There are many who applaud Obama for his decision to block the release of Iraqi abuse photographs. I am not one. I know people have loved ones in the line of fire, I can't judge any opinion, partly because I too was very afraid when the first Abu Ghraib photos were published and someone I loved was deployed.  But I still strongly disagree with Obama's decision.

These are not normal times.  We are in the shadow of great betrayal. Many of those who betrayed us are still very much walking the corridors of power, often in positions of high authority.  This is true in finance as well as the military. It is the double-edged sword of Obama's bipartisan gamble. It's pointless to debate if the strategy was worth it, it's the course we are on. So it is not a foregone conclusion that everyone holding a position of authority in Obama's administration buys into, or is even necessarily working toward, his objectives.

Many people have created strawmen of media fetish and torture-porn that disrespect the strength of conviction in those who feel it is important to disclose the photos for the purposes of justice. The official explanation of torture employed by our military in Iraq is unsustainable in face of the facts already exposed. There are holes in the explanations and obvious gaps in accountability. The belief this issue is being addressed by the democratic leadership is largely defined by speculation over what has not been ruled out completely, or simple blind faith.

Congress responds based on public questions and popular demand for accountability - usually shouted to get over the din of special interest lobbyists. The only reason anybody has been held accountable to date is because Americans have fought to expose the abuses and officials have been forced to acknowledge and respond. If the questions had not been forced, those who now argue "we know it happened ... isn't that enough?" wouldn't even know it happened.  A handful of low-ranking foot soldiers have been convicted, and no officer has officially been acknowledged as having participated. The official statement from Obama is that the Iraqi abuses were carried out by a mere few individuals.  A couple of scapegoats rotting in a military prison is not justice in this instance.

Soldiers have risked everything to come forward - and some paid a high price of ostracization and fear of violence.  FBI and CIA agents faced legal sanction and the disdain of their peers, often effectively ending their careers to come forward. Still others have risked exposure providing crucial details to organizations like Human Rights Watch and even the oft maligned New York Times. The ACLU has fought tirelessly to free crucial memos and reports through FOIA requests - and they will burn countless additional resources seeing through the process that Obama had promised them, just last week, would be curtailed.

Through the entire journey there has been an endless drumbeat: "By exposing the wrongdoing you are putting the troops in danger.  You are putting fellow Americans at risk".

The people who put themselves on the line to expose what little we know so far weren't democrats.  They weren't republicans.  They didn't stand up, speak out, dig deeper, for partisan gain.  They did it for America. They took the accusations of working against America and putting their colleagues at risk and did the right thing. Despite the drumbeat. Many have no more reason to trust a democratic administration than the democrats had to trust the republicans.  Now everyone is supposed to just toss up their hands and say "Oh well ... the democratic faithful have someone they trust. Battle won!".

Why didn't we stop when the generals said the troops would be in danger back in 2004?  Why did we push forward when the press secretary said exposing more information would just stir up anger and put the troops in harm's way in 2006?  Why were we pushing, in the face of the military saying yet again we were putting the troops at risk, right up to the inauguration to get the torture memos released?  What makes this time so different from all the other times we have been willing face that fear in the quest to correct the horrible detour from justice that still has America in a ditch arguing "if torture works, is it really wrong?". 

It makes me want to scream "How can you watch the torture debate going on today and even question if the American public needs to again confront the reality of abuse at their own hand?"

I guess my point is, don't forget there are two sides to every story.  I genuinely believe having the photos released is of importance to justice and the American soul.  Obama may have very sound policy reasons - be it wanting his big "Islamic World" speech to go unmarred, not wanting to politically defend going against his generals, genuine concern for the troops, or a combination of reasons.  But he needs to know that the American people are unwavering in our demand for accountability.