ARTICLE: In Obama's Inner Circle, Debate Over Memos' Release Was Intense, By R. Jeffrey Smith, Michael D. Shear and Walter Pincus, Washington Post, April 24, 2009

Personally, I like the idea of making the memos public. The charge that we're releasing info to al Qaeda is a bit much, because it's hard to believe this isn't all already well known to them (give them some credit).

For Obama, I see the memos' release as a way to obviate the truth commission route (full disclosure up front, and a decision not to prosecute ex post facto), which I do see as overkill.

So, to me, this is an inoculation strategy. Obama is done with torture, done with black sites, done with Gitmo and has clarified the rendition process somewhat while keeping it operative (we are going to want to send certain suspects back to their home countries; the big question will be whether or not it's done with a clear mind to performing torture by proxy, something Obama indicates will not be the case, but there's clear wiggle room there). He has also indicated a desire to get America back in line with the International Criminal Court. I judge the sum total of these changes as reasonable and warranted and sufficient at this time.