Obama administration should comply with a court order and release the torture photos, or the media will (and has)

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The Obama administration initially agreed to comply with the order of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals to produce a small set of torture photos, previously agreed upon with the plaintiff ACLU, but last week it backed away from its agreement citing opposition from the Department of Defense. Obama Reverses Pledge to Release Photos of Detainee Abuse The administration will now file a motion seeking to block the court ordered release of the torture photos.

Editorial opinion runs against the Obama administration's reversal of position. The New York Times weighed in with Photographs and Kangaroo Courts. Even the Neocon apologist Washington Post has intervened as a party in the suit seeking release of the torture photos. A Need to Examine Bush-era Detentions and Interrogations

The Obama administration should comply with the court order as it had previously agreed upon. If it does not produce the photos, the media will, and may have already done so. The truth will out. It is a fools errand to try to block what may already be in the public domain.

It is believed that the small set of photos are among those photos previously obtained by media outlets but not published in 2006. The Raw Story blog reports Leaked torture photos published in 2006 went largely unseen:

A little over three years ago, SBS Dateline, an Australian television program, released leaked photographs from the U.S. prison in Iraq, Abu Ghraib.

It is believed that the pictures being held back by the Obama administration may include some of these shots that most of the US press ignored, although RAW STORY ran them in 2006.

After the posting of the photos, the ACLU released the following statement exclusive to RAW STORY.

“We continue to see undeniable evidence that abuse and torture has been widespread and systematic, yet high level government officials have not been held accountable for creating the policies that led to these atrocities,” said Anthony D. Romero, Executive Director of the ACLU. “We need to look up the chain of military command, because when the rule of law is not followed all of our personal freedoms are threatened. President Bush should appoint an independent counsel to uncover the full truth about the extent of the abuse and who is ultimately responsible.”

The Raw Story report corrects several mistatements of fact made in the British press about the torture photos, reports which some of you may have read in recent days. The Raw Story report also includes several of the torture photos along with this disclaimer:

Disclaimer: The photographs follow, and are very graphic. They are only part of myriad unpublished photographs and what are believed to be six videotapes of the torture of prisoners at Abu Ghraib.

If you want to view the photos, go to the Raw Story link Leaked torture photos published in 2006 went largely unseen