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PrintJune 2, 2009
Why did Obama cave on releasing detainee photos?
According to this piece by Nancy Youssef of McClatchy, Obama switched his position on releasing the pics of detainee abuse because Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki warned him that his nation would erupt into violence if the photos were released.
I don't know what's more troubling; the fact that Obama wanted to release the photos in the first place or that no one - I mean no one - in his administration had the foresight to warn him of what the probable response of the Iraqi people would be:
In the days leading up to a May 28 deadline to release the photos in response to an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit, U.S. officials, led by Christopher Hill, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, told Maliki that the administration was preparing to release photos of suspected detainee abuse taken from 2003 to 2006.
When U.S. officials told Maliki, "he went pale in the face," said a U.S. military official, who along with others requested anonymity because of the matter's sensitivity.
The official said Maliki warned that releasing the photos would lead to more violence that could delay the scheduled U.S. withdrawal from cities by June 30 and that Iraqis wouldn't make a distinction between old and new photos. The public outrage and increase in violence could lead Iraqis to demand a referendum on the security agreement and refuse to permit U.S. forces to stay until the end of 2011.
Maliki said, "Baghdad will burn" if the photos are released, said a second U.S. military official.
Of course, Obama's leftist allies no doubt were hoping for just such a reaction when they demanded the release of the photos. Nothing less than a humiliating retreat from Iraq has been their goal from the beginning. This is done because they love America so much, they wish to "teach us a lesson in humility."
But Obama, sitting in the Big Chair, probably saw his presidency going down the toilet if such a catastrophe were to happen and besides, everyone in the intel community and at the Pentagon were dead set against the release. So he had an easy excuse not to release the photos, which drove his liberal friends up the wall.
Having employed the same defense as Bush - national security - it is doubtful that those photos will ever see the light of day. What good purpose their release would have served still escapes me. But I suppose if you're a liberal, humiliating the United States is reason enough.
