House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sat down with MSNBC phenom Rachel Maddow last night, and wasted no time before speaking her mind.

In addition to discussing the importance of science research and health-care reform, Pelosi, a Democrat from California, raised eyebrows by coming out against President Obama’s potential plan for Iraq. According to aides and insiders, the president hopes to keep 50,000 troops in Iraq following the withdrawal. Those troops, sources said, would help train the nation’s security forces and counter terrorism. Asked whether she thought the number was too much, Pelosi answered in the affirmative:

I completely agree with that [assessment]. And the president hasn’t made a statement, so I don’t know what he’s going to say. I know what the rumors — and I don’t know what the justification is for 50,000, a presence of 50,000 troops in Iraq. I do think that there’s a need for some … I would think a third of that, maybe 20,000, a little more than a third, 15,000 or 20,000 [would be sufficient].

On another hot-button issue, Pelosi said she thinks a potential Senate-based "truth commission" to probe potential Bush administration illegalities would be a good idea, but scoffs at the idea of immunity, especially in terms of alleged torture, rendition and attempts to politicize the Justice Department. "No one is above the law," Pelosi said.

Pelosi also claims that despite reports saying otherwise, she was never briefed fully on the enhanced interrogation techniques — i.e., waterboarding — used by the CIA during terrorist questioning in September 2002. Past reports have said that, as a member of the House Intelligence Committee, she knew about the methods, but never spoke out against them until much later. "They never told us that they were being used, because that would be a different story altogether," insisted Pelosi. "They have never gotten any comfort from me on any of those issues, no matter what they want to say publicly."

You can read the entire transcript of the interview here.

Watch video of Maddow’s interview with Pelosi below: