Bush undercut U.S. security, Obama says

WASHINGTON, May 21 (UPI) -- Former President George W. Bush applied an unjust, "ad hoc" approach to terrorism that undercut U.S. security, President Barack Obama said Thursday.

That "ad hoc legal approach for fighting terrorism ... was neither effective nor sustainable," Obama said at the National Archives building where the U.S. Constitution, Bill of Rights and Declaration of Independence are kept.

Bush "failed to rely on our legal traditions and time-tested institutions and ... failed to use our values as a compass," he said.

That's why Obama said his administration banned "so-called enhanced interrogation techniques," ordered the closure of the Guantanamo prison camp and directed authorities to review the cases of all of its detainees.

He said the interrogation techniques and the use of Guantanamo not only undermined the rule of law, but also alienated "us in the world," helped terrorists gain recruits and increased "the will of our enemies to fight us."

And now, "We're cleaning up something that is, quite simply, a mess -- a misguided experiment that has left in its wake a flood of legal challenges that my administration is forced to deal with on a constantly, almost daily, basis and that consumes the time of government officials whose time should be spent on better protecting our country."

The president did not mention former Vice President Dick Cheney -- who attacked Obama in a Washington speech immediately following the president's address -- but disputed Cheney's contention U.S. national security interests required waterboarding and other harsh interrogation techniques.

"Now, I know some have argued that brutal methods like waterboarding were necessary to keep us safe," Obama said. "I could not disagree more."

"As commander-in-chief, I see the intelligence. I bear the responsibility for keeping this country safe. And I categorically reject the assertion that these are the most effective means of interrogation," he said.

Furthermore, the methods risked the lives of U.S. troops by making enemies less likely to surrender and more likely to mistreat captured Americans.

"In short, they did not advance our war and counterterrorism efforts; they undermined them," he said.