McCain urges Obama to classify detainee photos
* Fear of backlash against troops
* Congressional battle (Adds Lieberman, Graham, Landrieu comments)
By Steve Holland
WASHINGTON, June 11 (Reuters) - Republican Senator John McCain and three allies urged President Barack Obama on Thursday to classify photographs said to depict the abuse of terrorism suspects to ensure they do not become public.
Obama is fighting release of the photos in the courts because of concern they could lead to violence against U.S. troops abroad but has not declared them secret.
"All he has to do today is use an executive order to declare these photos classified material," said McCain, who lost the 2008 presidential election to Obama.
"That's all he has to do," he told Reuters in a telephone interview.
The White House had no comment.
The photos, taken by U.S. personnel, are at the heart of a political debate in Washington. Some Democrats want them released as a way to close the books on Bush-era harsh interrogation practices that Obama has banned.
Obama, after agreeing initially to release them in response to a court order in a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union, reversed himself last month.
The president sided with military commanders who want to avoid making them public fearing they would unleash a backlash against U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The issue has become caught up in the Democratic-controlled U.S. Congress, where Democrats and Republicans have battled over whether to create a "truth commission" to investigate the treatment of terrorism suspects.
Two of McCain's Senate allies, Joe Lieberman, an independent, and Lindsey Graham, a Republican, attempted to include a provision in a spending bill that would prohibit for three years the disclosure of images of abused prisoners photographed from Sept. 11, 2001, to Jan. 22, 2009.
Democrats in the House of Representatives want to cut the provision as a way to induce enough Democratic votes to pass the $100 billion bill to fund wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Democrats on Thursday abruptly adjourned a meeting to resolve the final differences on the war bill amid concerns about whether they had enough votes to win passage without the ban in it.
Obama was on the phone with senators to try to persuade them to support the war funding bill without including the ban on releasing the photos, Democratic Senator Mary Landrieu told reporters. She said she would vote for the bill without the photo restriction because it was "more dangerous not funding the troops."
The House Democrats fought off one attempt to put the provision back in the bill, but Senate Democrats were facing an attempt to insert it by their Republican counterparts.
FILIBUSTER?
McCain, Graham, Lieberman and Republican Senator John Kyl held a news conference to promote the issue. Lieberman threatened to try to block the spending bill using a procedural hurdle known as a filibuster.
"If there is not legislation (prohibiting disclosure of the photos) or an executive from the president (prohibiting it), there is a high probability that the court will order that the photos be released," Lieberman said.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, told reporters he doubted the photos would be released, saying: "That is pretty clear. The president has said so. (Defense) Secretary (Robert) Gates has said so."
A conference of House and Senate lawmakers had an intense public debate about whether to include the prohibition in the war funding bill but rejected one attempt to keep it in so far.
"I don't know of anybody in favor of releasing the photos," said Democratic Representative Dave Obey, but acknowledged he did not have the votes in the House to pass the legislation if the photo ban was included. (Editing by Peter Cooney) (steve.a.holland@reuters.com)
* Congressional battle (Adds Lieberman, Graham, Landrieu comments)
By Steve Holland
WASHINGTON, June 11 (Reuters) - Republican Senator John McCain and three allies urged President Barack Obama on Thursday to classify photographs said to depict the abuse of terrorism suspects to ensure they do not become public.
Obama is fighting release of the photos in the courts because of concern they could lead to violence against U.S. troops abroad but has not declared them secret.
"All he has to do today is use an executive order to declare these photos classified material," said McCain, who lost the 2008 presidential election to Obama.
"That's all he has to do," he told Reuters in a telephone interview.
The White House had no comment.
The photos, taken by U.S. personnel, are at the heart of a political debate in Washington. Some Democrats want them released as a way to close the books on Bush-era harsh interrogation practices that Obama has banned.
Obama, after agreeing initially to release them in response to a court order in a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union, reversed himself last month.
The president sided with military commanders who want to avoid making them public fearing they would unleash a backlash against U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The issue has become caught up in the Democratic-controlled U.S. Congress, where Democrats and Republicans have battled over whether to create a "truth commission" to investigate the treatment of terrorism suspects.
Two of McCain's Senate allies, Joe Lieberman, an independent, and Lindsey Graham, a Republican, attempted to include a provision in a spending bill that would prohibit for three years the disclosure of images of abused prisoners photographed from Sept. 11, 2001, to Jan. 22, 2009.
Democrats in the House of Representatives want to cut the provision as a way to induce enough Democratic votes to pass the $100 billion bill to fund wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Democrats on Thursday abruptly adjourned a meeting to resolve the final differences on the war bill amid concerns about whether they had enough votes to win passage without the ban in it.
Obama was on the phone with senators to try to persuade them to support the war funding bill without including the ban on releasing the photos, Democratic Senator Mary Landrieu told reporters. She said she would vote for the bill without the photo restriction because it was "more dangerous not funding the troops."
The House Democrats fought off one attempt to put the provision back in the bill, but Senate Democrats were facing an attempt to insert it by their Republican counterparts.
FILIBUSTER?
McCain, Graham, Lieberman and Republican Senator John Kyl held a news conference to promote the issue. Lieberman threatened to try to block the spending bill using a procedural hurdle known as a filibuster.
"If there is not legislation (prohibiting disclosure of the photos) or an executive from the president (prohibiting it), there is a high probability that the court will order that the photos be released," Lieberman said.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, told reporters he doubted the photos would be released, saying: "That is pretty clear. The president has said so. (Defense) Secretary (Robert) Gates has said so."
A conference of House and Senate lawmakers had an intense public debate about whether to include the prohibition in the war funding bill but rejected one attempt to keep it in so far.
"I don't know of anybody in favor of releasing the photos," said Democratic Representative Dave Obey, but acknowledged he did not have the votes in the House to pass the legislation if the photo ban was included. (Editing by Peter Cooney) (steve.a.holland@reuters.com)
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