Washington: US President Donald Trump's support for the possible reintroduction of waterboarding as an interrogation technique has drawn sharp criticism from within his own Republican ranks and from allies abroad.
In an interview with ABC America on Wednesday, Mr Trump said he would do "everything within the bounds of what you're allowed to do legally", including considering the use of waterboarding.
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"Absolutely I feel it works," he told interviewer David Muir. "Have I spoken to people at the top levels and people that have seen it work? I haven't seen it work. But I think it works. Have I spoken to people that feel strongly about it? Absolutely."
He said that to deal with Islamic State, the US needed to "fight fire with fire".
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Mr Trump said he would discuss the matter with incoming CIA Director Mike Pompeo and Defence Secretary James Mattis.
However his apparent open mind about the use of the banned technique on Thursday drew condemnation from Republican Senator John McCain, a former prisoner of war who Mr Trump famously said wasn't a "real" war hero because he got caught.
.@POTUS can sign whatever executive orders he likes, but the law is the law - we're not bringing back torture https://t.co/m9YjDtNYBQ
— John McCain (@SenJohnMcCain) 25 January 2017
"The President can sign whatever executive orders he likes," Mr McCain said. "But the law is the law. We are not bringing back torture in the United States of America.
"Even though the army field manual can be reviewed, it still does not allow to return to the use of torture, including waterboarding. I'm very confident it wouldn't stand a day in court if they tried to restore that."
Democratic presidential nominee Bernie Sanders also weighed in.
Does Trump really want to tell our adversaries that if America does it they also have the right to torture captured American soldiers?
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) 25 January 2017
Mr Trump's stance was condemned in the UK, , where Prime Minister Theresa May was preparing to leave for Washington to become the first world leader to meet the new president.
Mrs May condemned torture in parliamant, and later released a statement saying that the UK "does not condone torture or inhumane treatment and its close relationship with the United States allows frank exchanges on areas of disagreement".
The comments coincided with reports of a draft of an executive order that would reopen secret CIA prisons that facilitated harsh interrogation for "high-value alien terrorists".
White House spokesman Sean Spicer has denied that the draft came from the White House.
Mr Trump campaigned on expanding torture laws, including waterboarding.
The Director of Policy at Freedom from Torture tweeted Mr Trump, calling torture "morally repugnant".
"For survivors of torture to to hear the leader of the free world legitimise torture is absolutely devastating," she said.
FAO @POTUS @realDonaldTrump: #Torture is morally repugnant, among the most serious breaches of law imaginable & manifestly ineffective
— Sonya Sceats (@SonyaSceats) 26 January 2017Director of Policy
McClatchy, Reuters