Tuesday, June 02, 2009

Obama's Photo Flip-Flop Explained


McClatchey Newspapers reports that it was Iraqi prime minister Nouri al Maliki who twisted Barack Obama's arm to get him not to release further atrocity photos from the notorious Abu Ghraib prison.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki warned that Iraq would erupt into violence and that Iraqis would demand that U.S. troops withdraw from Iraq a year earlier than planned, two U.S. military officers, a senior defense official and a State Department official have told McClatchy.

...Maliki warned that releasing the photos would lead to more violence that could delay the scheduled U.S. withdrawal from cities by June 30 and that Iraqis wouldn't make a distinction between old and new photos. The public outrage and increase in violence could lead Iraqis to demand a referendum on the security agreement and refuse to permit U.S. forces to stay until the end of 2011.

Maliki said, "Baghdad will burn" if the photos are released, said a second U.S. military official.

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/100/story/69213.html?storylink=omni_popular

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