U.S. to release photos showing alleged abuses by American personnel

[seemslikeadream]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=3846668&mesg_id=3846668

U.S. to release photos showing alleged abuses by American personnel
Posted by deminks on Thu Apr-23-09 09:12 PM

Source: Chicago Tribune

WASHINGTON - The Obama administration agreed late Thursday to release dozens of photographs depicting alleged abuse by U.S. personnel during the Bush administration of prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan.

At least 44 pictures will be released by May 28 -- making public for the first time images of what the military investigated as abuse that took place at facilities other than the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.

Defense Department officials would not say exactly what is contained in the photos, but said they are concerned that the release could incite a backlash in the Middle East.

The photos, taken from military criminal investigations of abuse, are apparently not as shocking as the photographs from the Abu Ghraib investigation that became a lasting symbol of U.S. mistakes in Iraq. But some show military service members intimidating or threatening detainees by pointing weapons at them. Military officers have been court martialed for threatening detainees at gunpoint.



Read more: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-obama-interrogationapr24,0,1567604.story




http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-interrogate24-2009apr24,0,4199113.story

Obama administration to release Bush-era detainee photos
The pictures show Americans' alleged abuse of prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan. An ACLU lawyer says they prove that Abu Ghraib 'was not aberrational.'
By Peter Wallsten, Julian Barnes and Greg Miller
6:41 PM PDT, April 23, 2009

Reporting from Washington -- The Obama administration agreed late Thursday to release dozens of photographs depicting alleged abuse by U.S. personnel during the Bush administration of prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan.

At least 44 pictures will be released on May 28 -- making public for the first time images of what the military investigated as abuse that took place at facilities other than the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.

The photos are apparently not as shocking as the photographs from the Abu Ghraib investigation that became a lasting symbol of U.S. mistakes in Iraq. But some show military service members intimidating or threatening detainees by pointing weapons at them. Military officers have been court-martialed for threatening detainees at gunpoint.

"This will constitute visual proof that, unlike the Bush administration's claim, the abuse was not confined to Abu Ghraib and was not aberrational," said Amrit Singh, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union, which obtained the agreement as part of a long-running legal battle for documents related to Bush-era anti-terror policies.


The photo release decision comes as President Obama is already trying to quell a drive to investigate Bush-era anti-terror practices. But now the photos and a series of other possible disclosures stemming from the ACLU lawsuit threatens to fuel the already explosive controversy.

[stillcool]

1. I seem to remember a story about..

photos and the ACLU from years ago. Actually I thought they'd gotten hold of a bunch of them.

[me b zola]

2. K&R