Great work, Salon. I've always been a full supporter of Salon's decision to publish these photos, but I have to admit now that I wish some things had turned out differently. Salon's publication of the Abu Ghraib materials never gained traction with the MSM and the public. The last hope of grabbing Americans' attention seemed to be a judicial decision adverse to the government, ordering it to turn over the videos and photos. It seems unlikely now that such a decision will be forthcoming. The government's concession to the ACLU, to turn over the photos that have already been released, is not going to grab the public's attention in the same way that a fiery opinion from the bench (one can dream) might have done. Americans are so over Abu Ghraib. That upsets me.

I confess, I didn't realize there was any controversy around showing the photos. Isn't this exactly what the press is supposed to do? Is Salon unusual in the US media for taking this step? I write this as a Brit unfamiliar with most US media.

If Salon really has gone out on a limb by publishing the photos, then well done for fulfilling your role as independent journalists. But it does make me wonder about the state of the US press. Have other organs ignored the photos, or actually argued against publishing them? If the latter, I'd be interested to see exactly how they justify deciding against publication.

Dear editors,

I seem to recall that Sy Hersh reported on seeing videos that showed the rape of prisoners who were minors by Iraqi guards. Seeing as how there has been no prosecution for this crime, nor has there been any prosecution for abuses at the hands of "civilian" guards, translators, interrogators and "OGA" personnel, despite photographic evidence of such individuals and their handiwork I remain highly suspicious of the government's move here.

Not having all the facts, but judging by the circumstantial evidence and Salon's reporting, I assume this particular DVD that Salon reviewed and made contents of public contains only material the CID decided it might enter into evidence in the trials of a group of defendants already chosen by courts-martial. By this I mean the low level "grunts" we have seen paraded in and out of a Ft. Hood courtroom thus far - Graner, Lyndie and company. My educated guess is that this material was made available to these defendant's lawyers in the discovery process and that is what was passed on to Salon. This set of photos and videos of course does NOT reflect the entire contents of what Darby turned in, and Taguba reviewed. For all we know, there is a picture of Donald Rumsfeld himself holding a pair of pliers and a blowtorch still being withheld. And we ain't gonna see that anytime soon, are we? But seriously, pictures of officers, OGA, contractors and Iraqi "guards" are of material interest to this whole episode and it sounds like this sort of material is still being hidden.

This whole "disclosure" bid by the government reminds me of Ashcroft's NSA secret spying testimony: each time he spoke to congress (and recall the shameful flap about whether he would do so under oath or not) he carefully prefaced his words with something about "the program we are speaking about here today," thereby excluding any talk about the other elephants in the room, other illegal domestic spying programs and possible clandestine searches off the books and in defiance of FISA courts and our constitution. The phrase "limited hangout" is a massive understatement when it comes to this bunch of crooks and liars.

Shame, shame on our leaders and their weasel lawyers for the way this entire episode has been mishandled from start to finish. Rumsfeld, Miller, Cambone, Boykin, Pappas .. The list is LONG of men who have yet to see the inside of a courtroom, and yet continue to lie to congress and the American people about where the responsibility rests for this particular set of crimes against humanity.

As a young aide to generals, Colin Powell participated in the cover-up of the Mi Lai massacre in Vietnam. I recall out of that whole event one man, a Lt. named Calley was court-martialed. And sentenced to life of hard labor. Two days later, President Nixon ordered him held under house arrest pending his appeal. Later his sentence was shifted to ten years by the Secretary of the Army, and then finally he was let go after three and half years of house arrest, about one month served cooking TV dinners and watching TV for every ten unarmed villagers executed. Don't hold out your hopes for justice for Abu Ghraib either, good people. Simply thank the free press for pursuing the truth and continue to fight the good fight. Thanks, Salon for the honest effort, and keep up the good work.

We need a free press. And the past few years Salon has been an important part of that role that has in too many cases been abdicated by others.

Keep up the good work.

Good work Salon.

Each day I read Salon for information that isn't on MSM and for "another perspective" of major news stories. I head to War Room because I believe that this is a war - of ideas - and Salon is one of the few places where it is actually being fought.

But I keep wondering, how much does this administration have to do, what horrors do they need to perpetrate, in order for the American people to begin to notice that the country is behaving not like a democracy but like a corporate/ideological totalitarian regime. It isn't just stumbling, it isn't just stupidity, it isn't chance. This process is deliberate, carefully crafted, and has been decades in the making. None of this is news to those who read Salon.

My question is what is going to happen now? Are we going to find a way to change this trend before the country is totally robbed of all its wealth and its honor? Do we have the will? And do we have a way?