Release the Photos

In an interview with CNN's Campbell Brown that is scheduled to be aired tonight, former President Carter apparently expresses disagreement with Barack Obama over whether photographs of detainee abuse should be released to the public.

I know it's a lot tougher to be president — and bear the responsibility for making tough decisions — than it is to be an outsider who can criticize any decision that is made. And I have said that I believe Obama's attitude — that we should look ahead, not back — is noble.

But, even before Obama was inaugurated in January, I wrote that the decisions that were made by the Bush White House needed to be thoroughly investigated so the same mistakes would not be made again. I believe that is particularly important when the subject is torture.

I understand Obama's position when he says releasing the photographs could endanger the troops.

My problem is that it's essentially the same position George W. Bush took. At the time, it seemed to be a convenient way to provide cover for anything that was being done.

I don't want to put American troops at risk unnecessarily. But I feel that has already been done. That was done long ago. And I believe those troops will continue to be at risk until they are finally removed from Iraq.

Basically, I'm inclined to agree with President Carter when he says, "What I would like to see is a complete examination of what did happen, the identification of any perpetrators of crimes against our own laws or against international law. And then after all that's done, decide whether or not there should be any prosecutions."

So many things were done behind closed doors for the last eight years.

If "change we can believe in" is going to be more than an empty campaign slogan, this is a good way to prove it.