Would Bush Allow US Government To Use Torture

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) _ Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush says he would leave the door open for resuming the use of torture by the U.S. government.

Bush told an audience of Iowa Republicans on Thursday that he did not want to make a blanket statement about whether he would keep or repeal President Barack Obama’s executive order banning so-called enhanced interrogation techniques by the CIA.

The former Florida governor says that he believes torture is inappropriate in general, and praises his brother, former President George W. Bush, for largely ending the CIA’s use of the techniques before he left office. But Jeb Bush says he cannot rule out ordering brutal interrogations, implying that they might be called for to keep the country safe.