Originally posted by: Don_Vito
Our nation was founded on a set of principles that emphasize the importance of a free flow of information. Other things being equal, I think we always need to err in favor of more information, rather than less. Absent some particularized need to withhold some images (either because of a pending court-martial, for genuine national security reasons, etc), I think they should all be released.
The thing is, information is like water in today's culture, and it will find a way to flow, even if it's through a tiny hole. Somebody outside DoD will, through some channels, lay their hands on these, and when they do, they will be on the Internet within a day, and available to the world. In turn, they will materialize in newspapers in NY, Cairo, Jerusalem, Sao Paolo, Moscow, etc. At least if the US government releases them, it can do so on its own terms, and in doing so, send the message that it is not a shadow government with something to hide.
The only way to prevent the prisoner-abuse scandal from getting even worse is by taking the bull by the horns and confronting these issues head-on IMO.