Gates Bars Abuse Photos Release

[Hissyspit]

Source: SCOTUS Blog

Gates bars abuse photos’ release
Friday, November 13th, 2009 11:10 pm | Lyle Denniston |

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates ruled on Friday that 44 photos that reportedly show abuse of detainees by the U.S. military in Iraq and Afghanistan cannot be released publicly. The Obama Administration notified the Supreme Court on Friday evening of this action by the Pentagon leader, and urged the Court to set aside a lower court ruling directing release of those photos. The new brief was filed in Defense Department v. American Civil Liberties Union (09-160).

The Court may act on the new filing as early as next Monday.

The Pentagon had appealed the case to the Supreme Court, to get a ruling on whether the photos at issue are exempt from mandatory disclosure under the federal Freedom of Information Act. The government was relying on Exemption 7(F) of the Act, which protects law enforcement records that, if released, could be expected “to endanger the life or physical safety of any individual.” The Second Circuit Court, however, ruled that this exemption only applies if a government agency identities at least oen specific individual who would be endangered, and it concluded that the Pentagon had not done so.

While the Pentagon petition was pending at the Court, however, Congress passed an amendment to FOIA, explicitly to overrule the Second Circuit ruling so far as it applied o the 44 military photos, some of which have been made public and some of which have been used in criminal prosecutions within the military. The new law, signed by President Obama on Oct. 28, is written so that it reaches photos taken between the 9/11 attacks in 2001 and last Jan. 22 relating to treament of individuals captured abroad by the military after 9/11.

Read more: http://www.scotusblog.com/wp/gates-bars-abuse-photos-re... /

[Golden Raisin]

1. Truth, Justice and the American Way.

This country will never heal, nor regain stature in the global community until our torture and fascistic experimentation is brought to light and (hopefully) publicly repudiated. Not holding my breath.

[Wizard777]

3. Saddam was torturing Iraqi's and we had to invade and topple his government.

Because apparently torturing Iraqi's is our job.

[Piewhacket]

14. If you remove the sarcasm in your post, I'll agree with you.

Sarcasm is a form of humor that uses sharp, cutting remarks or language intended to mock, wound, or subject to contempt or ridicule, generally saying the opposite of what the statement really is. (Wikipedia).

for example:

The tree of liberty thrives on the blood of our torture victims.

[Golden Raisin]

17. I meant the sarcasm to

apply to "Truth, Justice and the American Way" which (if it ever really existed) was basically destroyed and spat upon by the Bush/Cheney administration.

[Piewhacket]

26. Ah... I see. Tricky stuff, sarcasm. Then I share your sentiment.

Our most fundamental tenets of civilized behavior
have been trampled without accountability.

We gave entered a most dangerous, corrupt,
and lawless time.

While we see the danger, we also see what may be done.
"Truth, Justice, and the American Way", as we once
understood it, may still be rekindled from the ashes.
So long as one person keeps alive its spark.

Thank you.

[ShortnFiery]

32. Sadly that "one person" is NOT one each, Defense Secretary Gates.

We just roll-over while THIS, a Democratic Administration HELPS the previous one to cover-up WAR CRIMES?

Don't give me this BUNK about "keeping the spark alive." Our boys and girls are in charge ... they are also GUILTY of complicity and cover-up if Gates, Holder, etc., can't make *the tough* decisions.

I'm disgusted.

In fact, I'm done with any shred of LOYALTY to *The Party.*

There's no HOPE or JUSTICE here, just one large corrupt system - a corporate duopoly.

Yeah, it's over for democracy when we attempt to buck-up each other with platitudes.

[Piewhacket]

33. Hey, when you're right, your'e right ShortnFiery.

But just so we understand that... disgust or not, loyalty or not,
hope or not, winnable or not, platitudes or not...

NOTHING IS DEAD. NOTHING IS OVER!
AND AIN'T NOBODY BLEEPING GIVEN UP!

We can all see that
the entire system has been corrupted to its core.
Democratic institutions have collapsed.
The people are no longer in charge. Corporations rule.
People have acted stupidly, like sheep, and have given
away the birthright of power for a broken promise of
pottage.

We can see that people now act from hate, from greed, from fear.
Herded like cattle into false choices. But all this
is rooted in ignorance. Education is the blood, sinew, and hope of democracy.
Our educational institutions, like our democracy, has been nearly destroyed.

This has long been coming and the fix is not so easy, nor soon.
Too many things have been damaged. All safeguards have been
damaged or destroyed. It will take generations to fix, if ever.
Keep that in mind.

The thing we need, above all, is to help re-establish that
we are a nation of laws, not of corporations.
Then other things, including make just law.

Keep in mind David Swanson (of DU).. he is in there swinging.
A small voice. But he understands part of what must be done.
And has committed himself to it.
Give him a listen and a rec as you can.

