Bin Laden's Photo and Burial Controversy

by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright May 5, 2011
All Rights Reserved.                                         

               Churning in the wake of Osama bin Laden’s May 1 death at the hands of U.S. Navy Seals, President Barack Obama put his foot down refusing to release post-mortem photos of the 54-year-old Saudi-born terrorist.  Speaking at Ground Zero, Obama struck a somber tone calling for national unity, despite ongoing controversies of whether to eventually release Bin Laden’s death photo and to explain why the Navy decided to give him a burial at sea.  Saying the photos might “incite to violence” in Muslims around the world, Obama insisted it was in the interest of U.S. national security to keep the photos private.  Bin Laden’s death sent shock waves around the globe, largely relief from nations and countless numbers of lives affected by his nearly 20-year rampage.  While many lawmakers agree with Barack’s decision to withhold the pictures, others, on both sides of the aisle, disagree. 

                 Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) told CBS’s “Early Show” that releasing the photos would give 9/11 victims the kind of closure they need to heal festering wounds.  Former Alaska governor and GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin said the photos would send a deterrent message to would be terrorists.  “No pussyfooting around,” said Palin, insisting the pictures would  send a “warning to others seeking America’s destruction.”  Washington Post’s liberal columnist and Obama supporter E.J. Dionne thinks the images “would have disillusioned and deflated” jihadists around the planet.  With support from Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Defense Secretary Bob Gates, Obama ordered the photos to remain sealed for the indefinite future.   Keeping the photos under wraps antagonizes the media and generates too much controversy on a story seeking more national closure.

             Whether the pictures are grizzly or not, the U.S. has an obligation not “to spike the football,” as Obama suggests, but to openly disclose the as much information as possible to the public.  Keeping the photos sealed fans the flames of conspiracy theorists looking for any excuse to dismiss Bin Laden’s unceremonious end.  Several U.S. senators, including Sen. Scott Brown (D-Mass.) and Sen. Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Georgia) claim to have seen the post-mortem photos.  Failing to release the photos won’t stop Bin Laden’s minions from lashing out with future terrorist attacks.  Homeland Security Chief Janet Napaolitano considered upping the terror elite level because of Bin Laden’s death.  Muslim groups protested the hasty disposal of Bin Laden’s corpse.  There’s absolutely no proof that keeping Bin Laden’s photos out of circulation decreases the chances of terrorism.

                    Mounting pressure from the media and public could push Obama to release the photos.  No matter what the justifications, more cover-ups fuel conspirators, looking to spoil positive world events.  Barack’s right that it’s no time to celebrate publicly, only one of reflection and introspection.  Bin Laden’s nearly 20-year reign of terror massacred all faiths, especially Muslims.  He stirred the pot in Iraq, pitting Sunni against Shiite Muslims, all because Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, a Sunni, suppressed the Shia population.  No one in the terrorist world was better than Bin Laden at spewing propaganda, giving violent Islam a new voice.  Bin Laden didn’t like the pro-reform movement sweeping North Africa and the Middle East, demanding more rights and better conditions for poor Muslims.  Bin Laden single-handedly hijacked the Muslim faith to justify his criminal enterprise.

              Obama’s decision to keep the photos under wraps added to the way the Navy disposed of Bin Laden’s body.  Ordering the Navy to give Bin Laden a burial at sea ran afoul with Muslim tradition, raising more controversy about Bin Laden’s death.  Disposing quickly of bodies raises more issues about the condition of the corpse.  Ever-shifting stores about Bin Laden’s last stand indicates that the Pentagon hasn’t quite leveled with the public about what went down in Bin Laden’s three-story Abbottabad hideout.  Unless Obama releases the crime scene photos more suspicions will be raised about the condition of Bin Laden’s corpse.  Shifting stories about how he was killed continue to change, indicating that there’s more to the story.  Burying Bin Laden hastily at sea says more about getting rid of evidence and disposing the corpse than considerations about proper Muslim burials.

             Obama’s lasting political bounce from Bin Laden’s long-awaited death involves getting the facts straight.  If the story changes too many times, it’s going to detract from one of the greatest military missions in U.S. history.  Presiding over the event as commander-in-chief won Barack the respect of most reasonably-minded Americans and foreigners.  Only the most hardcore Obama-bashers continue the drumbeat looking for any angle to turn a great national victory into another scandal.  More disclosure of crime scene photos—no matter how gruesome or offensive—minimizes lingering controversy.  Instead of erring on secrecy, it’s better to get out the facts and let people draw their own conclusions.  Even if Bin Laden looks like Swiss cheese, it’s better to release the photos than continue to stonewall under the guise of protocol or protecting U.S. national security.

 John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news.  He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com.and author of Dodging the Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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