Bin Laden = Dead

[Jackdog]

Last take on this. First off,glad to hear Delta was involved with this operation.

I lost family and friends on 9/11 and the war years that followed. My family members are happy with the results of the raid. We certainly didn't need to see a long drawn out trail with OBL spouting his BS. I really don't care what brought him to kill thousands of innocent civilians simply going to work that day. I saw people jumping to their deaths on 9/11 because of this murderer. I could careless if he was armed or not.
As far as his death shots being gruesome,so what? I've seen pictures of President Kennedy after his head was shot off. They were published. He is a beloved hero in this country. Why not show this vermin's photo. Personally I want to see the death shots of the man that caused my life/family and country to drastically change for the worse. That photo will be my screensaver for the rest of my life.

Last but not least. f*** the Pakistani Government. OBL lived there for 5 years??? End financial aid to that rat's nest today.

[XXXIV]

Last take on this. First off,glad to hear Delta was involved with this operation.

I lost family and friends on 9/11 and the war years that followed. My family members are happy with the results of the raid. We certainly didn't need to see a long drawn out trail with OBL spouting his BS. I really don't care what brought him to kill thousands of innocent civilians simply going to work that day. I saw people jumping to their deaths on 9/11 because of this murderer. I could careless if he was armed or not.
As far as his death shots being gruesome,so what? I've seen pictures of President Kennedy after his head was shot off. They were published. He is a beloved hero in this country. Why not show this vermin's photo. Personally I want to see the death shots of the man that caused my life/family and country to drastically change for the worse. That photo will be my screensaver for the rest of my life.

Last but not least. f*** the Pakistani Government. OBL lived there for 5 years??? End financial aid to that rat's nest today.

Agree 100% on all counts.

[Slumberland]

We certainly didn't need to see a long drawn out trial with OBL spouting his BS.

Totally. That's mostly why I'm glad it went down the way it did.

[matthewk]

I'm not so upset about Mendenhall's religious beliefs as I am about this other tweet of this:

Mendenhall didn't hold back, even making a reference to the Sept. 11 attacks.

"We'll never know what really happened. I just have a hard time believing a plane could take a skyscraper down demolition style.

Seriously dude? Did you not see the videos? What a tool. I'm just glad this guy is on the Steelers, since I already dislike that team

[pk500]

Well said, Jack-diggity.

[Teal]

Death photo released!
http://peacemoonbeam.typepad.com/bighai ... photo.html

[JackB1]

Shepard Smith at Fox News is saying the the whole Bin Laden Operation/Killing was "illegal".

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/0 ... 57356.html

Does anyone here think that OBL deserved to be captured alive and brought to trial like a
"normal" POW? I guess this is coming out because they have release info that OBL was
not armed at the time of the raid and wasn't a threat to anyone. Doesn't the fact that
he already admitted to masterminding a plan that killed thousands of innocent Americans
make it OK to kill him on sight?

Personally, I am upset they gave him a quick painless death like shooting in the head. He should
have been locked up in a tall building somehere and then that building should be set on fire
and he will have the same horrible death that most of the 9/11 victims had. He would have to
chose to jump to his death or burn up in the fire. IMO, OBL got off way too easy.

[JackB1]

Kind of hard to keep all the information straight now. Today it was revealed OBL did not use a gun and did not use his wife as a shield after all. The whole deal of how much did Pakistan know, etc. seems to change hourly. The White House spokesman even admitted he was getting confused about some aspects of the information, lol. I know they will not release the video of the operation, but it would be cool if they would release some snippets.

This tells me they probably had no intention of taking him alive (and I have no problem with that). It prob would suit the White House to release everything they have asap. Big details like this (gun/no gun, sheild/no shield) will only fuel conspiracy lovers & grand-standers. I've already had a couple goofs I work with tell me they believe OBL is still alive somewhere. Oy.

And now that Obama has decided not to release any death photos, the conspiracies will only continue.

[Teal]

I think it's a boneheaded move.

