Sens. Joe Lieberman and Lindsey Graham are introducing legislation to “codify” the president’s decision not to release the detainee abuse photos. In a statement released Tuesday, they explained:

This legislation would authorize the Secretary of Defense, after consultation with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, to certify to the President that the disclosure of photographs like the ones at issue in the ACLU lawsuit would endanger the lives of our citizens or members of the Armed Forces or civilian employees of the United States government deployed abroad.

The certification would last five years and could be renewed by the Secretary of Defense if the threat to American personnel continues.  Also, the language in the bill is clear that it would apply to the current ACLU lawsuit.

“The President made a bold decision as Commander in Chief that will protect our troops in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere and make it easier for them to carry out the missions that we have asked them to do,” said Lieberman.  “This measure would codify the President’s decision to block release of these photos and thereby help protect our troops who are defending our country and our liberty.”

This, of course, aims to take the matter out of the courts and end the squabbling once and for all. And it removes the need for an executive order that would end the matter but put the president back in the hot seat with his left-wing supporters (who are now reeling after a few “bold decisions” to adopt Bush-era policies.)

One might see this as calling the president’s bluff, foreclosing the potential that he might escape the wrath of the netroot base by letting the courts order what they seek (release of the inflammatory photos). Or one might see this as a less Machiavellian move, a good faith attempt to come to the aid of the president to prevent once and for all what he says he fears — endangering the troops by releasing the photos.

However you view it, it is hard to see how the White House could refuse the help. After all, the president has decided that national security trumps the political agenda of his left-wing supporters, right? We’ll see if Lieberman and Graham can garner the support of their colleagues who seem slowly to be coming around to the view (on Guantanamo, for example) that feeding the netroot beast can be injurious to their political health.