Last night I was interviewed by CBS news on why we must release the death photos of Osama Bin Laden. If, as Obama claims, Osama was "not a Muslim leader," then what is he worried about, right? Such nonsense is consistent with the bubbles belching from Obama's lips. Osama was a Muslim leader, and that is why Obama won't release them.
Jihadis will be enraged by their release -- so what? They are already at war with us, already killing Americans -- this is just one episode in a long war, and we cannot be cowed by the rage of our enemy.
The photos will not be conclusive proof, but will be evidence enough for reasonable people that OBL was killed. It put the issue of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's death to bed when Bush released his death photos. Not to mention the hanging and death photos of Saddam Hussein. Talk about propaganda tools -- these are very effective propaganda tools for us. Don't mess with us, savages.
But Obama is obviously taking advice from Muslim Brotherhood groups like Hamas-tied CAIR, etc.
We killed him. We cannot backpedal now. Clearly Osama bin Laden was the one jihadi that you could resonably kill and not worry about any twisted logic or advanced taqiyya. He delcared war on America and slaughtered our brothers and sisters. He is history. Good and dead.
This should be a campaign platform for any GOP hopeful: release the monster's photos.
Obama: I won't release bin Laden death photos -- Political Hotsheet ...
In an interview with Steve Kroft for this Sunday's "60 Minutes" conducted today, President Obama said he won't release post-mortem images of Osama bin Laden taken to prove his death.
"It is important to make sure that very graphic photos of somebody who was shot in the head are not floating around as an incitement to additional violence or as a propaganda tool," said the president.
"We don't trot out this stuff as trophies," Mr. Obama added. "The fact of the matter is, this is somebody who was deserving of the justice that he received."
The president said he had discussed the issue with his intelligence team, including Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and that they agree with the decision. White House press secretary Jay Carney said Wednesday that Mr. Obama made the decision today.
In explaining his choice not to release the photo, Mr. Obama said that "we don't need to spike the football." He said that "given the graphic nature of the photo it would create a national security risk."
The president told Kroft he saw the photos following the raid on the compound and knew that bin Laden had been killed.
When Kroft noted that there are people in Pakistan and elsewhere who believe bin Laden is still alive, the president said "we we monitoring worldwide reaction.""There is no doubt that Osama bin Laden is dead," he said. "Certainly there is no doubt among al Qaeda members that he is dead. So we don't think that a photograph in and of itself is going to make any difference."
"There are going to be some folks who deny it," he added. "The fact of the matter is, you will not see bin Laden walking on this earth again."
Video of the comments will appear on the CBS "Evening News" on Wednesday.
TRANSCRIPT: Obama discusses decision not to release images on "60 Minutes"
Asked about the decision Wednesday, Carney said "there are obviously arguments to be made on either side."
"The fact of the matter is, as the president described, these are graphic photographs of someone who was shot in the face -- the head, rather," he said. "It is not in our national security interests to allow those images, as has been in the past been the case, to become icons to rally opinion against the United States. The president's number one priority is the safety and security of American citizens at home and Americans abroad. There is no need to release these photographs to establish Osama bin Laden's identity. And he saw no other compelling reason to release them, given the potential for national security risks. And further, because he believes, as he said so clearly, this is not who we are."
We are not cowards. We should never act like cowards.
"He wanted to hear the opinions of others, but he was very clear about his view on this," Carney added. "And, obviously, his decision is categorical." He said it applied to "all visual evidence" of bin Laden's death, including video of his burial at sea.
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Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-SC, called the decision a "mistake."
"The whole purpose of sending our soldiers into the compound, rather than an aerial bombardment, was to obtain indisputable proof of bin Laden's death," he said.
Neil Livingstone, Chairman and CEO of Executive Action and author of nine books on terrorism, also disagreed with the decision.
"If we can't conclusively demonstrate that indeed he is dead there will be those who say he is still out there," he told CBS News. "Al Qaeda might even try to keep his legacy going and say 'they got someone else, they didn't really get him.'"
Sarah Palin registered his disapproval on Twitter.
"Show photo as warning to others seeking America's destruction. No pussy-footing around, no politicking, no drama;it's part of the mission," she wrote.
