Obama U-turn on abuse photographs
Photos purporting to show prisoner abuse in Iraq were published in 2004
US President Barack Obama has changed his mind and will now attempt to block the publication of photographs showing the abuse of prisoners by US soldiers.
The US government had previously said it would not fight a court ruling ordering the release of the pictures.
Mr Obama now believes the release of the photos would make the job of US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan more difficult, White House officials said.
The pictures were due to be released by 28 May, according to the court ruling.
The court order was issued by the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in September 2008, in response to a Freedom of Information Act request by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
'Disappointed'
The US Department of Defence had been preparing to release the images, but Mr Obama has now directed his White House Counsel, Greg Craig, to raise an objection to their publication.
The dispute could now end up before the US Supreme Court.
"The president does not believe that the strongest case regarding the release of these photos was presented to the court, and that was a case based on his concern about what the release of these would do to our national security," said White House Spokesman Robert Gibbs.
"He believes that the release of these photos could pose a threat to the men and women we have in harm's way in Iraq and Afghanistan," Mr Gibbs added.
Mr Obama had been advised against publication by Defence Secretary Robert Gates, Centcom commander Gen David Petraeus and the commander of US forces in Iraq, Gen Ray Odierno, a Pentagon official said.
The ACLU said it was "surprised and disappointed" by Mr Obama's decision, but that it would continue to fight for the photograph's release.
The BBC's Richard Lister in Washington says that although President Obama has insisted on the need for open government, it appears that on this issue he has been persuaded that - for now at least - such transparency risks doing more harm than good.
BBC
