Detainee photos: America cowers to vague fears
The Supreme Court rightly punted on the case in which the ACLU sought to gain access to photos of detained terrorist suspects. Rightly punted — not because that is the right decision but because the circumstances have changed since Congress passed and President Obama signed a new law allowing the secretary of defense to exempt such photos from the Freedom of Information Act.
Most in the press characterize the photos in question as prisoner abuse, but I decline to do so without first seeing them.
There are 21 photos in question, an investigation found three might constitute abuse and two soldiers were punished.
The New York Times reports, "Some of the pictures, according to a government brief, showed 'soldiers pointing pistols or rifles at the heads of hooded and handcuffed detainees,' a soldier who appears to be striking a detainee with the butt of a rifle, and a soldier holding a broom 'as if sticking its end' into a prisoner’s rectum."
The administration, which reversed course on this topic, argues that the release of the photos might hypothetically enflame some foreigners to do harm to Americans.
Judge John Gleeson in a lower court ruling dismissed that argument, writing, "The terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan do not need pretexts for their barbarism; they have proven to be aggressive and pernicious in their choice of targets and tactics." He added that "my task is not to defer to our worst fears, but to interpret and apply the law, in this case the Freedom of Information Act, which advances values important to our society, transparency and accountability in government."
FOIA is for Americans to be allowed to see how their government works or fails to work. To cower in fear at some nebulous possibility is letting the terrorists dictate what our citizens may learn.
The ACLU plans to press on.
