Bush vows 'we do not torture' terror suspects

PANAMA CITY - US President George W Bush has said "we do not torture" and defended his administration's efforts to stop the US Congress from imposing rules on the handling of terrorism suspects.

Bush would not confirm the existence of CIA secret prisons that The Washington Post disclosed last week and would not address demands by the International Committee of the Red Cross to have access to the suspects reportedly held at them.

"We are finding terrorists and bringing them to justice," Bush said at a joint news conference with Panamanian President Martin Torrijos.

"We are gathering information about where the terrorists might be hiding. We are trying to disrupt their plots and plans. Anything we do ... to that end in this effort, any activity we conduct, is within the law."

Vice President Dick Cheney has been spearheading an effort on Capitol Hill to have the CIA exempt from an amendment by Arizona Republican senator John McCain that would ban torture and inhumane treatment of prisoners.

The exemption would cover the secret prisons that The Post said were located in several Eastern European democracies and other countries where key al Qaeda captives are being kept.

"We do not torture and therefore we're working with Congress to make sure that as we go forward, we make it more possible to do our job," Bush said.

He said he was confident that when "people see the facts, that they'll recognise that we've got more work to do and that we've got to protect ourselves in a way that is lawful".

- REUTERS