If the Obama administration doesn’t want the detainee torture photos released, the Supreme Court might step in and release them, anyway.
Here’s more on the American Civil Liberties Union, which is seeking to get the photos released. And here’s a bit on a group — Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity – that supports release of the photos.
Advertisement
Because of the back-step taken after the initial statement by Gibbs, I anticipate the Administration prolonging the controversy on national security grounds. It might work.
Unless Obama wants to divert attention away from the healthcare debate, and in light of his recent finger wagging at the UN, I can’t think of a more politically inopportune time to release those photos.
I want the photos released. But not right now.
I want them released, and I want them released right now. I think this is going to go some distance in proving we mean to operate as transparently as possible. But I also think it’s the right thing to do, not just the most politic.
True. It’s not like there’s going to be a good time to release them. And the endorsement of the VIPS is important.
I just worry the issue will get lost in the media swirl.
I don’t really want the photos released.
A lot of people don’t, I think. Why don’t you?
A picture is worth a thousand words. It’s a visual of people at their worst and those people are Americans and the victims are not Americans, specifically, middle-easterners, Muslims. It’s like hate crime in a way. I don’t want that used as a way of conveying to people across the world how Americans act because that’s not how “we” act. It’s how some bad people behaved. I’m concerned it’ll be used to create hate against all Americans.
Also, I don’t personally want to see photos of people suffering.
I don’t want to see them and I do think that Jac’s point is an important one but I believe it’s more important to uncover these things. Bring them out into the light so they don’t happen again. And so that people can stop tossing about the word “torture” like it’s just another investigative method. We have to face our sins, whatever the consequences.
I agree. It will be painful but I think in the long run, it is important.
It can be fun, too.
Why not hold the people who are responsible accountable for their sins rather than putting all Americans at risk for revenge. The images will circulate the globe in no time and you know some people will hate all Americans as a result. I think releasing the photos may be irresponsible. I am angry already that these things happened and I don’t ever want it to happen again. Releasing the photos won’t change how I feel about it nor should it change our next course of action in prosecuting and seeing that this doesn’t happen again. “We” really didn’t do this.
Maybe instead, we should show interviews of the families of those who were tortured to show their humanity. The photos dehumanize these people and instead, I think, we should restore their humanity.
If Americans demonstrate a willingness to address our crimes and hold accountable the criminals directly responsible, perhaps those seeking to do us harm because of our despicable practices might be willing to consider alternatives to resolving our conflicts. Like diplomacy.
But in order to properly address our crimes, we have to stop fooling ourselves about torture. Our use of torture didn’t begin with our response to 9/11.
Bush and Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice, Powell, Yoo and the rest need to face prosecution because they blatantly used torture to create false evidence to deceive Congress and the American people. Their acts are in direct opposition to existing US and International Law.
If the American people are serious about re-embracing the international conventions against torture we pushed through the UN, we need to take a good hard look at the consequences of our actions. We need to see what happens when we put the wrong people in office and give them too much power.
I agree with you, but I have a problem with “our actions”. I don’t think we need to put people, families, children, at more risk, as a result of the actions of some people. Lots of people did not vote for Bush/Cheney and opposed almost everything they did to further endanger Americans. I think they’ve done enough damage to our reputation and now it’s time for them to face their sins on their own.
My fear, though, is that they won’t face their sins on their own. They need encouragement and guidance to face them.
I agree that they won’t face their sins without us demanding it. I meant that the individuals who are responsible should be held accountable by us because we know what they did was wrong. But, we all are not accountable for their actions. I don’t want to risk more harm to American civilians and I truly believe the photos would be used by some groups to recruit more terrorists. I’m really concerned about that. People that hate us enough killed anyone – people going to work, children going to school, families flying on planes. Do we want more people to hate us that much? I think there are better ways to handle this.
I have heard this argument — that releasing the photos might risk other Americans — and it’s the only one that starts to make sense for me. Still, I believe the greater good will be served by releasing the photos. It’s about transparency.
It’s like a collective sin, didn’t we talk about that recently?
Like it or not, this was done in OUR names. I do not feel personally responsible but we do have a collective responsibility. I do not believe we can say to the world that we are truly sorry while being unwilling to show the truth of what we did. It’s confession. I believe it is necessary in any true apology and even more necessary in repentance.
I do not believe this will further the cause of terrorists. Hiding the evidence though, I think could.
We did talk about it. I think there will be the first moments of horror looking at the photos, but we do bear the collective guilt about this. No, I didn’t vote for Bush but I am an American and he acted on my behalf. And maybe I’m fundamentalist, after all, but I feel a need for atonement.