WASHINGTON, April 29 (UPI) -- U.S. President Barack Obama Wednesday said prohibiting torture in interrogations of terrorism suspects is the right thing to do.
At his third prime time news conference since taking office 100 days ago, Obama said the use of torture erodes the character of a country. He said the information gleaned can be gotten in other ways.
"We have to hold true to our ideals," Obama said, noting eliminating torture takes away a recruiting tool for al-Qaida.
"This is a decision that I'm very comfortable with. I think the American people over time will recognize it is better for us to stick to who we are, even when we are taking on an unscrupulous enemy," Obama said.
He said "whatever legal rationales were used" to justify waterboarding was a mistake, adding he believes waterboarding is torture.
Obama said the public justifications for the so-called "enhanced" interrogation techniques "doesn't answer the question, 'could we have gotten this information (any other way)?' It doesn't answer the broader question of 'Are we safer for having used these tactics?'"
Obama said he has seen nothing to make him second-guess his decision.
