Obama reverses on release of abuse photos

President Barack Obama announced his administration was reversing course about the release of photographs depicting the abuse of foreign prisoners. We're rating this the first Full Flop of the Obama presidency. Full Story »

Posted by Derek Hawkins
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Posted by: Posted by Derek Hawkins - May 14, 2009 - 2:52 PM PDT
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Edited by: Derek Hawkins - May 14, 2009 - 3:31 PM PDT

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4.0
by Derek Hawkins - May. 14, 2009

Hail to PolitiFact for this fair, detailed and timely analysis. The Web site wasted no time vetting Obama's decision to withhold photos of detainee abuse. High marks for relevance and fairness.

This is an enormous disappointment for me. In fact, I'd call it an outrage that the administration won't release these photos.

But during the next two weeks, the Obama administration reversed course. On May 13, Gibbs said the administration would not release the photos and would appeal any rulings ... More »

See Full Review » (14 answers)
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4.1
by Vincent Caminiti - May. 15, 2009

This story is brief but delivers a concise record of the facts. It doesn't pretend to test theories or create further questions - it was on the other hand relentlessly factual for the bold points. Clearly the administration has reversed their position on the release of the photographs, however most news sources have omitted the origin of the original release. This story connects the dots very well and fairly.

Personally, I'm still believing that the Administration's rationale is sufficient for the time being; however, I reserve the right to put on the ... More »

See Full Review » (20 answers)
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3.8
by Dwight Rousu - May. 19, 2009

The flip from open democracy to the flop of secret abuse is documented in a straight forward way.

The links show some of the photos. Releasing is happening despite Obama. The world knows the US tortured; prosecuting the perpetrators would help ... More »

See Full Review » (13 answers)
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4.0
by Glenn LaBauve - May. 15, 2009
See Full Review » (2 answers)
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4.4
by Nancy Scott - May. 16, 2009

The article gave both sides to the issue as well as observing that Obama totally flipped his opinion on the issue of government transparency.

I very much agree that Obama flip flopped on the moral issue of having a transparent government as opposed to being sneaky and hiding even what is ... More »

See Full Review » (7 answers)

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Ratings

4.1

Good
from 5 reviews (50% confidence)
Quality
4.2
Facts
4.5
Fairness
4.5
Information
4.0
Insight
4.0
Sourcing
4.3
Style
3.7
Accuracy
4.0
Balance
4.0
Context
4.3
Depth
3.2
Enterprise
3.0
Expertise
4.0
Originality
3.0
Relevance
4.7
Transparency
4.0
Responsibility
4.0
Popularity
3.8
Recommendation
4.2
Credibility
3.5
# Reviews
2.5
# Views
5.0
# Likes
1.0
# Emails
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Links Help

  • 'Prisoner abuse' photographs surface as Barack Obama prepares to block publication - Telegraph (Pending)

    Posted by Dwight Rousu
  • New outrage over Iraq prison abuse photographs - Telegraph (Pending)

    Posted by Dwight Rousu
  • McCain Backs Obama on Blocking Abuse Photos (Pending)

    Senator John McCain on Thursday welcomed President Obama’s decision to oppose the release of photographs documenting prisoner abuse in Iraq and Afghanistan by United States ...
    Posted by Glenn LaBauve
    2.0