Gen. Ray Odierno, the top military commander in Iraq, at the Pentagon on Friday. Odierno has argued against releasing images of detainee abuse. (Evan Vucci/AP) From The Christian Science Monitor:
Gen. Ray Odierno, along with other top defense officials, argued that releasing the images of alleged detainee abuse would endanger US troops abroad.
In a reversal of his previous position, President Obama will now oppose the release of more than 40 photos allegedly showing detainees being mistreated after deciding that releasing them could put American troops in danger and inflame anti-US sentiments abroad.
The change of heart apparently came after Gen. Ray Odierno, the top commander in Iraq, made a personal plea to the White House against releasing the images because they would endanger US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. The images are thought to show US troops mistreating detainees overseas in ways reminiscent of the 2004 Abu Ghraib prison scandal.
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My Comment: While the White House is using the excuse that publicizing these photos would only "inflame" the Muslim street, I think the real strategy that should be applied to these photos .... and to me is the most obvious one .... is that publicizing these photos would violate numerous international treaties that strictly prohibit the publication of photos of prisoners of war.
1 comment:
This is one of the few times where I agree with the president 100%.
Releasing these pictures wouldn't do any good to anybody. Our soldiers would be punished as people throughout the Middle East would be enraged.
I feel that the president made the right choice.
Ryan
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