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rulemylife -> Obama seeks to block release of abuse photos (5/13/2009 2:49:43 PM)
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This should get interesting. We have the ACLU criticizing Obama and Mitch McConnell praising him.
Obama seeks to block release of abuse photos
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is seeking to block the release of hundreds of photos showing prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan being abused, reversing his position after military commanders warned that the images could stoke anti-American sentiment and endanger U.S. troops.
The pictures show mistreatment of detainees at locations beyond the infamous U.S.-run Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.............
..........Federal appeals judges have ruled, in a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, that the photos should be released. After those losses in federal court, the Justice Department concluded that any further appeal would probably be fruitless.
Last month, Gibbs said the president had concurred, though without commenting on whether Obama would support the release if not pressed by a court case.Through an arrangement with the court, the Pentagon was preparing to put out, by May 28, two batches of photos, one of 21 images and another 23. The government had also told the judge it was "processing for release a substantial number of other images." The total number of photos to be released was expected to be in the hundreds.
The official emphasized that the president continues to believe that the actions depicted in the photos should not be excused and fully supports the investigations, prison sentences, discharges and other punitive measures that have resulted from them. But that is not likely to quiet Obama's critics.
Indeed, the ACLU quickly lambasted Obama's move."The decision to not release the photographs makes a mockery of President Obama's promise of transparency and accountability," said ACLU attorney Amrit Singh, who argued and won the case in front of the 2nd U.S. Court of Appeals in New York. "It is essential that these photographs be released so that the public can examine for itself the full scale and scope of prisoner abuse that was conducted in its name."
On Capitol Hill, the top Republican welcomed the move."I agree with the president that the release of these photos would serve no purpose other than to put our troops in greater danger," said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. "The president made the right decision and I applaud him for it."
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