So, the decision by the administration is officially that they won’t release pics of a dead Osama Bin Laden. I personally think they should, one because it will quell some conspiracy theorists and two, having hard(ish) evidence of his death and being able to visualize it helps in closure.
Evidently they decided not to release them because they’re afraid it might incite violent action. I don’t see how that rationale is substantially different than a newspaper caving and not printing cartoons featuring Mohammed. I mean, appeasement of extremists like that while denying Americans evidence of ObL’s death seems ridiculous to me.
No. And I’m skeptical it would quell any CTs, either. Basically, a picture can be faked, and anyone who doesn’t believe that Osama is dead is not going to be convinced by some pictures.
We didn’t need to see his dead body, and I think the inflammatory nature those pictures would have on folks sympathetic to ObL isn’t worth the price.
It would only incite some people and would not change the conspiracy theorists (read people who do not like Obama) opinion at all.
As was seen when Obama released his “long form” birth certificate some people just moved the goal posts for what “proof” is.
There will be those who want to deny Obama any “victory” no matter what. For everyone else the evidence provided so far is sufficient. Mostly because it would be trivial for ObL to prove he is alive and torpedo a US president (e.g. ObL waving at a camera with today’s New York Times in hand).
What is surprising is even Obama haters tend to admit Obama is not stupid. Obama claiming ObL is dead without actually killing him would be stupid.
Okay, well yes, some extreme conspiracy theorist types will never be convinced. However, at this point we have zero evidence and just the president’s words that he’s dead. That’s enough for me, but I can see it being not enough for some middle-of-the-road types.
And honestly, I would have liked to see the pics. I wasn’t celebrating in the streets cause he was dead, but viscerally it would be very satisfying for me to see them.
This is the only argument put forth by the administration about why they’re not releasing the pics, and it seems like a very weak one to me. Why do we need to appease ObL’s symphathizers?
They are radical extremists (sort of maybe like the CT types who won’t believe ObL is dead no matter what) who
Are going to be super pissed whether or not we release the pics.
We have an assault on a compound in Pakistan. I do not think anyone disputes this. Helluva thing to do in a sovereign country that is likely to piss them off if there was no good reason for it.
We have ObL’s wife (one of them) identifying the body.
We have DNA evidence.
If you believe all the above is bullshit ObL merely needs to appear on a video with today’s newspaper in hand which, were he alive, I’d think he’d want to do.
Also, the whole, “conspiracy theorists will never be satisfied” argument also seems a little weak to me. By that logic we should never require evidence of anything from an authority figure because we should just trust that the same mechanisms that make them an authority figure are enough to ensure their honesty.
I mean, why do we ever ask to view the original research whenever the government releases the results of a study it funded? Shouldn’t the fact that the government authorized the release of the results be enough for us to believe?
The first is the only evidence that is verified by a non-governmental source. As far as I know, there is no footage or statement released by his wife.
And yes, I agree it would be massively stupid of Obama to lie about bin Laden’s death. But what if he’s being held in custody somewhere?
Listen, I’m not saying I don’t believe he’s dead by US hands. I just think it’s absurd to say that only nutjob conspiracy theorist types are the ones who will question this when there is really no corroborating information regarding his death.
I have the best evidence in the world…ObL hasn’t come forth holding a news paper claiming we killed him and laughing uproariously at the foolish Americans. You can be damned sure that if he was still alive, he’d already have made this fact known. If he died years ago, then someone in AQ would be saying that instead, and offering some sort of proof. They WANT to make us look bad…it’s in their best interest.
Consider the various Moon Landing CT’s. Photo graphic evidence is not enough for those folks…moon rocks, eye witnesses, etc etc…nothing was enough. Ok. But to me the best evidence is that the Soviets, who would have had a hell of a lot of incentive to rat us out, never made a peep about it.
Why do we need to appease people who just want to look at pictures of ObL dead? To me, this is a good move by the Administration. There will never be any closure for the followers of ObL…no body, no clothes, no pictures, no nuffin. So sad. He’s just a dead fanatic who was ultimately shot in the head and dumped in the ocean to feed the fish. Nothing to see here folks. Brilliant. I LOVE Obama…this whole thing has been masterful.
Because the people who want to see pics of him dead are Americans who were harmed in one way or another by the attacks of 9/11, not terrorists or sympathizers of terrorists.
I’m just saying releasing the photos would be cathartic and also evidence and the only reason he’s put forth for not doing so is appeasing terrorist sympathizers, who are probably 10x more pissed at the fact that he’s dead than at any images of him dead that might be released.
I can’t say I’d be surprised if someday we learned ObL was captured alive, interrogated and then dropped in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
For all intents and purposes he is dead. The US government has said he is dead. If he is really in some cell, currently alive, he is as good as dead. No government in the world would pull off this media storm and then say we had him in custody all the time.
ObL was either killed in the raid or he was abducted, will be interrogated and then will be put in a grave.
We don’t need to see him dead. It’s enough for us to know he IS dead…and dead at the hands of our soldiers. Why do we need to see the pictures?? Answer…we don’t.
But don’t worry…my guess is that our government has about as much chance of keeping this secret as a snowball has in the hotter portions of hell. Some congress critter will most likely leak this withing a month, and the pictures will be seen by all and sundry. It’s a shame that this will happen, as it will allow the followers of ObL some closure, and won’t substantially benefit anyone else except for the morbidly curious, but it’s going to happen. There is just about a zero chance that this will stay forever hidden…not with our government.
If his death is really such a non-issue why even hold a press conference? They could have just released a statement. Clearly his death was really important for Americans, and I would argue that witholding pics is denying some Americans closure.
Again, you’re assuming that the country is divided into “people who accept the administration’s word with no corroborating evidence” and “people who will never be convinced that ObL is dead.” If that’s how you feel, fine, but I’m pretty sure there are people in the middle who would have liked to have seen photos to assuage their doubt.
And furthermore, like I’ve been saying, I think there’s a cathartic element to seeing the photos. Don’t they let family members of the harmed parties view the execution of a killer?
I noted that Obama has been down this road with his birth certificate. Despite releasing it there are plenty out there still saying it is not sufficient.
If the Administration released the photos what good will it do?
The deniers…basically anyone hell bent on not letting Obama get credit for anything ever…will nitpick and say it is not enough.
You will also probably incite a lot of people around the world who hate the US and idealized ObL to greater efforts. Efforts that will see more Americans (or Europeans) dead. Why do that?
You (I think) and I are content with the proof as is. If ObL is alive and Obama lied then we should be seeing ObL on video in the near future with a current newspaper in hand. Obama will look like an ass and his presidency will probably be over.
As for the cathartic value…why would you think that? I suppose some might see it that way but seriously…do you need to see the person who wronged you with a headshot to get closure? I find that odd. It denotes a person who values retribution.
Shouldn’t it be enough to know the person got their comeuppance and move on?
It was his decision and I’m not in of the mind to question it. If that were someone I cared about (no matter how crazy), seeing his dead body plastered on the net would be in poor taste.
edit: Are there people saying he’s been dead for awhile already and President Obama just decided to pretend like he killed him?