute White House news conference. "I'm going to reserve judgment."

The tapes were made during 2002 interrogations of suspected al-Qaida operatives and included techniques like waterboarding critics consider torture. CIA Director Michael Hayden has acknowledged his agency destroyed the tapes in 2005, before he took over as the agency's chief, saying it was to protect the identities of the interrogators.

Bush said he expected the various investigations into the tapes' destruction "will end up enabling all of us to find out what happened."

He reiterated comments that the first recollection he had about the tapes being destroyed was when Hayden briefed him just before the story broke in early December.

Bush speaks of '08 priorities

WASHINGTON, Conn., Dec. 20 (UPI) -- Renewal of the No Child Left Behind act and ensuring Congress doesn't "run up" taxes are on U.S. President George Bush's agenda for next year, he said Thursday.

"There's a lot of things we can do together," Bush said of the Republican White House working with the Democratic Party-controlled Congress.

Reauthorizing the No Child Left Behind program, Bush's signature education policy, for the nation's schools is a key topic.

"If they try to weaken it, I will veto," Bush said during a news conference. "But I believe we can strengthen" the measure.

He also said he wanted to ensure congress didn't "run up taxes on people" to provide government services.

Bush said he wants Congress to take up quickly renewal of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which outlines when the government must get permission from a secret court to eavesdrop. The bill expires Feb. 1.

Bush said wants the renewal to include a liability waiver for telecommunications companies helping the government tap into their customers' conversations, which generated controversy in Congress.

Bush says patience gone with Syria's Assad

WASHINGTON, Dec. 20 (UPI) -- U.S. President George Bush, explaining his patience was gone, said Thursday he has ruled out talks with Syria's President Bashar Assad.

Addressing whether he was willing to talk with Assad about Lebanon, Bush said during a news conference, "My patience ran out on President Assad a long time ago. And the reason why is ... because he houses Hamas, he facilitates Hezbollah, suiciders go from his country into Iraq and he destabilizes Lebanon."

If Assad listened to Bush's remarks, "he doesn't need a phone call. He knows exactly what my position is."

He said Lebanon's move to democracy was crucial, noting the United States worked with the French to get Syria out of Lebanon.

"And Syria needs to stay out of Lebanon," he said. "Syria needs to let the process in Lebanon work."

In a related matter, Bush said he has three objectives when he travels to the Middle East Jan. 8-16.

He said he will work on advancing the Palestinian-Israeli peace process and with Arab nations on reconciliation with Israel. Bush also said he wants to assure people in the Middle East about the U.S commitment to security in the region and "the security of our friends.

French arrest eight al-Qaida operatives

PARIS, Dec. 20 (UPI) -- The French domestic intelligence services arrested several suspected al-Qaida operatives linked to Algerian extremist groups and al-Qaida in Maghreb.

Kuwait's official news agency Thursday cited reports in the French daily Le Figaro, which said French domestic intelligence services arrested seven Algerians and one Frenchmen for the alleged support of the al-Qaida in Maghreb terrorist network.

The group claimed responsibility for scores of attacks, including a double bombing Dec. 10 that killed 60 people in Algeria.

Police officials in France say the investigation led to one of the most important raids on Islamic militant groups this year but noted the investigation was not specific to the Algerian bombings.

Al-Qaida leaders, including Ayman al-Zawahiri, called on its militants to attack French targets in response to increasingly warm relations with the United States, and France's role in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Tancredo ends presidential run

DES MOINES, Iowa, Dec. 20 (UPI) -- U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo ended his bid Thursday to be the Republican presidential nominee, throwing his support behind GOP contender Mitt Romney.

The Colorado Republican, who never emerged from the back of the pack, announced his decision in Des Moines, Iowa, the Des Moines Register reported. He pulled 6 percent support among likely Republican caucus-goers in the newspaper's most recent poll.

Tancredo, 61, is best known for his tough stance on illegal immigration, but his hard-line approach to stemming the unlawful migration of millions into the United States failed to help move him from the rear of the GOP field.

Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, is among the leaders for the Republican presidential nod.