Obama: GOP candidates "wrong" on waterboarding

President Obama was in Hawaii Monday kicking off an international economic summit -- and trying to avoid getting involved in election-year politics. But with his foreign policy record under fire from Republican candidates, the President vigorously defended his record, as CBS News correspondent Norah O'Donnell reports.

During the CBS News/National Journal debate Saturday night, Mitt Romney called Iran the president's greatest foreign policy failure.

"Look, one thing you can know -- and that is if we reelect Barack Obama, Iran will have a nuclear weapon," Romney said. "And if we elect Mitt Romney, if you'd like me as the next president, they will not have a nuclear weapon."

In a news conference, the President suggested Romney was naive.

"You take a look at what we've been able to accomplish in mobilizing the world community against Iran over the last three years and it shows steady, determined, firm progress in isolating the Iranian regime," Obama told O'Donnell. "Now, is this an easy issue? No. Anybody who claims it is either politicking or doesn't know what they're talking about."

The GOP candidates also drew attention Saturday for their views on the controversial use of waterboarding, heard in the following exchange:

Herman Cain: I don't see it as torture. I see it as an enhanced interrogation technique.

Major Garrett: Congresswoman -- Congresswoman Bachmann, your opinion on this question that our emailer asked?

Michele Bachman: If I were president, I would be willing to use waterboarding. I think it was very effective. It gained information for our country.

The president wasted no time calling his opponents uninformed.

"Let me just say this: they're wrong," the president said. "And anybody who has actually read about and understands the practice of waterboarding would say that that is torture. And that's not something we do. Period."

President Obama gets strong approval ratings from Americans in the polls for his handling of foreign policy. But it's the president's record on the economy where he struggles. And that's what this nine-day trip through Asia is all about -- trying to boost world trade to stimulate the American economy.

[LoadedAndDangerous]

Obama, do America a favor, "Just Shut Up."

[DavidM_USA]

Obama your Presidency is torture, 6 out of 10 American's prefer to be waterboarded, than 4 more years of your dicatorship.Soon you will be a victim of your own policy, and one more unemployed.

[FreshxWater]

We need to WATERBOARD Sandusky, Paterno, McQueary,, and the Penn State Board. U.S. Marshals need to take over this investigation. The local DA has NOT even issued a "DO NOT DESTROY" order to Penn State! These SOBs have had 5 days already to destroy records! The 1% covering for the 1%!!!!

[mecanik-2009]

I'm not a Democrat but I agree with the President on this one. The battlefield is one thing but when you have a prisoner in a confined location where he is no longer a threat then you have something totally different. We are not animals.

[chevyhotrod]

I think the police all around the country should start torturing the Occupy movement by shooting small wire electrodes into them (maybe their groin area) at very high speed punchering their skin and making them bleed and flipping the switch that puts 5,000,000 volts of electricity into them, thereby making them comply to their wishes.

And it is totally legal and happens hundreds if not thousands of times a year in America.

Many times people are shot multiple times, until they comply and some have even died.

Where is the outrage? These are American citizens that have only minor law offensives and have not killed 3000 American citizens or have declared war on us, or have they?

Or wait, better yet, bring on the silent drones that can kill you at 30,000 ft with a 500lb lazer guided bomb shoved right up your arse?

[unclebernies]

I don't know about anyone else but if a group of people are trying to drown me i'd be telling them any BS i could think of.

[Lindag10]

I agree with you. All these "heroes" that think waterboarding is a "useful tool" and not torture believe that they can withstand ANY torture and remain "true to their country". Bunch of BS, no one can predict what they'd do or not do under torture.

[tsigili]

Not "wrong".....but rather of a different opinion from the wimp.

[drig23]

That "wimp" took down the Somali pirates, Osama Bin Laden and Gaddhafi. He got more money for street cops to fight local crime. And, he did it without cravenly breaking all that the US stands for.

There's not a single Republican who can protect us like President Obama.

[chevyhotrod]

BRIAN WILLIAMS: I'd like to ask you about the sourcing on the intel that ultimately led to this successful attack. Can you confirm that it was as a result of waterboarding that we learned what we needed to learn to go after bin Laden?

LEON PANETTA: You know Brian, in the intelligence business you work from a lot of sources of information, and that was true here. We had a multiple source -- a multiple series of sources -- that provided information with regards to this situation. Clearly, some of it came from detainees and the interrogation of detainees. But we also had information from other sources as well. So, it's a little difficult to say it was due just to one source of information that we got.


http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2011/05/03/panetta_open_question_if_waterboarding_helped_find_bin_laden.html


"That "wimp" took down the Somali pirates, Osama Bin Laden and Gaddhafi"

He did, explain how he that all by himself?

[bmallen3]

Obama comments are absurd . He doesn't want to get enemy combatant's faces wet because it is so evil, yet he has no problem killing them with drones and hellfire missiles. He has no problem executing US citizens without a trial. This idiot for a president is truly nothing but a politician who will do or say anything to stay in power. The truth is, waterboarding is a great tool and is absolutely not torture. Every NAVY SEAL is waterboarded and taught how to resist. We do not "torture" our military personnel, the training they receive in cold water, forced marches etc is far worse. The entire argument is beyond stupid but then again it is Obama who lives in his own reality.

[Lindag10]

Try waterboarding at someone's hands before you decide it's not torture. Besides the fact it's illegal under international law. Are you a Navy SEAL?

[JLHQUICK]

I wonder if Obama is aware that Ron Paul has a better understanding of the results of our foreign policy? The results of going to war with countries using borrowed money and without congressional approval. Why is is that Ron Paul is the only candidate willing to tell the US the truth about how deploying troops overseas is costing us over 1 Trillion a year and making the world hate us for occupying their homelands?

[bmallen3]

Obama lives in his own world where he knows all and is correct 100% of the time. He is an ideologue who knows nothing but what his left wing friends like Sal Lewinsky told him. Obama is irrelevant and on the way out.

[drig23]

Congressman Paul would stop giving foreign aid to Israel, the only true democracy in the Middle East. On that alone you should be very afraid to vote for him.

But...wait...let me take that back! Congressman Paul is a misunderstood genius! After those foolish Republicans don't recognize his greatness, you should definitely start a third party so he can run in the Presidential election.

[splittorff]

Why are we still having this silly debate? It was torture when we hung Japanese soldiers for waterboarding American soldiers in WWII. It is torture now. Need I mention that when the U.S. tortures its enemies then its enemies will torture American soldiers.

Nearly all of the GOP candidates are half baked hacks and idiots. Palin, Perry, Cain, Trump, Backmann, Gingrich! How many more jokes will the GOP and Fox News pull on the rest of the country!

It's worse than watching a debate between Kucinich, Jackson, Sharpton, and Nader...

[bmallen3]

Sorry, but water torture was not waterboarding. This is an outright lie. The Japanese installed a tube in the prisoner and pumped water into their stomach until it burst. This is not waterboarding. It is uninformed people like you that spread this bad data and make fools of themsleves