Former CIA director slams Cheney, Bush

Admiral Stansfield Turner, who headed the CIA under President Jimmy Carter, called Dick Cheney "a vice president for torture."

"We have crossed the line into dangerous territory," Turner told ITV.

Turner said he does not believe President Bush's statements that the United States does not use torture. He noted the secret prisons allegedly used in eastern Europe for certain high-level terrorist suspects, known as "black sites."

"I'm embarrassed the United States has a vice president for torture," Turner said of Cheney. "He condones torture, what else is he?"

Turner's interview comes as the Senate debates a bill that would outlaw the use of torture. The measure is sponsored by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who was tortured when he was a prisoner of war in North Vietnam.

© Copyright 2005 by United Press International