Inform and Inflame

May 18th, 2009 • Posted in: What They're Saying

“The publication of these photos would not add any additional benefit to our understanding of what was carried out in the past by a small number of individuals. In fact, the most direct consequence of releasing them, I believe, would be to further inflame anti-American opinion and to put our troops in greater danger.”

– U.S. president Barack Obama, explaining last week his U-turn on releasing photos depicting prisoner abuse by U.S. troops and personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan. The photos — some of which have been leaked and reprinted in Europe — reportedly are similar to those that sparked the Abu Ghraib scandal. Obama’s about-face is examined in a New York Times piece that looks at how similar suppress-versus-release dilemmas have been handled by past administrations and courts. The key question, notes the article: “How much potential harm justifies suppressing facts, whether from My Lai or Iraq, that might help the public judge the way a war is waged in its name?”

Source: New York Times, May 16.

For more information, see: Related Newsline story, Apr. 30, 2007 — Related Newsline story, Mar. 13, 2006 — Related Newsline story, Feb. 20, 2006.

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