# Bin Laden's body: now what? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 2, 2011, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bin-ladens-body-now-what/580441 "2011-05-02T03:18:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mehitabel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@Mehitabel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mehitabel)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bin-ladens-body-now-what/580441/21 "2011-05-02T04:23:14Z")
I don’t know, but we have to make sure to do what the Russians did with Hitler’s body and avoid having the bastard in a grave that will no doubt be visited by people who are as twisted as he was. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Understander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3da27b/32.png) [@The\_Understander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Understander)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bin-ladens-body-now-what/580441/22 "2011-05-02T04:31:02Z")
Study his brain to find out whatever can be found out, biologically, about what might produce such a twisted psychological profile. I agree that the rest should be cremated and the ashes scattered in an undisclosed location. ---
**Author:** ![Shmendrik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Shmendrik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shmendrik)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bin-ladens-body-now-what/580441/23 "2011-05-02T04:34:57Z")
> [@Enfant Terrible](#): > > Study his brain to find out whatever can be found out, biologically, about what might produce such a twisted psychological profile. Do you really think there’s anything at all remarkable about OBL’s psyche? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bin-ladens-body-now-what/580441/24 "2011-05-02T05:31:37Z")
Moving to IMHO from GQ. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bin-ladens-body-now-what/580441/25 "2011-05-02T05:36:11Z")
Preserve it so at some future point a mad scientist can transplant the brain into his unholy creation for a proper rampage. Won’t _someone_ think of the mad scientists?! ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bin-ladens-body-now-what/580441/26 "2011-05-02T06:09:51Z")
He had more than 50 siblings and Allah-knows how many nephews and nieces. I wonder if any will supply DNA samples to confirm the body. His autopsy could probably tell us a lot: his diet, his health care in recent years, etc.- that might help track his whereabouts some. If it’s learned that he had access to First World health care there might be hell to pay. Hopefully there are some papers there as well. Follow the money would be a great thing. I wonder if Muhammad Umar (who’s supposedly connected to him by marriage several different ways) was with him. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bin-ladens-body-now-what/580441/27 "2011-05-02T06:11:42Z")
According to [this blurb](http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/official-us-ensuring-bin-ladens-body-is-handled-in-accordance-with-islamic-tradition/2011/05/02/AFdSzAWF_story.html), it’s going to be “handled in accordance with Islamic tradition,” but there’s no more info. ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bin-ladens-body-now-what/580441/28 "2011-05-02T06:28:42Z")
> [@Mehitabel](#): > > I don’t know, but we have to make sure to do what the Russians did with Hitler’s body and avoid having the bastard in a grave that will no doubt be visited by people who are as twisted as he was. And we make you produce picture ID, and smile for the camera as you enter this holy place. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bin-ladens-body-now-what/580441/29 "2011-05-02T06:58:34Z")
From ABC News’ Jpnathan Karl, at [http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenote/2011/05/osama-bin-laden-body-headed-for-burial-at-sea-officials-say.html](http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenote/2011/05/osama-bin-laden-body-headed-for-burial-at-sea-officials-say.html)\* …U.S. officials tell me the last thing they want is for his burial place to become a terrorist shrine. To avoid that, an informed source tells me, the intention is the bury his body at sea – leaving no definitive location for the final resting place of his body.\* \* A senior administration official tells my colleague Jake Tapper this about the body: “We are ensuring it is handled in accordance with Islamic practice and tradition. It’s something we take seriously and therefore it’s being handled in an appropriate manner.‬”\* \* Under Islamic tradition, ABC’s Zunaira Zaki reports, the body would be washed by Muslim men and buried as soon as possible, usually by the next prayer (Muslims pray five times a day), although there may be delays under certain circumstances (for autopsies, for example). The body is usually buried in a simple white sheet – whether buried in the ground, or at sea.\* ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bin-ladens-body-now-what/580441/30 "2011-05-02T07:00:21Z")
Between this and killing Gaddafi’s family members but letting Gaddafi get away, I’m a bit concerned about Islamic radicals finding inspiration in these (what they’d perceive to be) martyrs. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bin-ladens-body-now-what/580441/31 "2011-05-02T07:01:17Z")
