I was really anticipating these pics!! I think Obama should release the pics, those pictures are part of history at this point. I do understand that the President does not want al-Quaeda to glorify the pictures and make it as if Osama is a martyr, but we say plenty of people jump to their death from the windows of the Twin Towers on 9/11 and I think those people’s families deserve to see the death of the man that is being held responsible.
Obama announced his decision on the matter during an interview with “60 Minutes†set to air Sunday.
Top U.S. intelligence officials have been increasingly divided over the benefits of releasing photos as proof that the al Qaeda leader was killed Sunday during a U.S. raid on his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
House Intelligence Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) announced Wednesday that he opposed the photos’ release because the action could complicate matters for U.S. troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“The risks of release outweigh the benefits,” Rogers said in a statement. “Conspiracy theorists around the world will just claim the photos are doctored anyway.â€
He questioned how Americans would react if al Qaeda killed a top U.S. military leader and released photos of the body on the Internet. “Osama bin Laden is not a trophy,†he said. “He is dead and let’s now focus on continuing the fight until Al Qaida has been eliminated.â€
Senate Intelligence Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) has also said that she sees no need to release photos since other evidence has already proven that bin Laden is dead.
“The DNA has been dispositive,†she said.
But Senate Homeland Security Chairman Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and the panel’s top Republican, Sen. Susan Collins (Maine), said during a Monday press briefing that it “may be necessary†to release photos to prove to the public once and for all that bin Laden is dead.
“My own instinct is it’s necessary to release those pictures,†Lieberman said, “but I will respect whatever decision the president
makes.â€
And in stark contrast to Obama’s final decision, CIA Director Leon Panetta declared Tuesday during an interview on “NBC Nightly News” that there was never “any question that ultimately a photograph would be presented to the public.â€
“The bottom line is, you know, we got bin Laden and I think we have to reveal to the rest of the world that we were able to get him and kill him,†Panetta said.
The White House has been mulling whether to release the photos for the past few days. During a Tuesday briefing, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney warned that the images could be inflammatory and described them as “gruesome.”
hp
