Obama reverses course on detainee photos
President Obama has insisted he would listen to his commanders on the ground before making decisions as commander in chief.
And it appears he did just that, reversing himself on releasing dozens, if not hundreds, of new photos that purportedly show abuses of detainees.
According to press reports, the top US commanders in Iraq and Afghanistan told Obama that their troops could be in greater danger if the new photos are released this spring.
UPDATE: In a brief appearance to mostly call for peace in Sri Lanka, Obama confirmed his decision.
"This is not a situation in which the Pentagon has concealed or sought to justify inappropriate action," he said. "Rather, it has gone through the appropriate and regular processes. And the individuals who were involved have been identified, and appropriate actions have been taken.
"It's therefore my belief that the publication of these photos would not add any additional benefit to our understanding of what was carried out in the past by a small number of individuals. In fact, the most direct consequence of releasing them, I believe, would be to further inflame anti-American opinion and to put our troops in greater danger."
"Any abuse of detainees is unacceptable," he added. "It's against our values." (His full remarks are below.)
An Obama administration official told the Associated Press that the president told his legal advisers last week that he agreed that releasing the photos would endanger US troops. Obama wants the issue to go back to the courts, although federal appeals judges have ruled the photos could be released.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Obama has been debating the issue for several weeks.
The photos "have the potential to cause harm to our troops," Gibbs told reporters.
They could also get in the way of investigations of detainee abuse, he said, and don't help the probes but only add a "sensationalistic" element.
Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell told the AP that military commanders "are concerned about the impact the release of these photos would have for the troops in Afghanistan and Iraq," and that Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates shares their concerns.
The images will reportedly show mistreatment at locations other than Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, where photos emerged in 2004 of soldiers posing with detainees, some naked, being held on leashes or in painful positions.
The Pentagon had planned to release the latest photos by May 28 in response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union.
And the civil liberties group quickly criticized Obama's reversal.
"The decision to suppress the photos is profoundly inconsistent with the promise of transparency that President Obama has made time after time," ACLU lawyer Jameel Jaffer told the AP.
But military groups praised Obama's change of heart.
"This is the very best news we could hear," American Legion Commander David Rehbein said in a statement, "and we applaud the president for his response to those, like The American Legion, who are putting the welfare of our troops and our country ahead of political considerations."
Rehbein made similar arguments as the military commanders in an opinion piece first published in the Wall Street Journal.
OBAMA'S REMARKS
THE PRESIDENT: Hello, everybody. Sorry to keep you guys waiting. Good to see you. I want to take a few moments at the top to talk about something that, with all the big issues going on, hasn't received much attention, but I think is worth talking about briefly.
As some of you know, we have a humanitarian crisis that's taking place in Sri Lanka, and I've been increasingly saddened by the desperate news in recent days. Tens of thousands of innocent civilians are trapped between the warring government forces and the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka with no means of escape, little access to food, water, shelter and medicine. This has led to widespread suffering and the loss of hundreds if not thousands of lives.
Without urgent action, this humanitarian crisis could turn into a catastrophe. Now is the time, I believe, to put aside some of the political issues that are involved and to put the lives of the men and women and children who are innocently caught in the crossfire, to put them first.
So I urge the Tamil Tigers to lay down their arms and let civilians go. Their forced recruitment of civilians and their use of civilians as human shields is deplorable. These tactics will only serve to alienate all those who carry them out.
I'm also calling on the Sri Lankan government to take several steps to alleviate this humanitarian crisis. First, the government should stop the indiscriminate shelling that has taken hundreds of innocent lives, including several hospitals, and the government should live up to its commitment to not use heavy weapons in the conflict zone.
Second, the government should give United Nations humanitarian teams access to the civilians who are trapped between the warring parties so that they can receive the immediate assistance necessary to save lives.
Third, the government should also allow the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross access to nearly 190,000 displaced people within Sri Lanka so that they can receive additional support that they need.
The United States stands ready to work with the international community to support the people of Sri Lanka in this time of suffering. I don't believe that we can delay. Now is the time for all of us to work together to avert further humanitarian suffering.
Going forward, Sri Lanka must seek a peace that is secure and lasting, and grounded in respect for all of its citizens. More civilian casualties and inadequate care for those caught in resettlement camps will only make it more difficult to achieve the peace that the people of Sri Lanka deserve.
Now, let me also say a few words about an issue that I know you asked Robert Gibbs about quite a bit today, and that's my decision to argue against the release of additional detainee photos. Understand, these photos are associated with closed investigations of the alleged abuse of detainees in our ongoing war effort.
And I want to emphasize that these photos that were requested in this case are not particularly sensational, especially when compared to the painful images that we remember from Abu Ghraib, but they do represent conduct that did not conform with the Army Manual. That's precisely why they were investigated -- and, I might add, investigated long before I took office -- and, where appropriate, sanctions have been applied.
In other words, this is not a situation in which the Pentagon has concealed or sought to justify inappropriate action. Rather, it has gone through the appropriate and regular processes. And the individuals who were involved have been identified, and appropriate actions have been taken.
It's therefore my belief that the publication of these photos would not add any additional benefit to our understanding of what was carried out in the past by a small number of individuals. In fact, the most direct consequence of releasing them, I believe, would be to further inflame anti-American opinion and to put our troops in greater danger.
Moreover, I fear the publication of these photos may only have a chilling effect on future investigations of detainee abuse. And obviously the thing that is most important in my mind is making sure that we are abiding by the Army Manual and that we are swiftly investigating any instances in which individuals have not acted appropriately, and that they are appropriately sanctioned. That's my aim and I do not believe that the release of these photos at this time would further that goal.
Now, let me be clear: I am concerned about how the release of these photos would be -- would impact on the safety of our troops. I have made it very clear to all who are within the chain of command, however, of the United States Armed Forces that the abuse of detainees in our custody is prohibited and will not be tolerated. I have repeated that since I've been in office, Secretary Gates understands that, Admiral Mullen understands that, and that has been communicated across the chain of command.
Any abuse of detainees is unacceptable. It is against our values. It endangers our security. It will not be tolerated.
All right. Thank you very much, everybody.
About Political Intelligence
Glen Johnson is Politics Editor at boston.com and lead blogger for "Political Intelligence." He moved to Massachusetts in the fourth grade, and has covered local, state, and national politics for over 25 years. E-mail him at johnson@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @globeglen. |