> [@Koxinga](#): > > Between this and killing Gaddafi’s family members but letting Gaddafi get away, I’m a bit concerned about Islamic radicals finding inspiration in these (what they’d perceive to be) martyrs. Yeah, I’m guessing we’re going to see a lot of Homeland Security “red” level signs in the next few days. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bin-ladens-body-now-what/580441/32 "2011-05-02T07:05:59Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > Hang it in chains in Lower Manhatten and let it rot in the Sun. Ew. If you’re going to do something that gross, just send the corpse to Jersey. Failing that, burial at sea (possibly after cremation) makes sense based on historical precedent. I don’t know if his family would want the body since they’ve tried to dissociate themselves from him, but a bin Laden shrine is definitely not desirable. ---
**Author:** ![R.P.McMurphy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7993a0/32.png) [@R.P.McMurphy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R.P.McMurphy)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bin-ladens-body-now-what/580441/33 "2011-05-02T07:42:13Z")
I think the appropriate thing to do would be to grind it up and gradually feed it into the woman’s toilets at Yankee Stadium so it could be pissed and shit on by women and then be flushed into the sewers of NYC. Something like that would deter future terrorists more than anything that would serve to portray him as a martyr. ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bin-ladens-body-now-what/580441/34 "2011-05-02T08:55:11Z")
[Reportedly the body has already been buried at sea.](http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/05/02/501364/main20058795.shtml) ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bin-ladens-body-now-what/580441/35 "2011-05-02T09:06:51Z")
For shame, SDMB. You should be above petty remarks likes these. You should be above sinking to such a low level. Thank God cooler heads prevailed in the U.S. government and his corpse was reported handled with respect to Muslim traditions before his burial at sea. What is to gain otherwise? You would futilely fan the flames of hatred. The ignorance on this thread is on par with YouTube comments and the absolute dregs and backwaters of the internet. ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bin-ladens-body-now-what/580441/36 "2011-05-02T09:28:01Z")
How we treat our dead is part of what makes us different…than those did the slaughtering. - Sheppard Book ---
**Author:** ![Girl\_From\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3da27b/32.png) [@Girl\_From\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Girl_From_Mars)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bin-ladens-body-now-what/580441/37 "2011-05-02T09:32:08Z")
> [@FluffyBob](#): > > Honestly what is the point of revenge on a corpse? > > He was targeted and eliminated after a decade long but successful search. Maybe a small amount of wind may be taken out of Al-Qaeda’s sails. Maybe not. A little justice has been exacted in response to a terrible crime. Why not keep it civilized. Thanks for being the first voice of reason in this thread. I know he did some horrible things, but revenge has been had. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bin-ladens-body-now-what/580441/38 "2011-05-02T09:32:17Z")
At first I was all like wtf. Now I realise this was the only/a very clever thing to do: wherever he was interred or his ashes scattered would become a place of pilgrimage for extremists; but if his body were screwed around with for more than a couple of days, they’d disrespect local custom. Hope they snagged some DNA or very clear photos of the body first. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bin-ladens-body-now-what/580441/39 "2011-05-02T09:41:11Z")
> [@drastic\_quench](#): > > For shame, SDMB. You should be above petty remarks likes these. You should be above sinking to such a low level. Thank God cooler heads prevailed in the U.S. government and his corpse was reported handled with respect to Muslim traditions before his burial at sea. What is to gain otherwise? You would futilely fan the flames of hatred. > > The ignorance on this thread is on par with YouTube comments and the absolute dregs and backwaters of the internet. Yeah, but the SDMB posters will come to their senses in a couple of hours…the rest of the intrawebs will stay that way forever. 😃 Seriously, I think it’s ok to allow the US folks the chance to vent and to ‘dance on the grave’. Given the enormity of the original attacks, and the damage it did to the collective US psyche (and world confidence in their omnipotence too), it’s really damned wonderful that they got their man. I’m no USA apologist at the best of times (actually, I think yer’ all a bunch of wankers normally) but in this instance, you can wank away 'til the cows come home!!! 😛 GO USA! ---
**Author:** ![spingears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bin-ladens-body-now-what/580441/40 "2011-05-02T10:30:54Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > If, as it seems (this is just before the POTUS speech), bin Laden is dead (:p) and we “have possession of his body,” what are we supposed to do with it? Perhaps it will be announced in the coming weeks… It has already been done by being buried at sea! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bin-ladens-body-now-what/580441.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bin-ladens-body-now-what/580441.md?page=3)