At the United Nations, the Bush administration is being forced to defend its treatment of detainees captured in the so-called war on terror. On Friday the U.N. Committee Against Torture began reviewing U.S. compliance with international treaties barring torture. The panel raised questions about abuse inside Iraqi prisons, extraordinary renditions and the CIA’s secret overseas jails. A representative from China asked “Where would you put such methods as interrogation by mock drownings — as torture or as other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment?” State Department legal adviser John Bellinger denied the U.S. is torturing prisoners in Iraq, Afghanistan or at Guantánamo Bay.

John Bellinger: “At the outset I want to reiterate the United States government’s absolute commitment to upholding our national and international obligations to irradiate torture and to prevent cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment worldwide. The President of the Unites States has made clear that quote “torture anywhere is an affront to human dignity everywhere,” end quote. And quote ” and freedom from torture is an inalienable right.”

The State Department’s John Bellinger also described many of the allegations of abuse at the hands of U.S. forces as absurd.

John Bellinger: “While I am acutely aware of the innumerable allegations that have appeared in the press and other forums about various U.S. actions, I would ask you not to believe every allegation that you have heard. Allegations about U.S. military or intelligence activities have become so hyperbolic as to be absurd. Critics will accept virtually any speculation and rumour in circulation as fact. The U.S. government has tried to address as many of these allegations as quickly and as fully as possible.”