According to this piece by Nancy Youssef of McClatchy, Obama switched his position on releasing the pics of detainee abuse because Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki warned him that his nation would erupt into violence if the photos were released.I don't know what's more troubling; the fact that Obama wanted to release the photos in the first place or that no one - I mean no one - in his administration had the foresight to warn him of what the probable response of the Iraqi people would be: In the days leading up to a May 28 deadline to release the photos in response to an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit, U.S. officials, led by Christopher Hill, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, told Maliki that the administration was preparing to release photos of suspected detainee abuse taken from 2003 to 2006.When U.S. officials told Maliki, "he went pale in the face," said a U.S. military official, who along with others requested anonymity because of the matter's sensitivity. ...(Read Full Post)