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Congress' Torture Cover-Up.
Since 2003, the ACLU has been seeking torture documents through a FOIA lawsuit. In 2005, the Southern District Court of New York ordered the government to release a set of photos depicting detainee abuse, a decision that was affirmed by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in September of 2008. After the Obama administration took office, they agreed to release the photos -- before reversing course in May, citing the potential effect on American soldiers abroad because of the photos' potential to inflame anti-American sentiment. The Supreme Court is currently deciding whether it will hear the administration's appeal.
The administration, perhaps sensing that they're not really on solid legal ground when it comes to arguing that the government should be able to hide evidence of its own wrongdoing under the rubric of national security, is getting a little cover from Congress. Yesterday, the conference summary of the current homeland security appropriations bill indicates that an amendment from Sen. Joe Lieberman that would exempt the photos from the FOIA Act has been adopted, which means that the government could legally withhold the pictures if the bill is passed. The same Sen. Lieberman, deeply concerned about the constitutionality of executive branch "czars," has inserted language into a bill allowing the government to conceal evidence of its own abuses.
Naturally, the ACLU is pretty upset. They released a statement from Jameel Jaffer, director of their National Security Project:
Congress should not give the government the authority to hide evidence of its own misconduct, and if it does grant that authority, the Secretary of Defense should not invoke it. If this shameful provision passes, Secretary Gates should take into account the importance of transparency to the democratic process, the extraordinary importance of these photos to the ongoing debate about the treatment of prisoners, and the likelihood that the suppression of these photos will ultimately be far more damaging to our national security than their disclosure would be. The last administration’s decision to endorse torture undermined the United States’ moral authority and compromised its security. The failure of the current administration to fully confront the abuses of the last administration will only compound these harms.
Transparency is for czars and health-care bills. A number of liberals have questioned whether Lieberman deserves to keep his gavel after the "czar" stunt, but it's clear he's still earning points with the White House, even if he isn't winning any from civil libertarians.
-- A. Serwer
(Flickr/Michael T. Ruhl)
COMMENTS (17)
This turn coat has zero integrity. Self serving nonsense with no respect for Americans.
We have a right to know what is done in our name and if it is terrible, so be it. We can make better decisions for the future if we know the facts.
Daddy Lieberman has no right to treat us like children.
This is all about when Joe was a GOP Senator and in full support of the actions that the Bush Administration undertook. He is as responsible as they are and is ducking accountability and disrespecting FOIA and our right to know.
Posted by: ted | October 8, 2009 11:56 AM
"I am absolutely certain Connecticut is going to have the good sense to send Joe Lieberman back to the U.S. Senate so he can continue to serve on our behalf." Barack Obama, March 30, 2006,
>http://boston.com/news/local/connecticut/articles/2006/03/31/obama_rallies_state_democrats_throws_support_behind_lieberman/
So you see it goes back a long way.
Posted by: Andy O'Donnell | October 8, 2009 12:05 PM
Obama doesn't want to upset his muslim brothers. Seriously, if he never provided a birth certificate, but one has been found in Kenya for him, why is he still President? VOTE REPUBLICAN IN 2010 AS IF YOUR LIFE DEPENDED ON IT! IT PROBABLY DOES!
Posted by: John | October 8, 2009 1:06 PM
Since Obama saved Lieberman's bacon (pardon the odd metaphor here) after the election, Lieberman rightly feels he owes Obama his committees. The man has no integrity and I am sure Obama is aware of this. Karma works and can be very nasty. Holy Joe comes up for election in 2012, I believe. This may be the end for Joe and the beginning for Ned Lamont.
Posted by: Karen | October 8, 2009 1:40 PM
So, the decision to allow Lie-berman to keep his committee chair keeps paying dividends for him. He has not missed a beat to cover his own butt at the expense of his constituents. He thinks HE is the decider on what information we have access to. Patriarchal attitude for sure. Why do we even pretend he caucuses with the Dems?
Posted by: Fern | October 8, 2009 1:49 PM
Let's ban and cover up all thos gory WW 2 Nazi concentration camp photos of extermination camps too.
Posted by: The Wizard | October 8, 2009 1:59 PM
To All Those Who Question Whether Barack Obama is an American citizen: If ONE PARENT of a child is AN AMERICAN CITIZEN (his mother) then a child born anywhere in the world (like Panama, where John McCain was born) IS AN AMERICAN CITIZEN. If you are so ignorant about what qualifies a person to be an American citizen, then TAKE A CIVICS COURSE!!! Learn about your own country, idiots!
Posted by: Thomas R Arnold | October 8, 2009 3:21 PM
Wonder why no one in the media has pointed this out!
I agree with you and also Justice Sandra O'Connor- K-12 Civics for all students in America!
Got to start somewhere!
Posted by: SG | October 8, 2009 6:32 PM
Who the F--- does Liberman think he is?
Posted by: Gordon Mathis | October 8, 2009 10:44 PM
Call your reps and tell them not to pass this bill with Lieberman's idiotic amendment intact. Someone's gotta stop this guy.
Posted by: Danny Davis Watch | October 9, 2009 1:32 AM
Is John@ 1:06 doing very subtle snark?
Sadly, I fear not.
How does a person only notice the fake birth certificate, but not the announcement two days later that it was fake, nor the Hawaiian birth certificate, nor the press release in a Hawaiian newspaper nor...
???
Posted by: Whispers | October 9, 2009 3:05 AM
This is a shameful move, and dangerous. The photos should be released.
Has Lieberman cast any good vote on any matter of importance? His percentage must be pretty low. He actively works to screw things up in the meantime.
Posted by: Batocchio | October 9, 2009 1:11 PM
Photos from Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo (0.00 / 0)
If the MSNBC story
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/67...
is to be believed, along with other rather unsavory stories that purport to show that IDF and/or US contracting firms CACI & Titan are involved in torture, then the junior senator from CT does have every reason not to want the photos to see the light of day. CACI and Titan are reputed to subcontract work to the IDF. These connections are somewhat tenuous, though certainly not out of the realm of possibility.
Who was it who said sunlight is the best disinfectant? Sometimes the disinfectant can sting in the process of doing its job.
Posted by: Jack45 | October 9, 2009 5:24 PM
>>>Obama doesn't want to upset his muslim brothers. Seriously, if he never provided a birth certificate, but one has been found in Kenya for him, why is he still President? VOTE REPUBLICAN IN 2010 AS IF YOUR LIFE DEPENDED ON IT! IT PROBABLY DOES!
Orly Taitz has been slapped with a $25,000 fine for this BS. I hope you get it too. You dolt! there are two kenyan birth certificate so far both fakes and come on this board to spew the nonsense. Go to Fox borad where lies are the order of the day.
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Posted by: links of london | February 4, 2010 1:33 AM
These pictures needed to be released. People need to know the abuse that is going on.
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Posted by: james lee | February 9, 2010 7:38 PM