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 The President Has Great Concern - White House Press Briefing by Robert Gibbs 5/12/09 — Tuesday, May 12, 2009 —  MR. GIBBS: Major.Q Robert, Senators Graham and Lieberman have written the President a letter about pending release of the photographs of the treatment of detainees, and they would like the President to consider reversing that decision made by the Justice Department and the Department of Defense. And in their letter, they say the release of these old photographs of past behavior -- MR. GIBBS: Well, let me -- the decision made by the Department of Defense and the Department of Justice relating to a series of court cases dating back to September of 2008, as well as an appeals case dating back to March 11. Go ahead. Q That's the legal foundation, yes. And in their letter, they say this will "serve no public good" -- I'm quoting now -- "but will empower al Qaeda propaganda operations, hurt our country's image, and endanger our men and women in uniform." Is this something that is being considered by the President for reversal or is this a policy that will go forward? And does he have any anxiety about the potential consequences of the release of these photographs? MR. GIBBS: Well, obviously the President has great concern about any impact that pictures of detainee -- potential detainee abuse in the past could have on the present-day service members that are protecting our freedom either in Iraq, Afghanistan, or throughout the world. That's something the President is very cognizant of, and we are working to -- we are working currently to figure out what the process is moving forward. Q Does this mean -- does that mean the decision could be reversed? MR. GIBBS: I don't want to get into that right now. Q So you can't commit either way? MR. GIBBS: I'm not going to add much to that right now. Al Qaeda | Department of Justice | Photos | President Obama | Press Briefing | Robert Gibbs | War on Terror | White House Press Corps Labels: Al Qaeda, Department of Justice, Photos, President Obama, Press Briefing, Robert Gibbs, War on Terror, White House Press Corps >> Full Story
Posted by White House Press Corps @ 5:58:00 PM
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