President Barack Obama's decision to block the upcoming release of Bush-era detainee abuse photos, has caused quite a firestorm across bloggerville. Obama, who continues to distance himself and demonstrate independence from his left-leaning base, reversed his original position to allow hundreds of 'never-before-seen' photos to be released to the American public after conferring with his military and national security experts.
According to President Obama:
"...publication of these photos would not add any additional benefit to our understanding of what was carried out in the past by a small number of individuals. In fact, the most direct consequence of releasing them would be to further inflame anti-American opinion, and to put our troops in greater danger."
Angry, vile, and vicious comments, aimed specifically at Obama, have been posted on hundreds of blog sites... with many of his faithful followers voicing feelings of betrayal and of being double-crossed by Obama's decision.
"Obama's decision "makes a mockery" of his promise of greater transparency and accountability. By withholding these photographs from public view, the Obama administration is making itself complicit in the Bush administration's torture policies," ACLU attorney Amrit Singh said.
Obama's no fool... and he is a shrewd politician! With a major speech to the Islamic world already being planned, and slated to be held in Egypt one week after the scheduled release of those now canceled inflammatory photos, Obama realizes that his message to that culture would have been lost in the controversy if those photos were circulated prior to his trip. His advisors were wise to counsel him to take the immediate heat from his left-rooted base for the greater gamble of scoring big among the Muslim community around the world with his upcoming speech.
President Obama must continue to govern center-right and keep making the right moves he has been making thus far.
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