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.
Video of the comments will appear on the CBS “Evening News” on Wednesday.
Republican House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers said Wednesday that the Obama administration should not release the gruesome postmortem images, saying it could complicate the job for American troops overseas.
“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 Qaida 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.”
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23 Responses
Thanks a lot Mr. President.
Very smart decision making! Whoever dosn’t want to believe he was killed thats just fine…
No. 1: You should also thank Republican House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, who agreed with the President’s decision.
If the SEALS had cameras on theie helmets as I’ve heard, there should be a photo of Osama before he met his end. Why not release of photo of him hiding behind wife #5’s skirts?
Of course, he’s “not a trophy”. Right now, he’s “fish food”.
I heard that a shark in the Indian Ocean was just found dead from lead poisoning.
#4:
What will a picture of OBL alive prove? It could have been taken anywhere anytime.
“Imagine how the American people would react if Al Qaida killed one of our troops or military leaders, and put photos of the body on the internet”
If I remember correctly (and I do) the yishmaeli savages BEHEADED several westerners, and DID put not just pictures, but VIDEOS on the internet.
Killing him WONT “inflame public opinion in the Middle East”, but putting up a picture WILL???
Something smells fishy – no pun intended.
It’s a good call not to release the photos.
#5, that’s the very least of his problems. He is now experiencing, for eternity, all the combined suffering he put thousands of people through. Considering what he was expecting on the other end, it will probably take him centuries to get over the shock.
Something is seriously not straight about this story. There’s clearly something to hide, like the fact there is room for doubt that they really got him this time…maybe they got a look alike, or maybe they killed some other wanted guy in that compound but I find it hard to believe that they got Osama because if they really got him they be SHOWING OFF the pictures!
I don’t agree!
9/11 was MORE “gruesome”! Six millon Yiden was MORE “gruesome”.
Let’s see the pictures
Maybe puting out a picture will make another terorist wanabe say never mind the 70…..
#10: He’s dead, get over it.
I don’t know what to tell you I thought people were smarter than this. There is absolutely no proof he was killed. Emunah peshutah is only in yidishkeit! Not in your government
Seeing the graphic photos does shter the yiddishe hartz. We know what happened. But seeing the graphic image will definitely leave a roshem. And not likely a positive one.
The Torah says that those who are osek in destroying an ir hanidachas will receive a bracha of “Vnasan lecha rachamim”. Hashem will give you rachamim. It is explained that when people are involved in murderous acts, it will inevitably leave a roshem. Hashem guarantees those that destroy an ihr hanidachas, lemaan Hashem, will be given the midayh of rachamim in exchange. But to stam go and view the graphic photos, will inevetably affect one, not positively.
No. 8 writes in part: “Killing him [Bin Laden] WONT “inflame public opinion in the Middle East”, but putting up a picture WILL???”
Yes, killing Bin Laden will inflame some people in the Middle East, but the President, you and me thought it was necessary. And, yes, releasing a bloody, gruesome photo will also inflame some people in the Middle East, but the President has decided it is not necesssary to release it. Think of the president’s decision as a Solomonic compromise: kill the bad guy, but don’t further inflame his followers by releasing a bloody photo. It would make a great poster at the head of a parade of Bin Ladin supporters, and there is no reason to give them that stage prop.
I am not interested in second-guessing the presidnt and his advisers on this issue, and I do not see a reason to release the photos, but I do see reasons not to release it.
#14: There is all the proof in the world, if you have access to it.
UBL is dead, get over it.
There is a consistent and troubling thread in Obama’s contempt for the rest of us. He conducts himself as though he considers himself to be royalty and us his mere commoner subjects. Does he have a birth certificate that qualifies him to be President? That’s none of his electorate’s business. Did our government kill our enemy? Maybe, but the proof is none of our business.
Obama’s attitude toward the public he’s hired to serve is unreasonable.
My father taught me that “seeing is believing”. Mr. Obama consistently makes it so hard for reasonable people to believe what he says.
#8, When those videos were posted they served to excite the Muslim terrorists and their supporters as they were ‘successes for their cause.’ When a Danish newspaper published a cartoon Muslims rioted. Killing him just depressed most of the Arab countries and they are waiting to fill the void he left behind. Its pretty clear that publishing a photo of the dead arch-terrorist would be an event to riot over en masse, and it’s likely to kill many more people than the revenge attacks alone. Why else do you think the Taliban is asking to publish the photos? You think they’d know if he was dead or not, no?
# 18 – ItsFunToBeBT…
Very well said!
-Obama seems to forget it was America’s Navy SEALS that carried out the mission, NOT his personally funded hit team.
-It was America that paid the bill to train these men and send them on the mission, NOT him. Those pictures belong to AMERICA and to AMERICANS, NOT just to him and his advisors, and we have a right to see them.
As to enflaming the passions of our enemies? They WILL do anything they CAN do to harm us WITH or WITHOUT the pictures being publicized!
-Oh, and BTW, – America is also paying for the Air Force ONE flight and all the tons of security for Barry’s campaign photo op today at ground zero (just like we did about a week ago when he went on that very important mission to Chicago, – to go on the Oprah Winfrey Show).
The exchange of comments on this story could be Exhibit A in support of the position a number of us in NJ take to carefully hide YWN from our Partners in Torah students.
“[Obama] conducts himself as though he considers himself to be royalty and us his mere commoner subjects. Does he have a birth certificate that qualifies him to be President? That’s none of his electorate’s business. Did our government kill our enemy? Maybe, but the proof is none of our business.”
“…if they really got him they be SHOWING OFF the pictures!”
“You should also thank Republican House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, who agreed with the President’s decision.”
“I don’t know what to tell you I thought people were smarter than this. There is absolutely no proof he was killed.”
“Of course, he’s “not a trophy”. Right now, he’s “fish food”.”
Such dribble…it’s embarrassing!
Please remove my brilliant but apparently arcane comment (“You should also thank Republican House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, who agreed with the President’s decision”) from your Exhibit A of why people should not be exposed to YWN. I was being facetious and trying to point out to commenter no. 1 that reasonable people, including even a Republican, could see that it might be a good idea not to release the bloody photo of the dead Bin Laden to the public.
No. 20: The White House china is also paid for by US taxpayers, but you and I don’t have a right to use it, even if we kasher it at our own expense.
Re Comment 22: I was talkin’ to you, commenter no. 21. Remove it. Now. Or I’ll scream and rant like Michael Weiner the savage, or is it Michael Savage the weiner?