Prison Abuse Photos From Iraq, Afghanistan To Be Released By Pentagon

Los Angeles Times:

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

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

Read the whole story: Los Angeles Times

Comments

[osage]

THE GREAT REPUBLICAN LYING MACHINE EXPOSED

By ALI SOUFAN
Published: April 22, 2009

"FOR seven years I have remained silent about the false claims magnifying the effectiveness of the so-called enhanced interrogation techniques like waterboarding. I have spoken only in closed government hearings, as these matters were classified. But the release last week of four Justice Department memos on interrogations allows me to shed light on the story, and on some of the lessons to be learned."

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/23/opinion/23soufan.html?_r=3&partner=rss&emc=rss

[Mahi Joe]

My gut feeling tells me this is only going to continue to work against us. As much as I am an advocate of transparency there are some things best kept quiet. The whole world already knows about the prison abuse situation but why toss gasoline on a fire we are trying to extinguish? If you insist upon showing the world the abuse then go all the way and go after those who condoned it, don't go half way.

[Tommygun264]

Get ready for another round of "shoot the messenger" as pubs squeal that everything would be just fine if we only kept the truth under wraps and painted smiles on the faces of the hundreds of innocent Iraqis Bush/Cheney released after months and years of abuse and torture without charge, only to discover they were innocent people sold to our troops for a $5,000 bounty by our "allies" in the field.

[Lpeter]

Transparency is key to our evolution as a world community.

we're getting there. Slow and painfully. Peace is a process. You go Obama.

Now clean up Wall Street. The Sh*%T is up to our knees.

[Mahi Joe]

Even transparency has its limits. If we allow those who condoned this abuse to remain free and continue to show the world images of the abuse what will be gained?

[Lovepolitics2008]

Damned if you do, damned if you don't. If they don't release the photos, the terrorists groups can speculate and use the "non-release" as a propaganda tool too.

[Mahi Joe]

I agree we will not get any good publicity out of these actions from anyone except a few chickenhawks on the right who seem to need to jusitify torture. We would never have been in this awkward situation if we followed the Geneva Convention which we actually did sign.

[rwext]

and ya know every terrorist group and pirate and fraternity will look at these and mock the US for referring to these as abuse and torture.

[HatingTheGame]

rwext: "and ya know every terrorist group and pirate and fraternity will look at these and mock the US for referring to these as abuse and torture."

That's ok, that fraternity also mocks us for other silly things, like belief in freedom, liberty, human rights, constitution, due process... all silly things that make them crack up and laugh their heads off.

Doesn't bother me much, and it shouldn't bother you either -- unless of course, you don't believe in such silly things either.

[frantaylor]

No, they will use them as recruiting tools, just as they have been doing all along.