As for Obama, do not have loyalty to him, or to a party,
have loyalty to your principles. Still, we are lucky Obama came
along or we would be in very deep shit indeed.
Very lucky to have him.

But he is not the answer. WE ARE.
Don't forget. K?

(You ain't the only one handling fire, ShortnFirey)

[Wizard777]

2. The new law is an Ex Post Facto law and should be challenged as such.

[annabanana]

6. Any word on the ACLU response to this?. . . n/t

[Wizard777]

16. No I haven't heard.

[JustinL]

31. they've now posted a response on their website

...

“We are disappointed that Secretary Gates has invoked new legislation to keep the torture photos secret,” said Jameel Jaffer, Director of the ACLU National Security Project. “These photos are an important part of the historical record and they are crucial to the ongoing debate about accountability. In withholding the photos, Secretary Gates has cited national security concerns, but no democracy has ever been made stronger by suppressing information about its own misconduct."

An amendment to a Homeland Security appropriations bill passed at the end of last month grants the Department of Defense the authority to suppress certain photographs deemed harmful to national security. Secretary Gates’ decision invokes the authority of the amendment, but his certification is categorical with respect to all of the photos and fails to provide the individualized assessment that the amendment's language requires and also fails to provide any basis for the claim that disclosure of the photos would harm national security.

The ACLU plans to file a responsive brief. The organization had previously sent a letter to Secretary Gates urging him not to exercise the authority to suppress the photos in its case, stating that the photos "are of critical relevance to an ongoing national debate about accountability.”

...

http://www.aclu.org/national-security/secretary-defense...

[harkadog]

25. Ex Post Facto applies to criminal matters

FOIA is a civil matter.

[Wizard777]

29. The photo's show criminal acts. So it's akin to new rules of evidence or discovery.

Ex post facto applies.

[Solly Mack]

4. Cowardly and corrupt

[saigon68]

24. Gates = War criminal

Why the present Occupant enables this ass-wipe GATES

and allows Joementum Limpmann to continue boggles the mind.

[lamp_shade]

5. Good.

[Mari333]

7. Is Bush still in office?? seems like it....nt

[MetaTrope]

8. News Fridays do seem to have much the same tenor, don't they?

[go west young man]

9. So true.

What a joke we must be to the rest of the world.

[liquid diamond]

18. Ah.

Another Obama = Bush post. You people amaze me.

[defendandprotect]

21. GATES was deeply involved in "October Surprise" and other serious mischief . . .

Iran-Contra, if I recall correctly, as well --

But this may be taking us closer to the "Who" and "Why" of the photos not

being released?????????

But it's obviously cover up --

[Hepburn]

10. WE are the government....

...you, me, all of us citizens.

Excuse me...but I do believe WE have a right to see WFT was done in our name.

Fuck that shit, IMO.

[mcablue]

11. Sadly, the photos won't be released. The Senate recently passed an amendment hiding them forever

The amendment was written by Lieberman and Graham and was approved by the Senate.

Unfortunately.

[defendandprotect]

22. Wow . . . that got done quietly, didn't it ????

Glad you noticed -- !!

[Go2Peace]

27. Some of us noticed. I thought we were through with Bush type non-transparency

That was really dissapointing. There is no excuse for crap like that in a Democratic administration. Obama should have overruled him and replaced him if he said anything. But I am afraid that it wasn't a sole decision.

[tavalon]

12. Next, we plan on not doing the abuse that led to those pictures

This is the ostrich defense, I see.

[mbperrin]

13. MY taxes paid for the torture; my taxes paid for the pictures; my taxes pay

every politician's salary. Those are my photos, and I have the perfect right to see what has been done in MY name, with MY money, by MY paid officials.

Then and only then can I decide on what I need to do about it.

This defense is worse than "I was just following orders." This defense is, "If you can't see it, it never happened."

Evil AND stupid. Just about sums up the American foreign policy of the last, oh, 30 years or so....

[Bluenorthwest]

15. A Republican announcing a coverup on a Friday

When is the Inauguration? I thought they did that some time back?

[unaffiliated liberal]

19. More change we can believe in?

More like small change we were tricked into voting for.

[MetaTrope]

23. Here's a rainbow for everyone

And a lollipop!





Oh damn, how did that get in there?

Wait--look--unicorns!

[Go2Peace]

28. look Unicorns! So true

[earcandle]

20. Gee, I hope nobody drops a bomb on washington and Goldman Sachs, etc. any time soon.

[classysassy]

30. Even

when the republican are out of office it seem they still run the show.

[TheLastMohican]

34. What do you mean bars?

They are all over the freaking internet already.

[marshall]

35. The cost of freedom hurts, like anything else that is worthwhile

The founders of this country were willing to put their asses on the line (as well as the safety of their families, property, livlihood, and futures) in order to establish "a more perfect union".

Why can't we do the same?

[FedUpWithIt All]

36. Well i guess the rumors were correct and those images were REALLY BAD.

Otherwise, why all the trouble.