Wheee! now that’s some changey mchopefulness right there!
President Obama will oppose the release of several dozen photos depicting abuse of detainees held in U.S. military custody abroad, reversing his previous position on the grounds that the pictures could inflame anti-American sentiment and endanger U.S. troops.
In announcing the shift today, the White House said in a statement that Obama “strongly believes that the release of these photos, particularly at this time, would only serve the purpose of inflaming the theaters of war, jeopardizing US forces, and making our job more difficult in places like Iraq and Afghanistan.”
Yes, because the Iraqis had totally forgotten about that, and we don’t want to make them mad again.
why, everything’s been so quiet there lately and we don’t want to stir up trouble by taking responsibility or anything like that.
Oh and look: our old friend and Obama mentor Joe Lieberman played a helpful role:
Sens. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) wrote Obama last week to urge him to fight the release of the photos.
“The release of these old photographs of past behavior that has now been clearly prohibited can serve no public good, but will empower al-Qaeda propaganda operations, hurt our country’s image, and endanger our men and women in uniform,” wrote Graham and Lieberman.
Goodness me, it’s just a bunch of old photographs that serve no public good. like this one. or this one. or this one. Nope, there’s no public good in remembering or rectifying atrocities. If we remember them, we’ll have to say never again, and goodness me, we don’t want to do that do we?
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Hoooray for President Hopey McChange, who has also changed his mind on Military Commissions in Guantanamo! Oh but don’t worry: it’s not as kanagarooey as it was under Bush (just not quite in line with our normal standards fo justice either):
Yay! I’m so filled with change and hopeyness I have to throw up!