Now bear with me, because this is a strange notion but the courts are holding the government accountable.   Fascinating, right? The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has stated that the US cannot conceal photos that feature abusive treatment of detainees and prisoners by US soldiers that are working in Iraq and Afghanistan. Previously the US claimed they needed to conceal photos because they feared enemies might hurt someone (did the US forget we’re in the middle of a war? and the goal of our enemies is usually to hurt someone? it doesn’t have anything to do with a photo, the enemy knows what we’re doing to them)

But I digress, the court agreed with a 2006 decision and ordered the pictures be released to the ACLU as the threat of the photos is unspecific:

The Freedom of Information Act allows restrictions when images could reasonably be expected to endanger someone’s life or safety, but the appeals court said that exemption was meant for instances where threats were specific.

“It is plainly insufficient to claim that releasing documents could reasonably be expected to endanger some unspecified member of a group so vast as to encompass all United States troops, coalition forces and civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan,” the appeals court said.

In the future, it said, a government agency must identify at least one person who could be harmed with reasonable specificity if materials are made public. [Huffington Post]

This is such great news to wake up to - so much of what has happened in Iraq and Afghanistan has been things that the government needs to be held accountable for and this is a small step towards the government having to accept that accountability.

As they say, photos don’t lie - so even if they don’t accept accountability, at least we are that much closer to knowing the truth.

takepart with the social action campaign for Standard Operating Procedure, Errol Morris’ documentary about the infamous pictures at Abu Ghraib.   Let’s just hope this new ruling isn’t something that the higher-ups use to create more “bad apples.”

Read on:

Errol Morris Stands Up With The Power of Film

Time to Act : Sexual Assault and Women in the Military

Standard Operating Procedure reactions

**PHOTO - Some cameras by popitz (Creative Commons)