US to Release Prisoner Abuse Photos
April 24, 2009
Mclatchy -Tribune News Service

WASHINGTON - The Obama administration agreed late Thursday to release dozens of photographs depicting alleged abuse of prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan by U.S. personnel during the Bush administration.

At least 44 pictures will be released by May 28 - making public for the first time images of what the military investigated at facilities other than the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.

Defense Department officials would not say exactly what is contained in the photos, but said they are concerned the release could incite a backlash in the Middle East.

The photos, taken from Air Force and Army criminal investigations, are apparently not as shocking as the photographs from the Abu Ghraib investigation that became a lasting symbol of U.S. mistakes in Iraq. But some show military personnel intimidating or threatening detainees by pointing weapons at them. Military officers have been court-martialed for threatening detainees at gunpoint. (boo-hoo)

"This will constitute visual proof that, unlike the Bush administration's claim, the abuse was not confined to Abu Ghraib and was not aberrational," said Amrit Singh, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union, which obtained the agreement as part of a long-running legal battle for documents related to Bush-era anti-terror policies.

The decision to release the photos comes as President Barack Obama is trying to quell a drive to investigate Bush administration moves against terrorism. But now the photos and a series of other possible disclosures stemming from the ACLU lawsuit threaten to add fuel to an already explosive controversy.
Additional disclosures to be considered in the coming weeks include transcripts of detainee interrogations by the CIA, a CIA inspector general's report that has been kept mostly secret, and background materials of a Justice Department internal investigation into prisoner abuse.

Last week, Obama opted to demand relatively few redactions when his administration released Justice Department memos detailing the Bush administration's justifications and strategies for harsh interrogations.

But those disclosures created a problem for the president, prompting Democratic lawmakers and advocacy interest groups to demand that Congress launch an investigation. With Obama trying to navigate ambitious legislation through Congress, the White House fears that such an investigation could become a highly partisan distraction - and Obama has already rejected the idea of a 9/11 commission-style review of Bush's anti-terror policies, according to an official.

Now, the president must consider the release of new materials that could be inflammatory. While the liberal base that elected him wants wide disclosure and an investigation of Bush administration practices, pursuing that course would likely alienate the intelligence and military communities that are crucial to his success as president.

"My sense is the president was trying to please a lot of audiences at one time and that over the last (week) he has totally failed to put the mind of the intelligence community at ease," said Mark Lowenthal, a former senior adviser to one-time CIA Director George Tenet. "He is going to end up with a national clandestine service that will not be willing to do anything because they feel he will not be there for them when they need him."
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