[Naples39]

I kinda agree with the sentiment that it isn't going to do much against the conspiracy theorists. If you think the Bin Laden's still alive, and that the whole thing was some massive show, is a gruesome photo going to 'prove' anything to you? Surely if they're going to raid a foreign country and blow up a helicopter, a fake photo is the easy part. Nevermind the fact that if bin Laden was still alive, how ridicuously easy it would be to provide proof of life and make the US look like fools. Does any logical person need photo proof? There are witnesses, DNA, documents, etc...

The photo would instantly become infamous, and could certainly fuel other nonsense abroad.

[Lancer]

I think it's the right decision. I was a little miffed when Bush had released the Hussein brothers death pictures.

It's a tricky situation but as one poster said, there's nothing your gonna do to convince the conspiracy theorists in the mid east he's dead. It's like the birthers who still don't believe Obama was born in the USA even w/ the full document he produced.

I like to think as a nation we are beyond any public displays of gore from our government, even in this case. That is more reserved for barbaric governments/countries. I like that we are above that kind of display coming from our highest office.

[toonarmy]

http://gawker.com/#!5798497/ex+justice- ... ath-photos

Interesting read about how the photos may have to be released whether Obama wants them to be released or not.

[LAking]

I kinda agree with the sentiment that it isn't going to do much against the conspiracy theorists. If you think the Bin Laden's still alive, and that the whole thing was some massive show, is a gruesome photo going to 'prove' anything to you? Surely if they're going to raid a foreign country and blow up a helicopter, a fake photo is the easy part. Nevermind the fact that if bin Laden was still alive, how ridicuously easy it would be to provide proof of life and make the US look like fools. Does any logical person need photo proof? There are witnesses, DNA, documents, etc...

The photo would instantly become infamous, and could certainly fuel other nonsense abroad.

Exactly. A photo is completely pointless. Any certified nut job conspiracy theorist will just claim that the photo is fake. These are people who want to believe that their is a conspiracy. It gives their lives meaning. Nothing will change their minds. And besides, were talking about a miniscule percentage of the population that actually believe that crap. Just ignore them.

I have to agree that releasing the photo now can only do harm. It could entice rage among some Muslims who might be on the fence about OBL. It also may do nothing but why take the chance at this point? If OBL were really alive he would immediately make a video to prove it and as Naples put it, make the US look like a bunch of fools with absolutely no credibility.

[matthewk]

Shepard Smith at Fox News is saying the the whole Bin Laden Operation/Killing was "illegal".

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/0 ... 57356.html

You're walking a fine line with the politics rule here Jack.

I watched the video. This sums it up nicely (from a comment, not my words):
"This article is bogus. At first, I was outraged Shep would say that. But watch the video. He wasn't saying it was illegal. He was saying if there was any talk that it was. He was simply providing a hypothetic­al question."

[RobVarak]

I have a hard time buying the idea that a photograph will lead to any additional terrorist threat.

Are there terrorists out there willing to die for their cause but not quite yet pissed off enough to do it?

There is a very finite number of people in the world who have the correct psychological, demographic and cultural components in their lives to lead them to be willing to die to attack the United States. I see no compelling data which leads me to believe that releasing a photograph will increase the number of these people.

[vader29]

[Naples39]

I have a hard time buying the idea that a photograph will lead to any additional terrorist threat.

Are there terrorists out there willing to die for their cause but not quite yet pissed off enough to do it?

There is a very finite number of people in the world who have the correct psychological, demographic and cultural components in their lives to lead them to be willing to die to attack the United States. I see no compelling data which leads me to believe that releasing a photograph will increase the number of these people.

But it's not about inflaming the terrorists more, but getting the Islamic moderates to move on. A distasteful picture can harm the overall perception abroad, which is relevant. If there's no benefit to releasing the photo, why even risk that?

[GTHobbes]

"We don't need to spike the football."

What a great quote from Obama to Steve Kroft of 60 Minutes, in reference to the decision not to release the photos.

