Bill That Would Block Release of Torture Photos Expected to Be Signed Into Law

[kpete]

Source: Truthout

In an unprecedented move, Congress passed legislation Tuesday including an amendment which would maintain one of the most contentious hangovers of the Bush administration, allowing the Department of Defense to exempt torture photos of US detainees overseas from public access under Freedom of Information Act requests.

This amendment, passed as part of the Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill, would give Secretary of Defense Robert Gates the prerogative to suppress photos of prisoner abuse taken after September 11, 2001, which could result in the endangering of US citizens, troops or employees.

The availability of photos and records of detainee abuse has been at the center of a lawsuit between the American Civil Liberties Union and the Bush administration since 2003. The lawsuit is now continuing under the Obama administration and is aimed at photos that were ordered released by a federal appeals court as part of an ACLU FOIA lawsuit, though it would apply to other photos in government custody as well.

President Obama had initially indicated that he would not block the release of these photographs; however, in May, he reversed his decision and filed an appeal with the Supreme Court.

Read more: http://www.truthout.org/1022095

[joeycola]

1. more change we can believe in.

[saigon68]

8. Well at least with Cheney we got a Big Fuck you

The "Present Occupant" has been co-opted by the military industrial complex.

He is probably worse than Cheney on this because he is a HYPOCRITE.

[ixion]

2. Obama continues Bush-era policies

just freakin' great. :grr:

[Sabriel]

3. It's the Don't Talk, Don't Show approach to government

Meet the new Congress, same as the old Congress.

[KansDem]

4. "...which could result in the endangering of US citizens, troops or employees."

Yeah, like endangering the freedom of sick "citizens" like Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, et al

[atreides1]

5. If you help a bank robber

You're an accessory. Same rules apply for hiding evidence of war crimes. The Obama administration can sugar coat this with all the patriotic, national security, must keep the troops safe, BS that their PR people can conceive of.

But at the end of the day it still makes him an accessory to covering up evidence of war crimes, nothing more, nothing less!!!

[Statistical]

6. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

[Blue-Jay]

7. Ever since I was a young boy I played the silver ball.

[Forkboy]

9. Sad