WASHINGTON, D.C.

State Department admits terrorism increased last year

The State Department acknowledged Thursday it was wrong in reporting terrorism declined worldwide last year, a finding used to boost one of President Bush’s chief foreign policy claims — success in countering terror.

Instead, both the number of incidents and the toll in victims increased sharply, the department said. Statements by senior administration officials claiming success were based “on the facts as we had them at the time. The facts that we had were wrong,” department spokesman Richard Boucher said.

The April report said attacks had declined last year to 190, down from 198 in 2002 and 346 in 2001. The 2003 figure would have been the lowest level in 34 years and a 45 percent drop since 2001, Bush’s first year as president. The department is now working to determine the correct figures.

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Bush sidesteps question on whether torture is justified

President Bush said Thursday he ordered U.S. officials to follow the law while interrogating suspected terrorists, but he sidestepped an opportunity to denounce the use of torture.

Bush’s comments came as a 2-year-old State Department document surfaced warning the White House that failing to apply international standards against torture could put U.S. troops at risk.

“What I’ve authorized is that we stay within U.S. law,” Bush told reporters at the close of the G-8 summit in Savannah, Ga.

Asked if torture is ever justified, Bush replied, “Look, I’m going to say it one more time. … The instructions went out to our people to adhere to law. That ought to comfort you.”

Bush’s comments follow disclosure of Justice Department memos to the White House advising the president that he could suspend international treaties prohibiting torture.

ATLANTA

CDC: Suicide rate for U.S. children drops by quarter

Suicide among American youngsters and teens fell about 25 percent in the past decade, reflecting a dramatic dropoff in gun suicides, the government said Thursday.

In fact, hanging and other forms of suffocation — including use of belts, ropes or plastic bags — overtook self-inflicted shootings in the 1990s as the most common method of suicide among 10- to 14-year-olds, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

CDC researchers did not immediately know why the overall rate dropped, but a specialist in adolescent medicine said new safety measures for keeping guns out of children’s hands and greater acceptance of gays may have played important roles.

Sexual orientation has been a factor in many suicides among young males, said Dr. Charles Wibbelsman, chief of The Teenage Clinic of Kaiser Permanente in San Francisco.