We Don't Torture... except we might want to some day

While Karen Hughes was on CBS' "The Early Show" saying that "we operate our detainee policy within our laws, within our international obligations and without torture." (as seen in the photo to the left. click it for large version), John McCain and Stephen Hadley are duking it out behind closed doors over the senator's proposed ban on "on cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of foreign terrorism suspects."

Now what do you suppose is the argument there? It appears that the White House wants exemptions for the CIA. So how can the White House keep putting it out there that "We don't torture because it's illegal" when in fact we want to reserve the right to break international law when the CIA says that a particular detainee deserves to be tortured in the name of national security? What about the previous torture in Abu Ghraib? Were those detainees privy to information regarding our national security? If not, then the US did something illegal, now didn't it? Why does Rumsfeld still have his job?

MSNBC story