what a buffoon

I read this Associated Press story this afternoon, and it just made me shake my head in disbelief. I've tried to restrain myself from starting political debates on here, but sometimes things are so ridiculous, it cannot be avoided.

PANAMA CITY, Panama (AP) -- President Bush vigorously defended U.S. interrogation practices in the war on terror Monday and lobbied against a congressional drive to outlaw torture.

"There's an enemy that lurks and plots and plans and wants to hurt America again," Bush said. "So you bet we will aggressively pursue them but we will do so under the law."

He declared, "We do not torture."

Over White House opposition, the Senate has passed legislation banning torture. With Vice President Dick Cheney as the point man, the administration is seeking an exemption for the CIA. It was recently disclosed that the spy agency maintains a network of prisons in eastern Europe and Asia, where it holds terrorist suspects.

The European Union is investigating the reports, which have not been confirmed by the White House.

If we do not torture, as George so adamantly stated, then why oppose legislation that would specifically ban torture?

Because we do torture, we do run gulag-style prisons in eastern Europe and elsewhere, as a comprehensive story in The Washington Post meticulously detailed last week. We indeed have sunken to the level of Stalin.