Obama bid to block detainee abuse photos
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Obama bid to block detainee abuse photos
Mark Sherman
August 8, 2009 - 9:34AM
The Obama administration on Friday asked the Supreme Court to block the release of disturbing pictures of detainee abuse on grounds their disclosure could incite violence in Afghanistan and Iraq and endanger US troops there.
The administration took the issue to the high court after President Barack Obama in May reversed a decision to stop fighting the release of the photographs.
They were ordered released as part of a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union.
The Bush administration had also fought their release and lost.
The 21 colour photographs were taken by service members in Iraq and Afghanistan and were part of criminal investigations of alleged abuse. Some pictures show "soldiers pointing pistols or rifles at the heads of hooded and handcuffed detainees," Solicitor General Elena Kagan said in her filing with the high court.
In one picture, "a soldier holds a broom as if 'sticking its end into the rectum of a restrained detainee'," Kagan said, quoting from an investigation report prepared by the Pentagon.
Two investigations led to criminal charges and convictions, she said.
Kagan said the military has identified more than two dozen additional pictures that could be affected by the court's ruling.
The most likely outcome of the release of the pictures "would be to further inflame anti-American opinion and to put our troops in greater danger", Obama said in May, an argument reflected in Friday's filing.
The government made much the same argument to prevent the release of 87 photographs and other images of detainees at detention facilities in Iraq and Afghanistan, including Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.
International outrage resulted when photographs from the Iraqi prison showing physical abuse and sexual humiliation of inmates were revealed.
One picture showed a naked, hooded prisoner on a box with wires fastened to his hands and genitals.
The government dropped its appeal related to those photographs after they were made public over the internet.
The ACLU, in seeking the other pictures, said the government had long argued that the abuse at Abu Ghraib was isolated and was an aberration.
"These photos would provide visual proof that prisoner abuse by US personnel was not aberrational but widespread," said ACLU lawyer Amrit Singh, expressing disappointment with the government's decision to appeal.
"As disturbing as the photos may be, it is critical that the American people know the full truth about the abuse that occurred in their name."
This story was found at: Obama bid to block detainee abuse photos
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A couple of interesting things to note:
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"These photos would provide visual proof that prisoner abuse by US personnel was not aberrational but widespread," said ACLU lawyer Amrit Singh, expressing disappointment with the government's decision to appeal.
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Amrit Singh is the youngest daughter of the Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh. Coincidence?
Secondly, I think I tend to side with the ACLU on this matter. I thought the Obama administration was attempting to repair the damage done to America domestically and on the international level caused by eight years under the Bush administration. Surely transparency and accountability comes under the idea of the healing process?
I can understand the rationale of the Obama administration that the gruesome nature of these photos could inflame anti-American sentiment. But hell, the anti-American sentiment exists anyway, right? I would say that refusal to show these photos to the public could lead to as much, if not more damage, than not showing them.
As Oscar Wilde once remarked: The truth is rarely pure and never simple. But in the end, it is the only thing we have.
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Never give in, never give in--never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy. - Sir Winston Churchill, Speech, 1941, Harrow School
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08-07-2009, 08:05 PM
). But I would like to understand your point.
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