Pentagon fights to conceal jail photos - World - smh.com.au

Pentagon fights to conceal jail photos - World - smh.com.au: "August 13, 2005
Senior Pentagon officials have opposed the release of photographs and videotapes of the abuse of detainees at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, arguing they would incite public opinion in the Muslim world and put the lives of US soldiers and officials at risk, court documents show.

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Richard Myers, said in a statement to support the Pentagon's case that he believed that 'riots, violence and attacks by insurgents will result' if the images are released. The papers were filed in US District Court in Manhattan in a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union to obtain under the Freedom of Information Act the release of 87 photos and four videotapes taken at Abu Ghraib. The photos were among those turned over to army investigators last year by Joseph Darby, a reservist who was posted at Abu Ghraib.

The documents reveal the high level and the determination of the Pentagon officials engaged in the effort to block the disclosure of the images, and their alarm at the prospect the photos might become public. In his statement, dated July 21, General Myers said he became aware on June 17 that the photos' release might be imminent. He said he consulted the US central commander, John Abizaid, and the commander of the US forces in Iraq, George Casey. Both officers also opposed the release, General Myers said.
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His statement makes it clear that he has examined the images and finds them disturbing. 'I condemn in the strongest terms the misconduct and abuse depicted in these images,' he said in the statement. 'It was illegal, immoral, and contrary to American values and character.'"