(AG) Holder: Justice Department prepared to fight detainee photo release

[sabra]

Source: CNN

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Attorney General Eric Holder said Thursday the Justice Department is prepared to defend in court President Obama’s decision to oppose the release of Defense Department photos showing alleged abuse of detainees.

Testifying before the House Judiciary Committee, Holder repeated Obama’s assertion said the decision to oppose the release of the photos had been made “consistent with the best interests of our troops.”

Holder emphasized Obama’s conclusion that making the photos public would endanger U.S. troops and have a “negative impact” on the military situation in Iraq and Afghanistan.

...

ACLU attorney Amrit Singh told CNN Wednesday that Obama’s decision “makes a mockery” of his campaign promise of greater transparency and accountability.

...

Singh said his organization is prepared to “do whatever it takes” to have the photos released.


Read more: http://cnnwire.blogs.cnn.com/2009/05/14/holder-justice-department-prepared-to-fight-detainee-photo-release/

[mike_c]

1. thank god for the ACLU...

...and best of luck to them. Getting those pics released is the necessary first step toward war crimes trials for Cheney et al.

[No Elephants]

40. Amen. And you can become a member for a year for as little as $20.

[mikelgb]

2. And the decision to send more troops to afghanistan?

Are you prepared to fight that in the best interest of our troops?

complicity

[polichick]

3. "Obama’s decision “makes a mockery” of his campaign promise" - Yes it does.

[tridim]

12. Do you believe EVERYTHING should be declassified?

Because that's not what "transparency" means.

[EFerrari]

13. Haven't you just answered your own question?

[tridim]

18. No, I asked polichick the question.

[polichick]

29. This issue is more about accountability than transparency.

[No Elephants]

39. Do you believe in classifying evidence of a crime? Bc that's not a

legitimate use of classification.

Photos of our violations of international law are not what endangers our troops. Our making up excuses to bomb Iraq and Afghanistan is what endangers our troops. So does the actual torture itself, regardless of whether pictures of it exist or not. So does covering up for the torturers. So does failing to prosecute flagrant violations of international law, be it wrongful invasion of a sovereign nation, wrongful occupationa, torture or the failure to prosecute itself, after we promised in a treaty that we would prosecute.

BTW, the lawlessness upon which America has been insisting does not endanger only our troops. They endanger us, our children and generations of our descendants, perhaps yet unborn.

In my lifetime, so many things we have done wrong internationally have come back to bite us.

"The arc of the universe is long, but it bends toward justice." Martin Luther King, Jr.

[stillcool]

4. Good for the ACLU...

I hope everyone who can contributes, and those who can't hound their representative relentlessly about their outrage at what the Obama Administration is doing.

[saigon68]

5. And on Second Base = Bush Lite

Nothing till HELL freezes over

[montanacowboy]

6. Obama now OWNS bush's

torture, war crimes and escalating wars

ain't that just special

[FiveGoodMen]

7. Betrayal

[Bluenorthwest]

8. ACLU gets my next donation

no more for DNC or local Democrats, and after today, watching the slime throwing here sink to a fresh new low worthy of Joe McCarthy, the ACLU gets the pittance I had put aside for DU as well. Too many people claiming to run the place calling people hideous things, with seeming impuntiy.
All donations to ACLU until there is justice. Period. Make them rich. Make DNC poor. Justice!

[florida08]

9. Exactly right

Obama now owns it all. We put democrats in but we're still getting republican answers.
https://secure.aclu.org/site/Advocacy?JServSessionIdr010=i4xj8umno2.app23a&cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=1497

[Javaman]

10. So they have the energy to fight this but not the energy to release them.

amazing.

They would rather tie up the government by keeping these photos secret then letting the world see just how completely fucked up and evil moron* and his room full of dopes were.

well played, well played. :eyes:

[high density]

11. Hyperbole much?

I'd love to know how many people out there checked off the ballot "Obama/Biden" last fall with thoughts of "I HOPE THEY RELEASE PHOTOS OF OUR GLORIOUS TORTURE AT GITMO!!" at the front of their minds.

I'm all for holding Bush/Cheney accountable for what they've done. I don't see how making these photos public will bring that to fruition. The ACLU is demanding that Obama be transparent for Bush atrocities and that's just a stupid nonsensical proposition. Their demands are a bit late.

[tridim]

15. As you can see that fact didn't stop the typical knee jerk reactions to this story.

On the new DU, any thread that offers an easy chance to trash Obama is jumped on within seconds. It makes me sick.

