Obama Says "More Transparency" - While Gates Says "Except When It Comes To Torture Evidence"

You cannot make this stuff up.

On the one hand, you've got the President, traveling to foreign lands and sounding that all-American call for transparency and open government. On the other hand, you've got the President's Department of Defense fighting for just the opposite - less visibility and blocking open government.

President Obama is visiting China and telling folks there that open communication and freedom of speech is a good thing. Meanwhile, back home in Washington, D.C., his administration is filing Supreme Court motions to block the publication of photos sought under the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA).

President Obama's remarks at a "town hall" meeting in China, according to an Associated Press report, included a statement that said unfettered access to information "should be available to all people."

(The article also reports the President as saying "We do not seek to impose any system of government on any other nation." I'm wondering how the citizens of Iraq and Afghanistan are reacting to that statement?)http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5isOFwdbq0tsqatW6vJpkDRTI1gMgD9C0GJ400

Unfortunately, unfettered access to information is just what the Defense Department does not want. Thanks to a compliant Congress and President Obama's signature - which passed a law circumventing the FOIA for just this circumstance - Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has barred the release of 21 photos showing American soldiers torturing and humiliating Iraqi detainees.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/11/15/scotus.detainee.photos/index.html

According to press reports, the Obama administration filed a brief with the Supreme Court late Friday supporting Gates' blocking the release of the photos. The American Civil Liberties Union is seeking publication of the photos, and promises to keep working towards that end.

President Obama had initially indicated he would not stop the release of the photos, many taken at the infamous Abu Ghraib prison by soldiers in charge of prisoners. But he later reversed course and supported suppression of the documents.

So Mr. President, which is it? Freedom of information for all citizens is good for the Chinese, but not so much for Americans? How can you urge other countries to practice transparency and open dissemination of information while simultaneously shielding documents proving evidence of government law-breaking from publication at home?

How do these guys stand up on the world stage and say this stuff with a straight face?

Read The Fine Print

An Associated Press story this morning says that President Obama is dissatisfied with the options given him for prosecuting the war in Afghanistan and wants changes. But there's some fine print that didn't make the headlines.

http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-general/20091109/US.US.Afghanistan/

As usual, "the officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss administration deliberations."

Unfortunately, these same officials were also the source of these remarks (the highlights are mine):

"Obama is still expected to send in more troops to bolster a deteriorating war effort."

"The sense that he was being rushed and railroaded has stiffened Obama's resolve to seek information and options...though a substantial troop increase is still likely."

"The White House says Obama has not made a final (plan) choice...(but) he appears near to approving a slightly smaller increase than (General) McChrystal wants at the outset."

Make no mistake, it's a good thing to talk about dissatisfaction with the Afghan War, and it's good to have that story coming out of the White House. It would really be something to draw down troops and leave. That is obviously not happening. Read the fine print.

President Obama is fulfilling his campaign promises to expand the war in Afghanistan. Even as unnamed administration sources seek to paint a different picture.

Yes, the president is saying, we'll send more troops. But I will complain grumpily while signing the authorization. And yes, I'm in charge.

And finally, this statement:

"He remains close to announcing his revamped war strategy - troops are just one component..."

The troops are also the component that is on the ground, shooting and returning fire, killing and dying. How many more Afghans and Americans will die as the USA "revamps" its destructive strategy? That fine print is deadly.

Talk is cheap. Scarring and ending thousands of lives carry the highest costs imaginable.