Obama… Doing Something Conservative
It is interesting to see what Obama did here:
President Obama said Wednesday he told government lawyers to object to a court-ordered release of additional images showing alleged abuse of detainees because the release could affect the safety of U.S. troops and “inflame anti-American opinion.”
Releasing the photos could have a “chilling effect” on further investigations of detainee abuse without adding to the understanding of past abuses, he said.
The Pentagon was set to release hundreds of photographs of prisoners in detention facilities in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The photos “are not particularly sensational, especially when compared with the painful images that we remember from Abu Ghraib,” Obama said, referring to the Iraqi military prison where photographs released in 2004 of detainees being abused and humiliated sparked widespread outrage.
“But they do represent conduct that didn’t conform with the Army manual.”
Obama reiterated that any future abuse of detainees is “unacceptable” and “will not be tolerated.”
By most standards this is a rather conservative action — many liberals could say that the man is selling out and perhaps many libertarians even disagree with him hoping for more transparency in the actions of the military.
I can generally agree with Obama though I feel there is a certain danger in not being forthcoming and trustworthy with our military’s actions though perhaps his decision to not release them at this time was wise and has good intentions.