[EFerrari]

19. That you can take something as serious and dangerous as

cleaning up after Cheney's torture program and make it about DU tiffs is really discouraging.

Maybe the posts you're reading aren't where the knee jerks are located.

[Name removed]

21. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[EFerrari]

24. Really? How is he doing that? And, do you see any criticism of Obama

as "lying" or is that just confined to the consequences of the torture program? Thanks.

[tridim]

26. From your other post..

You claimed that Holder is "hiding the crime". That is a lie

[EFerrari]

27. In fighting to withhold those images, that's exactly what he's doing.

There is no credible reason for the administration to withhold those images. And especially not in the context of cleaning up after BushCo torture if that is their actual aim.

[tridim]

32. You said he is hiding crimes.

Not images.

[EFerrari]

35. Where images are the evidence of crimes. Yes, he is. n/t

[Thothmes]

37. Excpet the President of the United States

had decided their is a reason to withhold them. He is carrying out the orders of President Obama

[No Elephants]

43. And that goes contrary to the hundreds of posts here that say the D of J is supposed to be

independent and is independent.

The reason Pres. Obama gave for withholding them makes no sense, anyway. Supposedly, they are less inflammatory than the Abu Ghraib photos, yet they will put a target on the backs of our soldiers. The target is already there because we invaded lawlessly, we occupied lawlessly, we tortured lawlessly and now we are lawlessly refusing to prosecute and lawlessly classifying evidence of crimes (or continuing a lawless classification).

The POTUS can decide whatever he wants, but he owes us making sense, truth and obeying the law.

[EFerrari]

45. Including the court order to release these images n/t

[Zhade]

31. No. YOU'RE lying about the other poster -- who is correct.

NT!

[tridim]

34. So you believe Holder is hiding crimes?

Which crimes?

[No Elephants]

42. And we have a winnah!

[EFerrari]

17. The ACLU, along with the ICRC, were there early on demanding

transparency. Maybe you missed that.

And it is now Obama's responsibility to clean up this government. That can only possibly seem nonsensical if you have a problem with the continuation of the State.

[No Elephants]

41. I voted with the hope that we would bring Bushco to justice and sin no more. Obama has

refused to do either. In every case pending, he has asserted the same position as Bushco has asserted. He is refusing to prosecute Bushco. Some say that is part of his master plan. I doubt it. Public pressure may well force him to prosecute, but I do think he hoped just to move on and "look forward, not back," even though that position violates a treaty to which we are a party. He promised transparency, but is refusing to release photos, citing our troops, which is plain silly. Illegal invasions and occupations and the torture itself is what endangers our troops. So do attempts to soft pedal any of that by covering it up and not prosecuting.

Demands for transparency are not too late. As long as there is no transparency, they are right on time. Wrongly classifying stuff is wrong, but so is keeping it classified. Bush did the first, Obasma is doing the second. Nothing the ACLU is dong in this is stupid or nonsensical. To the contrary, what Obama is doing as to this is wrong. And I hope someone holds him accountable for it.

At the same time, I recognize that stopping torture is the more important issue and he has stopped it, at least domestically. What may be going on with rendition, I don't know though. And I am not happy to hear he is even considering endless detention with no trial.

[EFerrari]

14. You know what's going to help the troops? Having the world see we repudiate

torture. That we take the hit and own it and make restitution and send people to prison and swear off the practice.

Not hiding the crime, Mr. Holder.

[Name removed]

20. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[EFerrari]

22. Really? How am I altering reality?

lol

Btw, there are still about 100 CIA ghost detainees missing. When the administration "finds" them, I'll be very happy to give them credit for that.

[tridim]

23. By claiming the Obama admin isn't going after the torturers.

Which is a flat out lie.

[EFerrari]

25. When did the posse go out and how do you know?

[Robb]

16. Mark my words, Obama will "lose" here

...These photos will be released. And I have "lose" in quotation marks, because he has to know they will get released. He's no political dummy.

I just haven't figured out how it helps him to be on the record as opposing their release.

[Solly Mack]

28. I think the court will rule in favor of release - again

and then people can blame the courts for releasing the pictures.

If it weren't for those damned activists judges...blah blah blah

snicker

[Zhade]

30. Negative impact? We shouldn't even be in Iraq (and arguably Afghanistan)!

This is total fucking bullshit.

[DU GrovelBot]

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[The Stranger]

36. This is just too fucking bizarre.

I don't know what to say.

[DebbieCDC]

38. Where would we be without the ACLU?

[No Elephants]

44. Amen. I hope everyone either becomes a member ($20 per YEAR) or makes a

donation. www.aclu.org

Prosit!