White House says always treated prisoners "humanely"

[Barrett808]

WASHINGTON A White House spokesman says it's always been U-S policy "to treat detainees humanely."

The comment comes as the Justice Department releases a new memo on torture. The new document backs away from the department's narrow definition of torture as "excruciating and agonizing pain."

The new legal memo also drops claims from 2002 documents that said President Bush could override American anti-torture laws during wartime. The earlier memos also said U-S personnel had several legal defenses against criminal liability in such cases.

Critics in Congress and legal experts say the earlier documents created a legal framework that contributed to abuse of prisoners in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The White House spokesman says it's always been policy to follow the Geneva Conventions or their "spirit" when they don't apply.

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http://www.kfor.com/Global/story.asp?S=2751400