Pentagon to Release Photos From Detainee Custody Investigations

American Forces Press Service ^ | Gerry J. Gilmore

[SandRat]

WASHINGTON, April 24, 2009 – The Defense Department soon will release a substantial number of photos associated with concluded past investigations of alleged abuse of detainees, a senior official said here today.

The photos were used as part of internal military investigations conducted in Iraq and Afghanistan, not including the photos used during allegations of detainee abuse at the Abu Ghraib detention facility in Iraq, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters.

The pending late-May release of the photos comes from an agreement reached between the American Civil Liberties Union, the Justice Department and the Defense Department, Whitman said. The ACLU had sued the U.S. government for release of the photos.

A Justice Department letter filed yesterday in a New York District Court stated that the Defense Department would furnish 21 photographs ordered for release by the court and 23 other images involved in the lawsuit.

Additionally, the Justice Department letter stated, the Defense Department also will release "a substantial number of other images" contained in Army Criminal Investigation Division reports that have been closed. The Defense Department is to furnish all cited images by May 28, the letter said.

A number of the images being released in May were part of more than 60 investigations conducted by the U.S. military between 2003 and January 2006, Whitman said.

Since 2001, more than 400 military members charged with detainee abuse were found to be guilty of some form of misconduct, Whitman said. Punishment, he noted, ranged from imprisonment to bad-conduct discharges, reduction in rank and other types of punitive actions.

Defense Department policy always has advocated humane treatment of detainees, Whitman pointed out.

"We have, obviously, over time, found instances where performance has not matched policy," Whitman said. "And when the performance hasn't matched the policy, we've held people accountable for their actions."

"There are a number of [lawsuits] that we're dealing with for detainee photographs and so on," Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said to reporters yesterday during his visit to Camp Lejeune, N.C. "There's a certain inevitability, I believe, that much of this will eventually come out; much has already come out."

Related Sites:
Justice Department Letter

Related Articles:
Spokesman Cites Pentagon Cooperation in Interrogation Probe

[pissant]

May Obama and the ACLU rot in hell.

[taillightchaser]

I feel so safe having a muslim president. Come on over ossama and meet your fellow traveler. Can’t we all just get along—not!!
God help America!!!

[The Mayor]

SCUM, F’N SCUM!

[omega4179]

This is a disaster for our national security.

[RIRed]

They won’t rot in hell. They’ll burn in hell.

[wxgesr]

“May Obama and the ACLU rot in hell.”

You forgot about the burning part before they rot.

[FlingWingFlyer]

Obama and the ACLU. Just finishing what Osama started.

[taillightchaser]

This puke HAS to be stopped!!
He’s selling out our country-—when will the sheeple wake up??

[PhiKapMom]

Gates is getting down on the same level with ZERO. I never liked him but now I detest him. He has the spine of a jellyfish. Looks like he would rather kneepad for ZERO then support the men and women who swore an oath to defend this Country. Pretty bad when you cannot trust the SecDef to say NO!

[EagleUSA]

In all my years of watching many presidential administrations, I NEVER thought I would witness such deceit, such treachery, such anti-Americanism and sick, twisted politics in my days.

God help this great country and save it from this travesty.

[rightwingextremist1776]

If he had any man in him at all he would resign....

[pillut48]

"We have, obviously, over time, found instances where performance has not matched policy," Whitman said. "And when the performance hasn't matched the policy, we've held people accountable for their actions."

400 out of how many tens of thousands of decent, hard working, rule abiding military members?! What percent is that, like .00001%??

I'm not a lawyer, but I've heard a phrase in the past that perhaps may apply here--DOUBLE JEOPARDY?!

[petitfour]

I need to post this in a vanity or to find a news story about it. Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson is about to be host to a charter school run by Turkish (Americans? not sure) persons who actually require students to take Turkish. I know of a lot of people who are disturbed by this. It’s like the Trojan horse story. Why would the Air Force want a Turkish school (Sonoran Science Academy) on the base?

[NordP]

I have NEVER changed my mind since the very beginning with this man...HE’S A MUSLIM PLANT WHOSE GOAL IS TO DESTORY THE COUNTRY I LOVE.

[alfie]

This puke HAS to be stopped!!
He’s selling out our country-—when will the sheeple wake up??

not until it’s too late

[Tai_Chung]

They should not be released until the war is over.

[Radix]

Will there be any pictures of our Troops getting their heads chopped off?

[BARLF]

obama hasn’t really started after our military yet.He may wait until his own civilian army is in place. But, he will go after our brave warriors......Count on it.

[Wild Irish Rogue]

” Other disclosures to be considered in the weeks ahead include transcripts of detainee interrogations,
a CIA inspector general’s report that has largely been kept secret,
and background materials in a Justice Department investigation into prisoner abuse.”

Obama can’t wait to share our national secrets with Al Queda.
How is this continuing pattern of purposefully weakening national security not a high crime and misdemeanor ?