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CNNWASHINGTON (CNN) — Senate and House negotiators tasked with finalizing a compromise on a $105 billion bill to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan rejected a provision Thursday night that would have prohibited the release of detainee abuse photos.
The provision was dropped after President Barack Obama raised objections in a letter addressed to the chairmen of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees.
"I'm writing to urge you to oppose the McConnell Amendment," the president wrote, referring to Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell's attempt to block the photos from being made public.
In the letter, Obama restated his own opposition to releasing the photos and his belief that "that the most direct consequence of releasing them would be to further inflame anti-American opinion and to put our troops in greater danger." But the president bowed to the political reality: if the legislation included the ban, it would not have enough votes to be approved in the House, where liberal Democrats have demanded that all information be released regarding the detention of enemy combatants.
"I deeply appreciate all you have done to help with the effort to secure funding for the troops, and assure you that I will continue to take every legal and administrative remedy available to me to ensure the DoD detainee photographs are not released. Should a legislative solution prove necessary, I am committed to working with the Congress to enact legislation that achieves the objectives we share," added Obama.
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http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/06/11/detainee-photo-provision-dropped-from-war-funding-bill/