[JURIST] US President George W. Bush Friday defended [remarks] his administration's interrogation policy, saying that the "government does not torture people" and that it "stick[s] to US law and our international obligations." Bush was responding to Congressional demands for two 2005 Department of Justice opinion letters [JURIST reports] that reportedly endorsed harsh interrogation tactics. Bush said:

I have put this program in place for a reason, and that is to better protect the American people. And when we find somebody who may have information regarding an - a potential attack on America, you bet we're going to detain them, and you bet we're going to question them - because the American people expect us to find out information - actionable intelligence so we can help protect them. That's our job...[W]e got professionals who are trained in this kind of work to get information that will protect the American people.