US President Barack Obama has said the release of more photos of prisoner abuse by US soldiers is "of no benefit" and may inflame¹ opinion against the US.

美国总统奥巴马称，放出美士兵虐俘事件的照片“没有什么好处”，并可能影响大家对美国的观点。

Photos purporting² to show prisoner abuse in Iraq were published in 2004

The pictures were not "sensational³" and every case of abuse had been dealt with by the military, with action taken where appropriate, he said.

The White House previously⁴ said it would not fight a court ruling ordering the release of the pictures.

US civil liberties activists⁵ accused Mr Obama of adopting Bush-era policies.

The pictures were due to be released by 28 May, according to the court order.

The order was issued by an appeals court in September 2008, in response to a Freedom of Information Act request by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

'Disappointed'

The US defence department had been preparing to release the images, reportedly taken in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the dispute（争论） could now end up before the US Supreme⁶ Court.

Speaking outside the White House, Mr Obama said he would not tolerate the abuse of prisoners.

However, he had, he said, directed his legal team to fight the court-ordered release of the photos because he was concerned they might "inflame anti-American opinion and put our troops in greater danger".

The Pentagon had not sought to conceal⁷ anything, he added, and appropriate action had been taken against individuals involved in abuses. The president had been advised against publication by Defence Secretary Robert Gates, Centcom commander Gen David Petraeus and the commander of US forces in Iraq, Gen Ray Odierno, a Pentagon official said.

The ACLU said it was "surprised and disappointed" by Mr Obama's decision and that it would continue to fight for the photographs' release.

"The Obama administration's adoption⁸ of the stonewalling（慎重地打球，阻碍或妨碍议程） tactics and opaque⁹（不透明的，难懂的） policies of the Bush administration flies in the face of the president's stated desire to restore the rule of law, to revive our moral standing¹⁰ in the world and to lead a transparent¹¹ government," said Anthony Romero, the group's executive director.

The BBC's Richard Lister in Washington says that although President Obama has insisted on the need for open government, it appears that on this issue he has been persuaded that - for now at least - such transparency risks doing more harm than good.