CategoriesJoin Us At:
|
Proposed Appropriations Bill Would Allow Defense Department to Suppress Torture PhotosWe've just learned that the House and Senate conferees approved language today for the homeland security appropriations bill that, if passed, would grant the Department of Defense (DoD) the authority to continue suppressing photos depicting the abuse of prisoners in U.S. custody overseas. Since 2003, the ACLU has been seeking photos and records related to the abuse of prisoners in U.S. custody overseas through ongoing litigation under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The amendment originally introduced by Senator Joe Lieberman (I-CT) would allow DoD to exempt the photos from FOIA. A federal appeals court ordered the photos released (PDF) in September 2008, affirming a 2005 district court ruling (PDF). After initially indicating that it would not appeal the appellate court's decision and would release the photos, the Obama administration abruptly reversed its position in May and asked the Supreme Court to hear an appeal (PDF). The Supreme Court is expected to conference on whether it will hear the Obama administration appeal of the Second Circuit ruling later this week, on October 9. Jameel Jaffer, Director of the ACLU National Security Project stated in a press release: "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 the 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." We can't have accountability for torture without sunlight on the facts – including photographs – about the abuse of prisoners that took place under the Bush administration. The American public has a right to know what was done in its name.
We intend the comments portion of this blog to be a forum where you can freely express your views on blog postings and on comments made by other people. Given that, please understand that you are responsible for the material you post on the comments portion of this blog. The only postings that we ask that you refrain from posting and that we cannot permit on our website are requests for legal assistance and postings that could cause ACLU to incur legal liability.
One important law in that regard is the prohibition on politically partisan activity. Given our nonprofit status, we may not endorse or oppose candidates for elective office. That means we cannot host comments on our site that show a preference for one candidate or party. Although we in no way wish to discourage you from that activity elsewhere, we ask that you not engage in that activity on our website (or include links to other websites that do so). Additionally, given that we are subject to very specific rules concerning the collection of personally identifying information through our website (names, email addresses, home address, financial information, etc.), we ask that you not use the comments portion of this blog to solicit this information from users of our website. We also ask that you not use the comments portion for advertising or requests for legal assistance, and do not add to your comment links to other websites, as we cannot be responsible for the content on other websites. We are not able to respond to unsolicited inquiries, complaints or requests for assistance sent to this blog. Please direct your complaint or request for assistance to the ACLU affiliate in your state. Requests for legal assistance left in the blog comments will not receive a response or be published. Finally, the ACLU cannot guarantee the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any information in the comment section and expressly disclaims any liability for any information in this section. 2 Responses to "Proposed Appropriations Bill Would Allow Defense Department to Suppress Torture Photos" |
|
© ACLU, 125 Broad Street, 18th Floor New York, NY 10004 |
Oct 10th, 2009 at 10:02am
You know, sometimes you have a somewhat valid point on some things,but to me you are part of the probably in this country going down the tubes. The torture thing, well you all are screaming it's not right that we do this to those people, but I haven't heard a peep out of you in regards to them beheading our troops/people; I guess that's okay.It seems it's always the U.S. that you pick on. Well let me tell you, I've been all over the MidEast while in the Marine Corps (20 years)and those people in most parts are good people, but when it comes to military things they keep theirs noses out of it and let the military handle it; I strongly suggest you do the same, maybe you should go over there and try to tell them what to do, i'd give about a week before you're done away with or told to leave the country. War is war regardless how big or small it is and there are during theses times when somethings are better left hidden. This isn't a garden party world we're living in, never has been, and those people have been fighting among themselves since the beginning of time and they'll never change. So why don't you just leave the military alone, let them do their job the way they've been trained to do it and just maybe they and the good citizens of this country who believe the same about them doing it their way won't tell you to pack your bags and leave this country; it's to it sooner than you think.
Oct 13th, 2009 at 1:00pm
I thought that the U.S. was a nation with laws.But I guess torture and obstuction of justice are all right if you have God on your side.