Yes, his flip flop on the torture photos is disturbing.
Yes, the photos will eventually be released one way or another. Most likely by the Supreme Court.
Meanwhile, no, the Republicans won't be able to say that the president ignored advice from top military brass and "endangered" our soldiers.
Yes, the post-Bush era of transparency will be served.
Yes, President Obama is a politician who must make some decisions with politics in mind. I think that gets forgotten sometimes.
UPDATE: Sullivan seems to agree on the politics of this:
I will note this too about the politics. If Obama wants to get the truth out, and does not want to be slimed as a partisan avenger (the propaganda line from the Rovians), it helps him to have symbolic spats with those of us who believe we have no choice but to confront the war crimes of the last administration. This has long been his mojo: give symbolic gifts to your opponents while retaining the core issue.
The president appears to acquiesce to the right, knowing that the photos will be released anyway. It's -- how you say? -- smart politics. Just because he didn't personally drop the pictures from a helicopter onto Glenn Greenwald's house is irrelevant. The idea is to eventually reveal the photos. If it gets done, who cares how it gets done?
UPDATE 2: This photo thing is beginning to look like small potatoes next to the emerging evidence that the Bushies used torture to fabricate a case for war.