Obama agenda: Photo reversal
Posted: Thursday, May 14, 2009 9:36 AM by Domenico Montanaro
Filed Under:
Barack Obama
The New York Times says Obama “said Wednesday that he would fight to prevent the release of photographs documenting abuse of prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan by United States military personnel, reversing his position on the issue after commanders warned that the images could set off a deadly backlash against American troops.”
Video: In a statement given at the White House, President Obama explains why he is trying to block the release of photos that allegedly show U.S. troops abusing prisoners. The Washington Post: “Civil liberties and human rights advocates said the reversal would serve to maintain the Bush administration's legacy of secrecy. Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch, said Obama's shift was ‘deeply disappointing.’ ‘Even given that the photos will undoubtedly generate outrage in the region, the best way to dampen that outrage is to hold those responsible accountable,’ Roth said.”
The AP: “In reversing itself and blocking the release of photos of U.S. military personnel abusing detainees, the Obama administration claims to have found a new legal argument. It hasn't. What the administration has found is a way to pass the buck to the courts… The administration has also found a way to avoid distribution of the photographs just before Obama travels to Egypt to speak directly to Muslims… [T]he Bush administration already argued against the release on national security grounds -- and lost. ACLU lawyer Jameel Jaffer said that argument ‘has been made by the government multiple times, and has been rejected unequivocally every time.’”
Meanwhile, the New York Times front-pages that congressional Democrats “are voicing growing unease over the Obama administration’s national security policies, including the seemingly open-ended commitment in Afghanistan and the nettlesome question of what to do with prisoners held at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.”
