Cheney defends interrogations

PHOENIX, Arizona (CNN) - Vice President Dick Cheney defended the Bush administration's record in the battle against terrorism Wednesday, telling a veterans' group that its use of "alternative" interrogation techniques against suspects was legal and proper.

"No nation in the world takes human rights more seriously than the United States," Cheney said at the American Legion's annual convention. "The policies of our country comply with our law, which prohibits torture. We're proud of our country and what it stands for. We expect all who serve America to conduct themselves with honor, and we enforce the rules."

President Bush acknowledged in 2006 that several top operatives of the al Qaeda terrorist movement had been held in CIA custody and subjected to what he called "alternative" interrogation techniques. They include Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the admitted mastermind of the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington that killed nearly 3,000 people.

Cheney said the CIA program involved "tough customers and and tough interrogations," but said the information obtained from prisoners prevented attacks and saved American lives.