You must know you are telling an untruth for it to be a lie. By adding the “whether he knew it or not” , which many if not most of the critics of the administration would disagree, you are no longer able to state with factual certainty that Bush lied. I also note the person making that determination did not conclude that any of the tactics by themselves or even in conjunction automatically constitute torture.

Personally I don't have strong feelings about the issue. I do note the scarcity of authorized use of “torture” leading me to believe that even if it works the US doesn't use it enough to consider it even close to vital.

What's news would be where Shaun Mullen currently is. (On a pilgrimage to Washington, DC, for the Inauguration? To the extent the crowd may be now much less than originally expected, blame the economy, not lack of interest; the interest and the hype remain very strong.) Shaun knows his performers — if you're out there, Shaun, No More Rich Corinthian Leather (that's a hint for the rest of y'all).