WASHINGTON, May 28 (UPI) -- Army Gens. David Petraeus and Ray Odierno supported President Obama's bid to suppress photos of Iraqi detainee abuse in U.S. court filings Thursday.
Petraeus, who heads U.S. Central Command, and Odierno, the top commander in Iraq, agreed with Obama's arguments that releasing additional photos would endanger U.S. soldiers, Politico reported.
A federal court ordered the photographs released April 27. The Justice Department has asked for reconsideration of that ruling.
Odierno suggested release of the pictures would cause new problems for the current Iraqi government and endanger coalition troops deployed in small outposts.
"The photos will likely cause a very public and emotional response in Iraq and in the larger Arab world because the images may touch on a number of deep-rooted Arab cultural values that will resonate with the Iraqi public," he wrote. "This could be a destabilizing event for the prime minister and his government."
U.S. officials said Thursday that a story in the British newspaper, The Daily Telegraph, that some of the photographs show detainees being sexually assaulted is untrue.
