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| Iraq-Jordan |
| U.S. Told Not to Release Abu Ghraib Photos |
| 2005-08-12 |
| I bet the MSM is salivating over this Releasing photos and videotapes of detainee abuse at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison would aid al-Qaida recruitment, weaken governments in Iraq and Afghanistan and incite riots against U.S. troops, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff warned in court papers. The American Civil Liberties Union is seeking the release of 87 photographs and four videotapes taken at the prison as part of a lawsuit it filed in October 2003. Gen. Richard B. Myers wrote in recently unsealed court papers filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan that it was ''probable that al-Qaida and other groups will seize upon these images and videos as grist for their propaganda mill.'' The ACLU complaint seeks information on the treatment of detainees in U.S. custody and the transfer of prisoners to countries known to use torture. It also contends that prisoner abuse is systemic. The government submitted an additional request to the court Friday arguing that some information in its court papers that remains blacked out should not be made public. In a response to the arguments by Myers, the ACLU submitted a declaration by retired U.S. Army Col. Michael E. Pheneger, who said Myers ''mistakes propaganda for motivation.'' Pheneger, a military intelligence officer from 1963 to 1993, said that Iraqi insurgents average 70 attacks a day and that they ''will continue regardless of whether the photos and tapes are released.'' Pheneger said he believed that releasing the photos would lead to a thorough public examination of the administration's decision to approve interrogation techniques that the Army had long prohibited. ''The first step to abandoning practices that are repugnant to our laws and national ideals is to bring them into the sunshine and assign accountability,'' he wrote. Myers said his views about the pictures were supported by Gen. John P. Abizaid, head of the United States Central Command, and Gen. George W. Casey Jr., the commander of the American forces in Iraq. An investigation into the abuse depicted on the pictures continues, Myers said. ''I condemn in the strongest terms the misconduct and abuse depicted in these images,'' he said. ''It was illegal, immoral and contrary to American values and character.'' U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein, who will decide whether to release blacked-out versions of the pictures and videotapes, has said photographs ''are the best evidence the public can have of what occurred'' at the prison. |
| Posted by:Captain America |
| #12 ZF, I don't agree. The terrorist recruiters prey on young, easily influenced Muslim youth. At their early age, they are swayed by photos depicting brutish treatment. Hence, a release of these items plays right into the recruiters interests. |
| Posted by: Captain America 2005-08-12 23:58 |
| #11 DMFD: Let us assume for a second that Gen Myers is wrong. If so, what possible purpose would it serve to release the photos. We would not learn anything we don't know. I think General Myers is being too politically correct. The kind of people who would be influenced by the kind of play-acting depicted in the Abu Ghraib pictures are the same kind of people who are already terrorists because of the American invasion of Iraq. The Abu Ghraib pictures depict humiliation. The pictures coming out of Iraq every day are of terrorists getting dismembered and blown away during American military operations. I think people need to get a sense of proportion, and pick their fights. We need to fight for the right to hack a captive like Zaccarias Moussaoui to pieces in order to prevent future 9/11's, not suppress merely embarrassing photographs from circulation. Public relations with the Muslim world are moot. Don't take Muslims for children. The ones who want to hate Americans already hate Americans. A few S&M-style pictures from Abu Ghraib aren't going to sway them more than the pictures of Muslim holy warriors with chunks of their skulls missing or with their internal organs splattered all over the tarmac. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2005-08-12 23:51 |
| #10 Let us assume for a second that Gen Myers is wrong. If so, what possible purpose would it serve to release the photos. We would not learn anything we don't know. The ONLY thing that could be achieved is what Myers is concerned about - that via Al Jihad TV and the MSM these pictures will become a recruiting tool for the Jihadis. The fact that the ACLU doesn't care - tells you all you need to know about the ACLU. |
| Posted by: DMFD 2005-08-12 23:19 |
| #9 I could go on about Military Intelligence officers but lets just say that most are at least twice removed from the actual intelligence operations. Now if Pheneger were a a MI officer attached to an Embassy doing overt intell then maybe he would have a feel about how these photos would affect people in Iraq and Afghanistan. But given that those very same intell types have yet to be right on even ONE aspect on the WOT I would be leary from taking his advise (see "Slam Dunk" and WMDs). There is nothing to be gained from releasing these phtos and I think it's time for the ACLU to understand that thier first name is AMERICAN and act in the bes interest of America and not terrorists. |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge 2005-08-12 23:03 |
| #8 I think General Myers is being over-sensitive. If photos of terrorists with their heads blown off from sniper fire or of dismembered terrorists from American artillery fire don't inspire the Muslim faithful to anger, the sight of terrorists merely being humiliated certainly won't. I think the Abu Ghraib pictures are amusing - such are the sissified methods of American prison guards play-acting at torture in the very prison where real torture, with beheadings and genuine torture implements were carried out by Saddam's minions. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2005-08-12 22:54 |
| #7 Another thing -- the abuses at Abu Ghraib had nothing to do with approved interrogation techniques. That the ACLU keeps banging that drum is just proof that they're a tool of our enemies. |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2005-08-12 22:32 |
| #6 Pheneger, a military intelligence officer from 1963 to 1993, said that Iraqi insurgents average 70 attacks a day and that they ''will continue regardless of whether the photos and tapes are released.'' Despite being in military intelligence for thirty years, this Pheneger's not too bright. The issue isn't whether the -- improper -- release of these photos will inspire more attacks in Iraq. It's whether they'll inspire attacks in New York, DC, Chicago, Detroit, LA, San Francisco, London, Paris, Madrid, Berlin... |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2005-08-12 22:30 |
| #5 Asshole lawers at the ACLU forsake 280 million Americans and go to the mat for these guys every time, Why????????? |
| Posted by: Chinetle Glamble4177 2005-08-12 21:35 |
| #4 "There should be a season for TRANZI lawyers. No bag limit." Yeah, open season! No tags required. AR |
| Posted by: Analog Roam 2005-08-12 21:31 |
| #3 Lawyer wonder why they get no respect? There should be a season for TRANZI lawyers. No bag limit. To bad there is not. Might be different if I could think of one right of mine they had protected, but I can't. Might be different if they made my country a safer place to live but they haven't and will not. I would rather spend tome with a rattle snake or mountain lion than a lawyer. |
| Posted by: Sock Puppet 0’ Doom 2005-08-12 21:27 |
| #2 another Clinton contribution to the WOT. |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-08-12 21:20 |
| #1 Hellerstein, Alvin K. Born 1933 in New York, NY Federal Judicial Service: U. S. District Court, Southern District of New York Nominated by William J. Clinton on May 15, 1998, to a seat vacated by Louis L. Stanton; Confirmed by the Senate on October 21, 1998, and received commission on October 22, 1998. |
| Posted by: Captain America 2005-08-12 20:54 |