The Pentagon and White House are expected to release documents later today (Tuesday) on interrogation techniques used at the Guantanamo prison camp in Cuba and on the treatment of detainees in Iraq.
Pentagon sources say memos signed by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld approve interrogation methods that include the hooding of prisoners and the use of attack dogs to induce fear. They say the directives also allow for the "noninjurious" physical contact with detainees, such as poking.
The memos come as Pentagon officials strongly dismiss allegations that such techniques amount to torture or mistreatment.
President Bush said today that his administration does not condone the use of torture and emphasized that he never ordered the use of torture of detainees.
The White House says it also plans to "set the record straight" by releasing documents showing the administration's efforts to treat fairly prisoners in Iraq and Guantanamo.