Obama rejects truth panel plan

Washington: President Obama rebuffed calls for a commission to investigate alleged abuses under the Bush administration in fighting terrorism, telling congressional leaders at a White House meeting on Thursday that he wanted to look forward instead of litigating the past.

In a lengthy exchange with House Minority Leader John Boehner, Republican from Ohio, Obama appeared to back away from an earlier statement that suggested he could support an independent commission to examine possible abuses, according to several attendees who asked that their names not be used so they could speak freely about the private meeting.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs, also seeking to clarify the president's position, told reporters "the president determined the concept didn't seem altogether workable in this case" because of the intense partisan atmosphere built around the issue.

"The last few days might be evidence of why something like this might just become a political back and forth," Gibbs said.

The push for a "truth commission", which grew from the efforts of a few human rights groups, gained fresh momentum with last week's release of the memos from the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel that provided the basis for the enhanced interrogation techniques, including the practice of simulated drowning widely known as waterboarding.

Obama has said he is opposed to holding interrogators from the Central Intelligence Agency legally accountable, but in a statement last week, he left open the possibility of legal jeopardy for those who formulated the policy.

On Tuesday, Obama explicitly raised the prospect of legal consequences for Bush administration officials who authorised the techniques applied to "high value" terrorism suspects, and said if Congress is intent on investigating the tactics, an independent commission might provide a less partisan forum than a congressional panel.

Push

Some key lawmakers, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy pounced on his remarks to push for a commission with subpoena power and the ability to grant immunity to some witnesses.

As Republicans rejected the idea, Democrats were deeply divided.

On Thursday, in a briefing before the White House meeting, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid instead said that the Senate Intelligence Committee would conduct its own review, a process that could stretch through December.

Are Obama's words not translating into action? Or is this a better way to handle the situation?