Does President Obama have a vested interest in covering up the crimes of the Bush administration?

His decision to block the release of photos of U.S. troops abusing detainees in Iraq and Afghanistan is a reminder that the nation may still be running on “Cheney time.” As long as the photos are not released, former Bush administration officials can control the narrative – if not the entire debate.   They can continue denying that the US government engaged in torture – at the same time they make specious claims about the vast benefits from using ‘extreme interrogation.’

Obama will be damned by the torture masterminds regardless of what he does.   His suppression of evidence of their crimes merely aids their efforts to vilify him and makes other Americans – and much of the world – distrust him.

Unfortunately, as with the torture scandal itself, it may be years until we know why the Obama team is colluding with people almost certainly guilty of war crimes.