Obama Will Not Release Photos of Osama bin Laden
Wednesday, May 04, 2011
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President Barack Obama during one of a series of meetings on Osama bin Laden in the Situation Room. (Peter Souza /White House Flickr)
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President Barack Obama said he will not release photos of Osama bin Laden because of the potential national security threat they posed.
The president first announced his decision during the taping of an interview for "60 Minutes" airing on Sunday, the network said.
"We don't trot out this stuff as trophies," Obama said, according to a transcript of the interview read at a White House briefing Wednesday. "I think that given the graphic nature of these photos it would create some national security [risks]."
The White House said that the president "felt very strongly" about his decision not to release the images he described as "very graphic" despite internal differences of opinion.
The decision comes a day after CIA Director Leon Panetta told NBC News that images will be released because "we have to reveal to the rest of the world the fact that we were able to get [bin Laden] and kill him."
Earlier in the week, White House press secretary Jay Carney said there was discussions about whether to release the photos but "not some roiling debate here about this."
"The president engaged in that discussion and made a decision," Carney said Wednesday.
The decision applies to all visual evidence, he added.
Comments [7]
I'm highly impressed that Obama has decided against releasing the photos. Taking a measured attitude toward a highly volatile situation is something we desperately need, and in this media-saturated culture, it takes a lot of guts to say no to the masses.
Also, too many people who are "celebrating" Bin Laden's death, and want to see photos, are not taking into consideration that the more we continue to give publicity to Bin Laden's death, the more Al Qaeda will be motivated to retaliate. As a New Yorker who lived through 9/11, I am most concerned that NYC will get the brunt of retaliation again. It's one thing to quietly be thankful or vindicated Bin laden is gone, but him being out of the picture does little to change the greater situation, and we all need to be mindful of that.
I'm glad Obama has decided not to release the photos of bin Laden without part of his head. Less fodder for the terrorists to use for propaganda.
By the way... is there a Birth Certificate for Osama bin Laden? Maybe he wasn't actually born... maybe the CIA just made him up... maybe...
Phffhtth!
Of course The President will not release the photos, he has class. Something that the people who would walk around with the photos posted every where dont and will never have! You won’t see this President flying in some fighter jet acting like a cowboy yelling mission accomplished either. Even though he did finish what Bush swore on top of the towers rubble on 9/11!!! This President is a leader and is and will continue to do his job!!!! Jack Ruby, REALLY!!!
I wrote about it here: http://www.examiner.com/top-news-in-san-francisco/osama-bin-laden-sf-learns-whether-obama-will-release-photo
The comment right before has some really good points! I too don't understand why they don't release these photos. Something just doesn't add up.
Thank goodness we have a President who spens the time assessing and not jumping the gun because he felt it in his gut. Osama is dead and there will always be deniers. Maybe the widow at the scene could make the statement
Seems kinda odd... we had no problem posting photos of Uday or Qusay Hussein with bullet holes in thier heads on the front of Time magazine......this whole no photo release and burial at sea within 24 hrs seems like Jack Ruby getting rid of Oswald. And to say the reason we buried him within 24 hrs was part of Islamic Religion is incorrect because they are to be buried facing Mecca...How do you do that in the ocean?
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