President Obama will fight the release of abuse photos, reversing his earlier decision:
President Barack Obama declared Wednesday he would try to block the court-ordered release of photos showing U.S. troops abusing prisoners, abruptly reversing his position out of concern the pictures would "further inflame anti-American opinion" and endanger U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The White House had said last month it would not oppose the release of dozens of photos from military investigations of alleged misconduct. But American commanders in the war zones have expressed deep concern about fresh damage the photos might do, especially as the U.S. tries to wind down the Iraq war and step up operations against the Taliban and al-Qaida in Afghanistan.
Obama, realizing how high emotions run on detainee treatment during the Bush administration and now, made it a point to personally explain his change of heart, stopping to address TV cameras late in the day as he left the White House for a flight to Arizona.
He said the photos had already served their purpose in investigations of "a small number of individuals." Those cases were all concluded by 2004, and the president said "the individuals who were involved have been identified, and appropriate actions have been taken."
Good for him. This was the right decision. He is the commander in chief responsible both for winning our wars and making sure our troops aren't exposed to needless risk as they fight our wars.
The crimes depicted by the photos were exposed and punished. End of story. Releasing the pictures was all about Leftist Porn--pictures showing our soldiers in a bad light and that would be used to convey the impression that the crimes of a few represent all of our troops.
Of course, for the Islamists, far less will incite them. This will be a long war, indeed.
UPDATE: It did occur to me that the president could just be trying to hide behind the courts and hope they shield him from having to actually decide on this issue, which he can do. So let me amend my approval to say that it is good that the photos are still unpublished. We shall see if the president does the right thing when push comes to shove. His fringe backers are eager to enjoy the photos and just don't appreciate the interruption.
