"United States President George W Bush has defended his attorney-general nominee, saying Michael Mukasey will not tell lawmakers weighing his confirmation if he judges "waterboarding" of terrorism suspects is torture, and thus illegal.

Mr Bush's defiant defense of Mr Mukasey came in a speech that portrayed his Democratic critics as weak on terrorism -- a replay of his successful 2004 reelection message as the 2008 White House race heats up.

Prominent Democrats, whose party retook the US Congress in November 2006 largely thanks to anger at the unpopular war in Iraq, quickly shot back that they would oppose Mr Mukasey if he did not answer the question."

Labels: censorship, collusion, George W Bush