President Barack Obama has decided not to release death photos of terrorist Osama bin Laden, he said in an interview with CBS's "60 Minutes," amid concerns that the gruesome image could prove inflammatory.
Obama's decision was reported on the CBS News Web site Wednesday after the president sat for an interview with the news magazine program.
Releasing graphic images of bin Laden's corpse after his shooting in a U.S. raid on his compound could have dispelled doubts that bin Laden is indeed dead. The worry, though, was that it would feed anti-U.S. sentiment.
More, from CBS News:
In an interview with Steve Kroft for this Sunday's "60 Minutes," President Obama says he won't release post-mortem images of Osama bin Laden taken to prove his death.
...Republican House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers said Wednesday that the Obama administration should not release the gruesome post-mortem images, saying it could complicate the job for American troops overseas. Rogers told CBS News he has seen a post-mortem photo.
"The risks of release outweigh the benefits," he said. "Conspiracy theorists around the world will just claim the photos are doctored anyway, and there is a real risk that releasing the photos will only serve to inflame public opinion in the Middle East."
"Imagine how the American people would react if Al Qaeda killed one of our troops or military leaders, and put photos of the body on the internet," he continued. "Osama bin Laden is not a trophy - he is dead and let's now focus on continuing the fight until Al Qaida has been eliminated."
What's Obama talking about?
We saw images of our troops being dragged through the streets of Mogadishu. We don't have to imagine what it would be like.
I want to see a photo of bin Laden dead.
Something to go with these images:
Too gruesome?
Too inflammatory?
This from Obama, the man who undermined George W. Bush and his administration at every turn, showing no concern for how it would impact the American troops on the battlefield.
Give me a break!
Hopefully, Obama has the facts wrong about the photo, too. Hopefully, the White House will realize it's a mistake to fail to release a death photo of bin Laden.
Maybe this whole thing is just a dance to make it appear that Obama was forced to release a photo, even though he really didn't want to do it.
The allegedly gutsy Obama should show some guts.
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I believe Osama bin Laden is dead.
I don't think Obama cooked up an elaborate scheme to jump-start his stalled presidency.
I don't think there's any attempt to fake bin Laden's death. There's no conspiracy, but I'm unsure about some aspects of how everything was handled.
There are some questioning the speedy burial at sea of bin Laden's remains according to Islamic law, like Sen. Lindsey Graham.
I think it's strange that the Obama administration is stressing that bin Laden was buried in a respectful manner and in accordance with Islamic law. This evil man who slaughtered thousands deserves no respect. Why try to avoid offending Muslims on the burial issue?
Obama said Sunday night:
Bin Laden was not a Muslim leader; he was a mass murderer of Muslims. Indeed, al Qaeda has slaughtered scores of Muslims in many countries, including our own. So his demise should be welcomed by all who believe in peace and human dignity.
Obama is saying bin Laden was the enemy of Muslims. Shouldn't Muslims around the world be cheering his demise and thanking the U.S. rather than being ready to criticize the U.S. for dissing him?
The U.S. hunted him down and killed him. This message that bin Laden had a respectful burial is weird.
ABC News reports:
The corpse was taken to the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, officials told ABC News. The ceremony, done according to Islamic law, began about 1:10 a.m. today EST and lasted about 45 minutes, according to officials.
Traditional washing of the body was followed by wrapping in white sheets. A military officer read religious remarks that were translated by a native Arabic speaker, then bin Laden was eased into the sea.
Officials said no other alternatives were available.
"We are ensuring that it is handled in accordance with Islamic practice and tradition," an administration official said. "This is something that we take very seriously. And so therefore this is being handled in an appropriate manner."
What? That's bizarre.
And why slip his corpse into the Arabian Sea so quickly, within 24 hours of killing him, given the circumstances?
That seems a bit hurried and odd to me, but I can accept it. As lame as it is to abide by Islamic rules for the enemy of Muslims, I do accept the government's story.
However, what I need is a photo. I need to see a photo of bin Laden dead.
