Judge Gives Terrorist New Weapon

A New York judge ruled that the US Government must release pictures of abused Iraqi detainees regardless of defense claims that the pictures could harm America. Judge Alvin Hellerstein squashed the governments argument that if the unreleased pictures are exposed they could harm Americas image and spur anti-American violence, warning that the US courtroom does not "surrender to blackmail". Hellerstein granted the request made by leading civil rights group, the American Civil Liberties Union, to see nearly 90 unseen pictures and four video tapes of US soldiers allegedly abusing detainees. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Richard Myers, stated in court papers that the revelation of the photos would aid al-Qaeda an incite violence against US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. In response to Myers and Pentagon statements, the judge ruled in a 50-page opinion that his task is not to "defer to our worst fears, but to interpret and apply the law" and ensure transparency and accountability in government. He said that "terrorists" have already proven they need no "pretexts for their barbarism". "The freedoms that we champion are as important to our success in Iraq and Afghanistan as the guns and missiles with which our troops are armed," he said. The ruling comes on the heels of a three-year jail sentence for Army reservist Lynndie England, who was infamously photographed taunting and pointing at nude detainees at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. Several soldiers have been punished for mistreating detainees, but civil rights groups argue the sentencing was light and are pushing for top Pentagon officials to also be held accountable for abuse by the US military.