Barack Obama has placed his administration squarely against the ACLU on the release of detainee photos.

From the Politico

President Barack Obama’s decision to withhold photographs of abused detainees marks the next phase in the education of the new president on the complicated, combustible issue of torture.

Conservatives praised the move as a sign of Obama’s growth in office, while civil libertarians denounced it as a betrayal of the change he’d campaigned on.

But it also marked a growing recognition inside the White House of how explosive the question of torture has become — swamping his predecessor’s legacy, entangling the speaker of the House and threatening to overwhelm Obama’s agenda.

“He plainly does not want his agenda sidetracked by a long debate over torture — much less high-profile prosecutions,” said former Clinton aide Paul Begala. “And yet there is no avoiding the issue. It will not go away, and wishing it away won’t work.”

Begala said he favors establishing an independent commission to investigate torture, which Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton both appeared to support for one day last month before backtracking.

The administration also has sent mixed signals on prosecuting former Bush administration officials involved in devising interrogation policy.

The ACLU and allies on the left are upset with Obama from reversing his earlier position and taking the Bush/Cheney line.  A position he criiticized during his campaign.  And we thought John Kerry was a flip flopper.

 

 

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