It has nothing to do with doubts and conspiracies. I just need to see a photo of bin Laden dead.
From ABC News:
As elated crowds celebrated the death of Osama bin Laden after Navy SEALs killed the al-Qaida chief in a weekend raid in Pakistan some are asking, "Where's the proof?"
I wish I felt "elated," but I don't.
I'm glad our great, skilled, brave military brought the evil and cowardly bin Laden to justice. They're heroes.
We can be proud as one nation, but the war isn't over. This is a tremendous victory, but bin Laden's legacy concerns me.
Starting with the morning of September 11, 2001, and continuing today, we've seen many heroes, brave men and women putting themselves at risk to protect us. Thousands of Americans have died in the War on Terror, here at home and on the battlefield.
Bin Laden's dead but there is no peace.
Ending this one life doesn't begin to erase the pain and suffering of the thousands and thousands of bin Laden's victims.
Celebration doesn't seem right to me. It doesn't fit.
Photos depicting a bloodied and bruised face appearing to be that of bin Laden began appearing on Twitter and Facebook last night soon after news of his death spread across the Internet. According to Reuters, an archive photo of bin Laden at a news conference proves that image was a fake. Now people are asking to see the evidence proving bin Laden is dead.
"We have released a tremendous amount of information to date," Obama's top counterterrorism adviser John Brennan said. "At the same time we don't want to do anything that is going to compromise our ability to be as successful the next time one of these guys needs to be taken off the battlefield."
As for the releasing of death photographs, Brennan said that is "something to be determined." But he added they're going to do everything they can to prevent denials of bin Laden's death.
From Pakistan to the U.S. people expressed their skepticism about the death of the man who is perhaps the most infamous terrorist ever known.
"I won't believe it until I see it with my own eyes. Like Sadam I wouldn't have believed it until I saw his body," tweeted MaryGlazerOut.
Eric Solochier, 22, a senior at Penn State University said his dad was one of the firefighters who helped clean up New York City the day following 9/11, so bin Laden's death would be especially meaningful to him -- he wants to believe it, but he's not convinced.
"There has to be some sort of visual or DNA test. You can obviously photoshop anything you want," said Solochier. "They should submit video. It would be somewhat gruesome but it's something we should be able to see. "
I, too, want to see a photo.
It's not that I don't trust the government, but I need an image. Even though I know a photo could be doctored, I still think the Obama administration should let the world see bin Laden dead.
Right now, the images in my mind are the planes flying into the towers, the Pentagon in flames, and the Pennsylvania field smoldering. I see the people jumping from the World Trade Center - such horrific images. And then there are the funerals, all those images from the funerals.
The bin Laden chapter of the War on Terror won't be closed for me until I see him dead.
A photo is necessary.
I'll never get the images of 9/11 out of my head. I want the dead bin Laden to be there, too.
______________
UPDATE: The death photos
A Senior US Official tells CNN 10 hard drives, 5 computers and more than 100 storage devices which includes discs, DVDs and thumb drives were taken from the compound.
The senior us official also says the White House received 3 sets of photos yesterday. The photos included:
1. Photos of OBLs body at a hanger after he was brought back to Afghanistan. This is the most recognizable with a clear picture of his face. The picture is gruesome because he has a massive open head wound across both eyes. It’s very bloody and gory.
2. Photos from the burial at sea on the USS Carl Vinson. Photos of OBL before the shroud was put on and then wrapped in the shroud.
3. There are photos of the raid itself that include photos of the two dead brothers, one of OBLs dead son (adult adolescent, maybe approx 18 yrs old) and some of the inside scene of the compound.
The official says the challenge is that the picture that includes the most recognizable image of OBLs face – from the hangar in Afghanistan – is so gruesome and mangled its not appropriate for say the front page of the newspaper. On the other hand, this is the one that is most identifiable as him.
I really don't like to see gruesome photos of human beings that have been mangled, even monsters like bin Laden. But this is reality. It's history.
We have the right to see the images. One should have the choice to view them or not.
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