Wednesday, May 04, 2011

To OBL? Or not To OBL. That is the question

There is a certain irony IMO, that the president is wrestling with the concerns of transparency and potential conspiracy theories over the death of OBL. and that his cabinet is advising him against it.

Is it just me, or is that not truly ironic.


Gates, Clinton Advising President to Not Release OBL Photograph

President Obama is increasingly doubtful that there's a compelling reason to release a photograph of Osama bin Laden's corpse, ABC News has learned.

There don't seem to be many skeptics of bin Laden's death in the Muslim world, with bin Laden's wife having survived the attack to identify bin Laden's death both to the Navy SEALs and Pakistani authorities.

Meanwhile, sources say, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are advising the president about concerns at the Pentagon and State Department that releasing a photograph could prompt a backlash against the US for killing bin Laden where one does not seem to currently exist.

The internal debate at the White House is then informed by this question: why are we releasing this photograph if no one seems to really doubt his death and releasing it could cause more harm than good?


US official: "The only skeptics are extremists and they wouldn't be convinced by a photograph anyway. So the president has to weigh the potential negatives and they're huge, there's a tremendous risk of the photo becoming a rallying cry for attacks against US soldiers, government personnel, and Americans in general."

-Jake Tapper

2 comments:

Texan in Wisconsin said...

We should have brought the body back and put it at Ground Zero where family members of the fallen could spit on it...or douse with other body fluids.

Then wrap the body in bacon and put on a funeral pyre with pigs feet. THEN they could have scattered the ashes at sea.

But that's just me.

Freaking Obama is too chicken to make a command decision and RELEASE THE PHOTOS.

Anonymous said...

No, that's not just you. :)

I want the helmet cam video on prime time tv on every channel for a week.