Obama Reverses Himself on Detainee Photos

It's not often this White House has done the right thing, and who knows the real reason behind it, but it's good nonetheless. When Obama announced they were going to release hundreds of detainee photos which purportedly showed "torture" by their captors and great hue and cry was raised about the potential to make the world a more dangerous place for our citizens and soldiers.

Simply put, there was no national interest in releasing these photos. Only harm could result, and it looks like they finally got the message and will now fight the release of these photos in court (from Politico):

BREAKING: The White House will object to the release of detainee abuse photos, an administration official says, due to concerns about national security.

ACLU SLAMS: “If it’s true that they’re reversing position, we find that wholly unacceptable,” ACLU attorney Jameel Jaffer told POLITICO. “It’s inconsistent with the commitment they’ve made to the court and its inconsistent with the promise of transparency that they’ve repeated many times both before the election and since.”
Jaffer said the ACLU had not been officially informed of the government’s change in stance, which he earlier called an effort to “renege” on the administration’s prior promise. -- Josh Gerstein (12:47 p.m.)

From the administration official: "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.

"At the end of that meeting, the President directed his counsel to object to the immediate release of the photos on those grounds.

"Yesterday, during a meeting at the White House, the President raised the issue of these photos with General Odierno and told him of his decision to argue against this release.

"Through his actions from the first days of his administration, the President has made it clear that the United States will hold itself and all the men and women who serve our country to the highest standards of conduct.

"The President would be the last to excuse the actions depicted in these photos. That is why the Department of Defense investigated these cases, and why individuals have been punished through prison sentences, discharges, and a range of other punitive measures. But the President strongly believes that the release of these photos, particularly at this time, would only serve the purpose of inflaming the theaters of war, jeopardizing US forces, and making our job more difficult in places like Iraq and Afghanistan."

Finally, a little sanity from the White House.