Al Jazeera seems to be reporting the US State Department's response to Australian television broadcasts of new pictures of Abu Gharib torture as a tactical defeat for the United States:Bryan Whitman, a senior spokesman for the defence department, responded to the broadcast by Australian television network SBS of previously unpublished images of prisoner abuse.If only the US spokesman could have said: "As Justice Brandeis said, 'Sunlight is the best disinfectant.'The public has a right to know, and we took strong measures to end these reported abuses when they were first reported. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld took full responsibility at that time and he will announce his resignation this afternoon."
"The department believes that a further release of images could only further inflame and possibly incite unnecessary violence in the world and would endanger our military men and women that are serving around the world," he said.
Whitman said he did not know whether US officials had reviewed the photos and video clips or whether they were among a group of images the department had been withholding from public release since 2004.
Here's a link to the Australian TV news report with the photos.
Where on earth is Rudy Giuliani?