[Teal]

Anyone the photos would 'incite' aren't people that I'm worried about offending. Seemed awfully important to release all those photos of Abu Graib a few years ago, and no one seemed to care who would be 'incited' by what.

[Teal]

And I'm sorry, but whenever a politician says 'trust me, trust me'...I'm sure he's dead, but Reagan said it best: "Trust...but verify..."

[Naples39]

It's one of the biggest news stories in years, I don't see how anyone can think the administration is pulling a fast one. And as I said earlier, there are other types of evidence--a photo isn't the end-all-be-all of evidence.

There are degrees of offensiveness short of incite. We are trying so hard to 'win hearts and minds' against all kinds of propaganda abroad, why give them ammunition for no benefit to ourselves? A gruesome photo can offend reasonable people.

Lastly, it's not like it was a voluntary executive decision to release the Abu Ghraib photos.

[Lancer]

http://gawker.com/#!5798497/ex+justice- ... ath-photos

Interesting read about how the photos may have to be released whether Obama wants them to be released or not.

I wouldn't be surprised if it finds it's way to wikileaks.

[toonarmy]

OOPS!

Three Republican senators who claimed to have seen images of Osama bin Laden after he was killed may have been duped.

Republican Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts said Wednesday that he had been fooled by a fake photograph ostensibly showing an image of bin Laden post-mortem.

"I have seen the pictures. I've received the briefings. I've spoken to the operational leaders and I can tell you for a fact that he is dead," Brown said in an interview with WBZ Wednesday morning.

He repeated that point to other news outlets as part of his argument that the images should not be released.

"Listen, I've seen the picture," he told Fox-25 TV, according to the Boston Globe. "He's definitely dead. And if there's any conspiracy theories out there, you should put them to rest."

But the Globe reports that Brown is now telling NECN and other news outlets that "the photo that I saw and that a lot of other people saw is not authentic." His office would not say who showed the senator the fake photographs.

Two other Senate Republicans, Saxby Chambliss, R-GA, and Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-NH, told CBS News Wednesday morning they had viewed post-mortem images of bin Laden. "Obviously I'm not an expert in this area, he's such a well known figure when you see the picture it clearly has his features," said Ayotte.

But Ayotte released a statement Wednesday afternoon saying that she's not sure the picture was real.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162- ... 03544.html

[pk500]

Seemed awfully important to release all those photos of Abu Graib a few years ago, and no one seemed to care who would be 'incited' by what.

Different situation. Everyone in the media clamored for those photos as evidence for the story they were trying to build against the Bush Administration.

I don't sense the same media clamor for the Bin Laden death photos. There's no case to build by the media. I think just about all of the mainstream and political media that begged for the Abu Ghraib photos believe in the DNA testing proving Bin Laden's death.

If the Bin Laden shots are as gruesome as purported, I doubt they would pass the "community standards" clauses of many newspapers and run. Many websites would run them with a disclaimer, and tabloids would have a field day with them. But I doubt you'd see them on the cover of the New York Times, Washington Post or many local papers.

I'm ambivalent. If they're released, they're released. If not, big deal. The dude is dead. Anyone with a functioning brain cell should know that.

There's no reason for the U.S. government to fabricate his death due to increased internal or external pressure from political or public arenas in the last few months to find this f*cker and kill him, maybe because of the impending 10th anniversary of 9/11 or a public proclamation by Obama that the war in Afghanistan would end when Bin Laden was erased. That pressure and those scenarios didn't exist.

The only people who still believe Bin Laden is alive won't be convinced by death photos or are camping somewhere in Area 51.

[Teal]

Seemed awfully important to release all those photos of Abu Graib a few years ago, and no one seemed to care who would be 'incited' by what.

Different situation. Everyone in the media clamored for those photos as evidence for the story they were trying to build against the Bush Administration.

I don't sense the same media clamor for the Bin Laden death photos.

Oh, I certainly don't disagree with you there. I don't sense it either. But you know why I think that is, yet it's political, and I won't go there...