President Obama will not release photos of a dead Osama bin Laden, for fear that the "very graphic" images could lead to violence or might be used as a propaganda tool. "We don't need to spike the football... given the graphic nature of the photo it would create a national security risk," the president says in an interview with 60 Minutes set to air on Sunday. Obama conceded that conspiracy theorists will continue to deny the truth, but "the fact of the matter is, you will not see bin Laden walking on this Earth again." Is withholding photographic proof unwise?
Releasing the photo would have accomplished nothing: Disseminating a photo of a bullet-riddled bin Laden could "rally terrorist forces around the world, buttressing any movement to turn bin Laden into a martyr," says Susan Milligan at U.S. News & World Report. Don't forget the "destructive effect" of the Koran-burning video. As for conspiracy theorists, doubters would likely have just used the picture to hatch "a new wave of conspiracy theories about doctored photos." Obama haters "will believe what they want to believe."
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