“This is not a situation in which the Pentagon has concealed or sought to justify inappropriate action,” Obama said of the photos. “In fact, the most direct consequence of releasing them, I believe, would be to further inflame anti-American opinion and to put our troops in greater danger.” Spokesman Robert Gibbs said release of photos from the cases would merely “provide, in some ways, a sensationalistic portion of that investigation.” Obama said later, “I want to emphasize that these photos that were requested in this case are not particularly sensational, especially when compared to the painful images that we remember from Abu Ghraib.” Still, he said he had made it newly clear: “Any abuse of detainees is unacceptable. It is against our values. It endangers our security. It will not be tolerated.” The effort to keep the photos from becoming public represented a sharp reversal from Obama’s repeated pledges for open government, and in particular from his promise to be forthcoming with information that courts have ruled should be publicly available. As such, it invited criticism from the more liberal segments of the Democratic Party, which want a full accounting — and even redress — for what they see as the misdeeds of the Bush administration. “The decision to not release the photographs makes a mockery of President Obama’s promise of transparency and accountability,” said ACLU attorney Amrit Singh, who had argued and won the case before the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York. “It is essential that these photographs be released so that the public can examine for itself the full scale and scope of prisoner abuse that was conducted in its name.” On Capitol Hill, Republicans welcomed the change, however. A military group also said it was relieved. “These photos represent isolated incidents where the offending servicemen and women have already been prosecuted,” said Brian Wise, executive director of Military Families United. “There is no good that can come from releasing these photos.”