As we reported here late last week, the Democratic leadership is moving to strip the Detainee Photographic Records Protection Act, which passed the Senate unanimously and with White House support, from the supplemental appropriations bill in order to appease liberals in the House. The amendment was put forward by Sens. Lieberman and Graham and the two are promising a fight if leadership does strip the provision out in conference:
“The President has said that the release of the photos of detainees in US custody would ‘put our troops and civilians serving our nation abroad in greater danger.’ We agree with the Commander in Chief. “We will employ all the legislative means available to us including opposing the supplemental war spending bill and attaching this amendment, which was unanimously adopted by the Senate, to every piece of legislation the Senate considers, to be sure the President has the authority he needs not to release these photos and any others that would jeopardize the safety and security of our troops. “The release of the photos will serve as propaganda and recruiting tool for terrorists who seek to attack American citizens at home and abroad. We should strive to have as open a government as possible, but the behavior depicted in the photos has been prohibited and is being investigated. The photos do not depict anything that is not already known. Transparency, and in this case needless transparency, should not be paid for with the lives of American citizens, let alone the lives of our men and women in uniform fighting on our behalf in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.
As Glenn Thrush reported this morning, Nancy Pelosi is already laying the groundwork for a reversal. Last week she told reporters, “If that’s what the president supports, then that’s what we support…I haven’t heard anything controversial associated with that….I will support the supplemental.” Today a Pelosi aide tell Thrush, “There is concern about the provision by the speaker, other leaders and members.” Just to sum up: the only way that House liberals will support continued funding of U.S. troops in harm’s way is if Congress does not impede the release of photographs that will amplify the danger those troops face. But we must never doubt that they support the troops.
