Detainee Photos ‘Leaked’ to Australia
The UK news is reporting that the photos Obama was supposedly protecting were somehow leaked to reporters in Australia. If this is the case, then surely there was never any attempt to be made to truly protect these photos or the national security of the United States. This grandstanding on the photos was a smoke screen to gain political capital after looking at the polling data that showed most Americans did not want the photos released, nor do they want these detainees in their backyards, etc. This gave Obama leeway to say it was not his doing or his fault for the leaks or the release. It will only be speculation that he had planned this to happen:
Photographs of the alleged abuse of prisoners in Iraq thought to be among those that Barack Obama is trying to prevent from being published have been released.
Pictures apparently showing Iraqi inmates being subjected to degrading treatment were disclosed the day after Mr Obama announced a legal bid to stop more than 2,000 images being seen.
It is alleged that the pictures, one of which shows a naked man hung upside down from a bunk bed, are among those that the president wanted suppressed.
Mr Obama fears a backlash against U.S. troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Further images purportedly from the 2,000 include one of a naked man covered in excrement with a guard standing in front of him.Others yet to be released are alleged to show guards threatening to sexually assault a detainee with a broomstick and hooded prisoners in transport planes with copies of Playboy magazine showing naked women open on their laps.
The president had previously committed to allowing them to be seen but changed his mind after senior generals said it could place U.S. troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan in greater danger.
The images were released in Australia yesterday where they were originally obtained by the television channel SBS in the wake of the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal.
White House Won’t Release Detainee Photos; Thank the Lord!
Time to give credit where credit is due. I’m glad to see that Obama had the sense about him to reverse his original notion to release the detainee photos which would have caused greater damage to our nation, our troops, and our national security, on top of the CIA memo release:
In a dramatic and high-profile reversal for his young administration, President Barack Obama is seeking to block the release of 44 photographs depicting abuse of detainees in U.S. military custody in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Justice Department had already agreed to release the photos by May 28 in response to a lawsuit, but Obama is shifting course.
“Last week, the President met with his legal team and told them that he did not feel comfortable with the release of the DOD photos because he believes their release would endanger our troops, and because he believes that the national security implications of such a release have not been fully presented to the court,” said a White House official who asked not to be named.
“At the end of that meeting, the President directed his counsel to object to the immediate release of the photos on those grounds,” the official said.
At least some of the polling data that is decent, such as the majority of Americans disagreeing with the photo release decision, is being listened to.
Obama’s reversal is sure to set off an outcry on the left, which has pushed the Obama administration to come clean about interrogation policies and other actions carried out by the Bush administration.
I better see some of those “coexist” people and the liberals who protest every single aspect of war, protesting this and Obama. I don’t much care for hypocrites so I hope they stand true to their principles and are upset about the change of heart… I won’t hold my breath, although I think some of the true progressives will protest just about anything (code pink?)
Obama endorsed such openness during the campaign – and even released memos detailing interrogation practices critics call torture.
Obama has come nowhere near keeping his promise of transparency in the government. He has had several opportunities to do so, not just regarding national security items, and he has chosen the opposite.
All I can say is that I am pleased with this decision from his administration at least!
White House Flip Flop – Releasing ‘A’ Photo From N.Y. Flyover
They only obtained one photo for all of that? I thought they were in the air for a decent amount of time the other day. This definitely does not suffice as transparency or disclosure, nor does it resolve the questions being raised as to why there is so much secrecy and why this occurred in the first place!
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters Wednesday that an internal report will probably be completed this week.
“We’ll release its findings and release a photo,” he said.
That was after Gibbs indicated Tuesday that the White House would not release any images.
Various people including Michelle Malkin and others have filed complaints under the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), requesting the full disclosure of all photos taken that day.
Michelle Malkin makes (in my opinion) and accurate prediction:
More: Gibbs says its “review” of the incident will be concluded this week.
Bold prediction: Like all of Obama’s self-initiated reviews, this one will exonerate the White House of any wrongdoing or taxpayer malfeasance.
*Note the CIA “torture” photos are ok to release, Air Force One pictures, not so much. Hmmm… I wonder if Obama has a Kodak gallery account?
Here’s the photo that I have chosen for the flyover. I wonder which one the White House will choose.
Obama Refuses to Release Pictures of Air Force One Flying Through New York
So instead – I have put together a compilation of photo-ops from the day’s events.
I also would like to add that this is some of the transparency we can continue to expect from the Obama administration. “It’s a new day, it’s a new dawn and I’m feeling goooooood.”
“We have no plans to release them,” an aide to President Obama told The Post, refusing to comment further.
The sole purpose of the secret photo-op, which sent thousands of New Yorkers running for cover, was to take new publicity shots of the presidential jet over the city.
“The photos . . . are classified — that’s ridiculous,” Councilman Peter Vallone Jr., said.
New Yorkers said they could not understand how a president who shares intimate snapshots from the White House could justify classifying these.
“So we’re not gonna see the fruits of this cruel joke?” said Frank Antonelli, 39, one of the Wall Street traders spooked by last week’s flyover.
“I’m not surprised. Obama . . . wouldn’t further all the bad publicity by putting out those pictures.”
Obama May Release Detainee Photos, Holder Politicizes the ‘Truth Commission’
We may see the new Gitmo set up in Montana – wonder how the citizens of the state will like that?
On another note, Obama has stated that he may release detainee “abuse” photos. Obama continues to kowtow to his far left fringe base who want this prosecution persecution to go forward. He has started to politicize this monstrosity along with his Attorney General, Holder, the same guy who helped enable the 9/11 attacks in the first place. This entire charade will most likely come back to haunt Obama and bite him on the ass in the long run.
Holder, much like Obama, is playing the “I don’t know” card by stating that he hasn’t seen or read the memos and doesn’t know about the sections Cheney discusses, which provided us invaluable information about future attacks on our soil. This is becoming a political show trial just like O’Reilly has said. I find it amusing that Obama and Holder both say they don’t know. Read more
