From the Raw Story:

Pursuant to new powers delegated to him by Congress, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has executed an order blocking the release of photos depicting the torture of detainees. In doing so, it becomes highly unlikely that the Supreme Court will further consider making the photos public, as a lower court had ordered.

In a new supplemental brief [PDF link] filed with the high court, the administration’s attorneys argue that the new law Congress passed to allow Gates this authority effectively exempts the photos from the Freedom of Information Act, therefore invalidating an earlier lawsuit.

“It now seems likely that today’s action will put an end to the issue, making it unnecessary for the court to hear the case,” MSNBC reported.

The American Civil Liberties Union, which sought the photos’ release, had urged Secretary Gates to release the photos. In an open letter [PDF link], the ACLU said the images must be seen because they show the “pervasiveness” of abuse across Iraq and Afghanistan and that it was “aberrational.”

[snip]

“In order to withhold the photos, Gates simply had to certify, as he did in the court filing, that ‘public disclosure of these photographs would endanger citizens of the United States, members of the United States Armed Forces, or employees of the United States Government deployed outside the United States,’” Mother Jones reporter Nick Baumann noted. “In other words, their release had to endanger someone, somewhere. And in the unlikely event that Gates had to stretch the truth to make that certification, it wouldn’t matter, since there’s no provision in the law that allows any court to review Gates’ determination or rule on whether it was truthful.”

Obama signed this new power into law. Once more, the compelling interest doctrine is cited to override your right to know what your government has been doing. The Obama government does not want you to know what every Arab and Persian knows. And Obama is helping to protect the Bushites from prosecution as war criminals.

But it’s freedom and democracy, as well as hope and change. So, don’t worry, everything is all right.