Obama: Move along, nothing to see here

Once upon a time, President Barack Obama promised open government and

 transparency. He pledged to overturn the pattern of cover-ups and secret undisclosed locations that plagued the Bush administration. He promised the American people that he would end that paternalistic Bush-Cheney sense of, in the words of South Park’s Officer Barbrady, “Move along. Nothing to see here.”

There was a time when Obama promised to get to the bottom of all the prisoner abuse that occurred at the hands of U.S. soldiers. After all, such abuse is counterproductive in the fight against terror. Not only that, but what kind of moral high ground can the U.S. have when it allows such activity as what happened in Abu Ghraib to occur?

There was a time when Obama slammed the Bush-Cheney administration for its “a few bad apples” defense.

How quickly all that got thrown out the proverbial window.

More photos of prisoner abuse by U.S. soldiers were supposed to be released by the end of the month, a move that was dictated by a court order. And initially, the Obama administration said it would not challenge the courts on this.

But Obama has changed his mind and will now ignore the court order, citing national security. Haven’t we heard this before – over the past 8 years?

He now reportedly says that releasing the photos is “of no benefit” and may inflame anti-American sentiment around the world. But he’s just plain wrong.

Releasing the photos would prove that the U.S. is a nation based upon the rules of democracy, transparency and open government. It would show that the U.S. is a nation that takes the rule of law seriously and does not tolerate abuse and torture.

The U.S., if it wants to win the so-called war on terror, must be a beacon for the rest of the world to follow, not an example of how to cover up wrongdoing in the shadows.

As the ACLU put it, Obama’s flip-flop “makes a mockery of President Obama’s promise of transparency and accountability.”

When Obama starts agreeing with Dick Cheney on issues of national security, you know we are in trouble.