According to human rights organizations, civil liberty groups, and international lawyers, disclosure of the records is critical for US government accountability. The concealed photographs were taken by US military service members and collected during investigations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Some could be on par with, or worse than, those released from Abu Ghraib prison.
The White House has fought to keep these photographs suppressed, and even collaborated with Congress to change law to enable the concealment. They claim the release of records relating to torture and extrajudicial killings of prisoners since 2003 would endanger Americans. It is indeed yet another illegitimate attempt to give Washington sweeping power to suppress evidence of its own misconduct and act above international law.
The international civil society, however, needs to know what exactly happened in Iraq and Afghanistan, and/or what is still happening in America’s secret prisons and detention centers around the world. The photos are the best evidence and their disclosure would help the world better understand how the torture program has become a tool in the arsenal of US presidents.