“And so, by definition, if it was authorized by the president, it did not violate our obligations under the Conventions Against Torture.”

— Condoleezza Rice

Quoted in Glenn Kessler, "Rice Defends Enhanced Interrogations," http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2009/04/30/rice_defends_enhanced_interrog.html?hpid=news-col-blog Washington Post (2009-04-30). <br class="br">Context: In terms of the enhanced interrogation and so forth, anything that was legal and was going to make this country safer, the president wanted to do. Nothing that was illegal. And nothing that was going to make the country less safe. Unless you were there, in a position of responsibility after September 11th, you cannot possibly imagine the dilemmas that you faced in trying to protect Americans. You were determined to do anything that you could that was legal to prevent that from happening again... We were told, nothing that violates our obligations under the Convention Against Torture. And so, by definition, if it was authorized by the president, it did not violate our obligations under the Conventions Against Torture.

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American Republican politician; U.S. Secretary of State; po… 1954

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“And so, by definition, if it was authorized by the president, it did not violate our obligations under the Conventions Against Torture.”

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