About Those Imminent Prisoner Abuse Photos

The Wall Street Journal gives another perspective on the coming (May 28) release of a new batch of photographs documenting prisoner abuse in U.S.-run prisons in Iraq and elsewhere during the "war on terror":

The real problem with releasing these photos begins with the likelihood that they will extract a toll on vital American interests, like getting better cooperation from Pakistan in the fight against the Taliban. More seriously, it also includes the possibility that they will extract a toll in American lives.

The full editorial is here. It is a serious point, but of course the paper also wants this issue to go away. It does not want investigations that may show that the abuse, torture, under Bush was widespread, indeed systematic and ordered from up high. There are other interests in Washington with a stake in preventing a thorough revisiting of how this happened: Obama would rather prevent what will amount to a small civil war if prosecutions of top Bush officials went forward; the Democratic leadership in Congress isn't eager for its apparent complicity (at least: lack of resistance) to be exposed fully; and something similar goes for the mainstream press.