White House Officials Debate Releasing Photographs of Bin Laden’s Corpse

[Freddie Stubbs]

Source: ABC News

The Obama administration has photographs of Osama bin Laden’s dead body and officials are debating what to do with them and whether they should be released to the public, officials tell ABC News.

“There’s no doubt it’s him,” says a US official who has seen the pictures and also reminds us that OBL was 6’4”.

The argument for releasing them: to ensure that the public knows and can appreciate that he's dead. There is of course skepticism throughout the world that the US government claim that it killed bin Laden is true.

The argument against releasing the pictures: they’re gruesome. He has a massive head wound above his left eye where he took bullet, with brains and blood visible.

Read more: http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2011/05/white-house-officials-debate-releasing-photographs-of-bin-ladens-corpse-1.html

[BeyondGeography]

1. Sorry, but it's essential

Need the long-form version and everything.

[RoccoR5955]

2. You know that the Donald is gonna ask for his death certificate, don'tcha? n/t

[karynnj]

15. Not JUST the death certificate, but the long form of the death certificate

[Bombero1956]

39. he can ask all he wants

but he should remember what happened the last time he felt the need to disrespect President Obama. I remember a line from the movie Home Alone "had enough or are you thirsty for more".

[RainDog]

3. it's a necessary part of the process

unfortunately.

[Broderick]

5. I agree

The same thing happened with Saddam and his sons.

[elleng]

6. Yes.

We don't have to look.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

14. Yes, sadly it is

We have the right to chose not to look.

[patricia92243]

4. Debate?? What is there to debate? Of course, show them. We are getting too politically correct.

On the Gail King show this morning, she was saying we should not celebrate but just hold a quiet candlelight vigil, so forth. HOGWASH!

[Daemonaquila]

27. Both sides of that are wrong.

Holding a vigil is ridicuous, but the celebrations last night were sickening. We've fallen very far as a country, for this to be such a point of national pride and joy.

[DJ13]

33. +1

[Skinner]

7. I think the hand-wringing is probably political theater.

Those photos will see the light of day. There is no doubt. The incentive to make them public far outweighs any downside.

The only question is whether the White House does it or someone else does.

[tabasco]

37. Obama will make the decision.

I don't think there's any doubt about that.

[X_Digger]

42. Let's hope it's not a Lynndie England-esque fiasco

Assuming the WH does more hand-wringing until a soldier involved can't resist whipping out his cell phone and hitting 'post to facebook'.

[shanti]

8. it's already out there

somebody posted it last nite, not sure if it was taken down.

[Freddie Stubbs]

11. That was a fake

That photo had been posted months ago

[patricia92243]

12. It was a fake per CNN. That's why it was removed.

[Dennis Donovan]

13. Already proven fake:

http://photoblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/05/02/6568249-webs-bin-laden-death-photo-just-the-photo-is-fake

[Akoto]

9. I don't believe they have much of a choice.

In order for the world's public to believe this with full confidence, they will have to see his face. Blur the wound if need be, but don't keep the images locked away in some vault.

They went to the trouble of using resources to ferret him out and bring him down. They made an announcement of the death at almost midnight EST on a Sunday. They should finish the process and close the book on this guy. I very much doubt that many people who were against OBL will be offended at seeing his remains.

[Dennis Donovan]

10. There's a double-edged sword in this...

If you release the photos, it would be offensive to Muslims but if you don't the skepticism will never be put to rest.

[leftynyc]

17. I truly don't care if

it's offensive. They don't have to look. Show the picture. It's the only way people will really put this to rest.

[PatSeg]

16. Has to be done

Otherwise we'll have another major conspiracy theory flooding out there. There will still be those who claim the photo is a fake, but not as many as there would be if they conceal it.

[JonLP24]

36. I don't think that is the best way

Video and pictures are not the best because some people look like the other way. Best way is for DNA test results but of course there could be claims of lack of independence depending on who performed the testing. Like for example, there are concerns forensic investigators, coroners find what the police want to find.

Not saying at all what is good enough for me or isn't. Just saying DNA test results is probably the best to defuse a conspiracy theory, much more than video/pictures.

[Jack_DeLeon]

40. Its about perception, most people prefer visual evidence...

If you tell people you have a photo of something but you dont show it, they think you are hiding something. You can tell someone the DNA matches, you could even show them that, but seeing a picture of a bloody corpse would do more IMO to help people believe.

[The Backlash Cometh]

18. I don't think it's a good idea.

Not for another twenty years. Not unless it becomes an issue overseas and the restless population wants proof, or another person surfaces claiming to be bin Laden.

(And by restless population, I don't mean American right-wingers.)

[Baclava]

19. We've all seen war movies - - show the pics

The Italians hung Mussolini's corpse from the lampposts, for all to see.

