He addresses Pakistan's nukes, torture, abortion

President Barack Obama said Wednesday night that waterboarding authorized by former President George W. Bush was torture, and the information gained from terror suspects through its use could have been obtained by other means.

"In some cases it may be harder," he conceded at a White House news conference marking a whirlwind first 100 days in office.

The prime-time news conference was the third of Obama's presidency, and the first not dominated by the economy. Here are some highlights.

Interrogations: Obama said he was "absolutely convinced" he had acted correctly in banning waterboarding, an interrogation technique that simulates drowning, and in making public the Bush administration memos detailing its use as well as other harsh methods used on terrorism suspects. "Not because there might not have been information that was yielded by these various detainees ... but because we could have gotten this information in ... ways that were consistent with our values."

Iraq: Obama said recent violence flare-ups in Iraq are a legitimate cause of concern. But he said civilian deaths are lower than in the past.

He said the country's political system remains intact despite the spate of bombings. But he also said the United States must keep pressure on Iraqis to make progress.

Pakistan: Obama said he is confident Pakistan will keep its nuclear arsenal out of the hands of militants, even as his administration asked Congress for millions of dollars to aid its army.

Specter: Obama said he thought that Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter's switch Tuesday from Republican to Democrat would "liberate him to cooperate on critical issues like health care, like infrastructure and job creation, areas where his inclinations were to work with us but he was feeling pressure not to."

Specter gave majority Democrats 59 votes in the Senate, pushing them one step closer to the 60 needed to overcome Republican filibusters. But Obama said he did not expect a rubber-stamp Senate.

Abortion: Obama said abortion is both a moral and an ethical issue, and abortion rights backers make a mistake when they consider it solely a matter of women's freedom.

He said he supports abortion rights because he thinks a woman is in a better position to make a very personal choice than a member of Congress or the president. Obama said the Freedom of Choice Act in Congress was not his highest legislative priority.