U.S. government opposes release of prisoner abuse photos

[Newsjock]

Source: Associated Press

The U.S. government has asked a federal appeals court to reconsider its order to release 21 pictures of detainees in Iraq and Afghanistan, saying it could jeopardize the safety of U.S. troops.

Government lawyers said in papers made public Friday that the issue was of "exceptional importance."

In September, a three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the United States to give the pictures to the American Civil Liberties Union. Now the government has asked all 12 judges on the court to hear its case.

In the court papers, the government said release of the pictures would pose a grave risk of inciting violence and riots against American troops and coalition forces.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2008/11/07/detainee-pictures.html

[Mojorabbit]

1. Thanks for this article. nt

[frog92969]

2. Maybe they should have thought of that before they made it policy

What a disgusting country I live in.

"For the People, By the People" - unless you live in reality.

[Hubert Flottz]

3. The criminals who gave the orders to let this happen are using

the troops as a scapegoat again.

The monsters are afraid that if the truth is seen, the world will demand that they pay for their war crimes.

[BunkerHill24]

4. This must be told......K&R

[Judi Lynn]

5. Bush and his lackeys care far less about the welfare of the U.S. men stationed abroad

than they do about being revealed to the entire world as the absolute monsters they are.

This IS all about saving their images and most surely not about saving soldiers from retaliation. If they cared about protecting American soldiers they NEVER would have sent them to a completely bogus war to kill innocent people, they NEVER would have forced them to serve multiple tours in Iraq, they NEVER would have tried to shortchange them financially, withhold proper medical treatment when they got home, they never would have insisted on sneaking in their dead bodies under cover of night to keep the country in the dark about how many of them they were really sending to their deaths.

[Chulanowa]

6. I didn't know the Pentagon played backsies!

The government that put troops into battle in Iraq and Afghanistan and tortured prisoners is worried that torturing prisoners will result in Afghans and Iraqis using violence against our soldiers?

Our government has turned into a fucking palindrome

[Swagman]

7. the truth will (and must) always out !! let us see the shame

[Vattel]

8. Why can't the govt classify them to prevent release?

[madrchsod]

9. the iraqi`s already know what the americans did

the real reason is the pictures will be evidence in a future war crime trials...

[Caretha]

12. Of course they already know

It's the vast majority of Americans that don't have a clue. TPTB aren't afraid of backlash on our troops....they're afraid of the American people ever finding out.

[LynnTheDem]

18. I'd say that is about...hmmm...ohhh...

100% absolutely correct.

[lib2DaBone]

10. Prisoner Torture and 911... the truth IS going to be told....

[Warren Stupidity]

11. five years of obstruction

ends in two months

[sugapablo]

13. Actually...

I could see an argument if they said they wanted to protect the VICTIMS in this case. I mean, if you were tortured and abused (possibly sexually) at the hands of a foreign invader, would you want the photos of it displayed all around the world?

Too bad our compassionate government never mentioned such things. :(

[peacebird]

14. they can digitally obscure identifying features and still release the photos

It is not so much WHO it happened to , as what was being done to prisoners IN OUR NAMES.

Release the photos.

[sugapablo]

19. still...

I don't know about you, but it those were photos of ME...I can't be sure I'd want them released. DEFINITELY not if they were photos of my children, no matter what was "obscured".

Again though, that doesn't seem to be a concern of the current administration. :(

[frog92969]

24. If it was me...

and those pics helped hang the Bu$h crime family, I'd release them myself.

[FedUpWithIt All]

15. The longer this goes on the more i am convinced it is related to the child abuse Hersch mentioned.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2004/7/14/193750/666

[NYC Liberal]

16. "inciting violence and riots" ... 'cause that isn't happening already in Iraq, right?

:eyes:

[LynnTheDem]

17. How can PHOTOS "jeopardize the safety of US troops", fuckwits???

It's the ACTIONS that jeopardize the safety of U.S. troops.

JFC.

[librechik]

20. Only this sort of drastic intervention wil build the support we need

to get rid of these entrenched monsters.

[dipsydoodle]

21. Maybe the issue

isn't the pictorial content of those being tortured but those doing the torturing.:shrug:

[Gadzooks1]

22. More likely it would

jeopardize American politicians and appointed government officials. Publish the pictures. It's about time we were all ashamed of what we have done.

[mbperrin]

23. No surprise. Most criminals oppose having evidence presented against

them. The surprise would be if a court bought that evidence of a crime enraging victims of a crime should be not admitted for that reason.

Ol' Charlie Manson would be walking around free if this line of reasoning had any validity at all.....