[jwirr]

20. Put them and any other needed documentation on a separate link

to a government site. That way no one has to look if they do not want to. It is necessary because the rw is already calling it into question. Also photos of the burial at sea.

[glinda]

21. I think it should be on a website and optional viewing.

[chowder66]

22. I don't want to nor need to see them. Conspiracy theories are already rampant.

Those who love conspiracies will just find a million things to believe once the photos are released as they are already doing right now prior to any release.

If those that lost loved ones on 9/11 want to see them then they should have access. To me it feels unnatural to view a death photo or celebrate death. I feel a sense of something that agrees with the demise of OBL but I don't know how to express it...yet.

[smirkymonkey]

23. Umm, because he's been dead for years?

interesting timing.

[Daemonaquila]

24. They should not.

There is no good to be gained by showing the body. Photos are easily faked or doctored. To some, it will prove nothing. To others, it will be a photo spread far and wide to incite anger. For most, it will just satisfy the kind of curiosity that causes pile-ups at a car wreck.

We have made a big deal about not showing photos of war dead, ours or others'. Putting the trophy on display, as it were, would send all the wrong messages.

[IsItJustMe]

25. I have to agree with you. A private viewing should be arranged if possible for 9/11 victims though

if possible.

[aquart]

29. That's actually disgusting.

[jberryhill]

30. It is, but they invite victims' families to executions, too

While it is good that Bin Laden has been put out of business, celebrating the death of a person is kind of odd.

[julian09]

32. They had no problem showing be headings

This is for people to decide to view or not; I didn't view the beheadings, but doesn't mean others can't view the reality of our times. It shouldn't offend true muslums whose religon was hijacked by Bin Laden. They can't fake DNA, his girlfriend identifying him. The live feed in real time is there for all to see, the end result is Osama being killed. World has a right to see undeniable proof, other terrorists should view their potential end and rethink their acts.
A lot of people witnessed his many acts of inhumanity and lived to see him kill many muslums, and others, they deserve to see his end. The sad fact is that he could only die once. Ask the families of victims if they deserve to see this man motionless, unable to give orders to kill.

[shawn703]

26. It won't matter

The people that think there's a conspiracy will still believe there's a conspiracy even if they had brought the body back to the US and put his corpse on display somewhere. There's just no convincing those nuts.

The extremists already found a reason to rally their people against the USA because his body was buried at sea.

Whether the photos are released or not, I just don't think is going to make a bit of difference one way or the other.

Even if they released the photos to a government website that is voluntary to go and look if you wanted, I can't imagine it would take long before the photos are plastered all over the MSM anyway and we see them.

[aquart]

28. No public release.

Diplomatic pouch them to UN and world leaders. I'm sure the pictures will get out. But not directly from us.

The point is to create no martyr, no rallying cry.

[Zorra]

31. I really hope they don't. Religious wackos will start killing more

innocent people if they do.

[No Elephants]

34. You expect the photo to be more provocative than the killing itself?

[Solly Mack]

35. the photos as evidence so people can know it happened

and there can be no denying it? ("The argument for releasing them: to ensure that the public knows and can appreciate that he's dead. There is of course skepticism throughout the world that the US government claim that it killed bin Laden is true.")

Hmmm

[Jack_DeLeon]

38. Its important that the photos be released...

Many people will have some lingering doubts with just the fact that his body was disposed of so quickly especially if there is no video of photographic evidence released to the public.

I'm a cynical person and I dont automatically assume that anything the government or anyone tells me is true. I'd like to believe that Osama is dead, but seeing some photos would help me believe it.

When Saddam and his son's were killed there was footage one way or the other of the dead bodies, and I believed that help reinforce in everyone's minds that they really were dead, photographic evidence would do much to help with that here too.

[apnu]

41. I agree and understand that it will upset folks.

The nuts won't believe we got him, I've already talked to a few 'pubbies today who think this is a hoax. Plus AQ nutters will still claim he's alive and recruit anyway.

Plus seeing him dead will give closure to everybody affected by 9/11, USS Cole and the first WTC bombing plus anybody and everybody else in the world affected by subsequent AQ operations.

Sure it will piss off militants, but they're pissed off anyway and will be violent regardless of what we do.

[Poll_Blind]

43. If Germany, say, done the things the US has in killing bin Laden, wouldn't we...

...be be expecting that as part of their release of the information that some photographs or video accompany it?

What Skinner said upthread is probably most-true: This hand-wringing is political theater.

PB

[primavera]

44. Political capital is the main benefit of ObL's death...

... is there any question that we're going to milk it for all it's worth? I'll be surprised if we don't shortly see footage of the kill show up on Pay-Per-View, followed by a deluxe edition blu ray dvd.