Gov't Appeals Detainee Abuse Photos Case

 

The controversy over detainee abuse photos moved to a new phase last Friday when the Solicitor General filed a cert petition in DOD v. ACLU.  The Administration is asking the SCT to review an order issued by Second Circuit in 2008 that the photos be disclosed to the ACLU in response to the organization's FOIA request. 

The Obama Administration originally agreed that the photos should be part of the public record, and did not assert an objection to the Second Circuit's order until May of this year.  After consulting with top military officials and national security advisors, Obama came to conclude that the photos should not be released because of the risk that they would "inflame anti-American opinion" abroad.  In June, the appeals court agreed to recall its order pending the SCTs response to the cert petition.

(cartoon credit: Mikhaela B. Reid, whose great blog is here)

-Kathleen Bergin