Sullivan tries to make sense of this sudden reversal."I want to emphasize that these photos that were requested in this case are not particularly sensational, especially when compared to the images we remember from Abu Ghraib," the president said on the South Lawn of the White House. "But they do represent conduct that didn't conform with the Army manual."
Obama said the publication of the photos would not add any additional benefit to investigations being carried out into detainee abuse -- and could put future inquires at risk.
"In fact, the most direct consequence of releasing them, I believe, would further flame anti-American opinion and to put our troops in greater danger. ... I fear the publication of these photos may only have a chilling effect on future investigations of detainee abuse."
Greenwald is his usual verbose self, but is a very compelling read. Money quote:
Apparently, the proper reaction to heinous acts by our political leaders is not to hold them accountable but, instead, to hide evidence of what they did. That's the warped mentality Obama is endorsing today, and has been endorsing since January 20.Greenwald also argues that those who supported the release of the OLC memos two weeks ago cannot now, with any credibility, support the president's decision today. Otherwise they would be nothing more than Obama cheerleaders/yes men.
I'm baffled, honestly. From my post yesterday you know how dismayed I was by Obama's threat to the UK to withhold key intelligence if the UK High Court released details of the US's torture of Binyam Mohammed, a British citizen who was imprisoned and tortured by the CIA. In making these decisions, Obama cannot say that he is protecting national security. It's like he is mouthing the words that people in the CIA and the Pentagon have fed him, or he is complicit in the cover-up nearly to the same extent as Bush and Cheney.
Or... since we know that the Justice Department is conducting its investigation into these matters anyway, Obama is waiting for those results so that later he can say that his decision to open up the floodgates of disclosure is a non-partisan act. In all outward appearances anyway, he is keeping his hands out of the DOJ investigation and not commenting or aiding the congressional investigations. As we have seen repeatedly, Obama is masterful at laying back and letting everyone think the worst of him, only to emerge later to disarm his opponents with a dose of integrity. In reading his comments, he's not wrong that the release of the photos could increase anti-American sentiments and put our troops in further danger. Sullivan makes the point that concealment could send the message to everyone that we're more interested in the cover-up than honesty, which would undercut our attempts at re-building our international credibility. And that's not a bad point.
But, let's be somewhat realistic here and suppose that our strongest allies -- Western Europe, Australia, Israel -- all have some strategic stake in the "dark side" tactics of Bush/Cheney. Perhaps releasing these photographs, and further release of documents, could implicate our allies in the operation, especially as it pertains to rendition, etc. If that's the case, then some measure of concealment could go a long way in showing them that the US isn't on some simplistic honesty crusade and is still aware of sensitive alliances on the national security level.
Many have argued for a truth commission rather than prosecutions. Such an enterprise, if handled properly, would take years to unravel all that has happened, not months or weeks. Obama's been in office for just over 100 days. As anyone who's been involved in a legal case will tell you, the wheels of justice move very slowly. There are many interests out there crying for Bush's and Cheney's heads. I am definitely of that mind, but I'm willing to wait, and willing to watch the screws tighten slowly, but surely.
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