Reuters Bin Laden Photos: Graphic Images of Men Killed in Raid [PHOTOS]

Though President Obama has vowed not to show the world the coveted Osama Bin Laden death photos, fearing display of such "trophies" could further fuel backlash from Bin Laden loyalists, there are some new photos from the raid available. News outlet Reuters has paid for, obtained and published photos of threemen killed in the Osama Bin Laden raid.

We will not show you these pictures here, but we will link you to the material below. See fake Osama death photos here.

Reuters Releases Bin Laden Raid Photos Showing Men In Pools Of Blood [WARNING: EXTREMELY GRAPHIC IMAGES]

If you want to see the Reuters Bin Laden photos, or rather photos of three men killed in the raid that also killed Osama Bin Laden, click here to go to Reuters.com. Be warned, these images are very difficult to look at, especially with less context than they would have if they were of Osama Bin Laden's dead body.

If these images were the actual Osama Bin Laden death photos, we would know who we are looking at. Most of us already despise him, and are glad to see him wiped off the face of the Earth, if only for the good of innocent people around the world who may now be spared from any more of his evil deeds. We know Osama Bin Laden was not a good man, and we know his background. Yes, he had wives and children; in fact, he reportedly had many of them. However, the sentiment rendered against him following decades of his wicked work helps to outweigh any sympathy one would normally have for taking a father from his children.

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However, in the Reuters death photos seen here, we are less certain of what or whom we are seeing. We know the images show Bin Laden's compound in Pakistan, we see wreckage from a US chopper that went down due to mechanical issues and then was rendered destroyed on purpose by US Navy SEAL operatives. Then, we see three men who have each been shot and are laying in pools of their own blood. Gruesome isn't a strong enough word, and yet it would be harder to look at were there not this sort of desensitization that comes from watching season after season of shows like CSI and Law & Order, and even more graphic shows such as The Sopranos. Our brains have to wrestle with looking at the same sort of image, a person dead and bloodied, two completely different ways.

In the graphic Reuters Bin Laden raid death photos here, which depict three unidentified men after bloody deaths, we are most certainly looking at real dead bodies. What isn't certain is who these men were. Given that they were in Osama Bin Laden's inner realm, they were not likely the most innocent larks in the park, but who were they exactly? It is harder to know how to feel about images such as those released today, because they were released without sufficient context. Did these men have young children? Have these men killed innocent people? Were they armed or reaching for weapons (and early reports suggest they may not have been)?

The Reuters Bin Laden raid photos are information, and we like information. However, perhaps we need some more. We don't quite grasp the point of releasing bloody, graphic images of three unknown subjects if the whole idea is not to inflame that region against America. Whether the Reuters photos show Osama Bin Laden's body or not, we now have photos of three Muslim men killed in Pakistan by US troops. The photos are very bloody, very cold and very graphic. Would these disturbing images not also ignite rage in those who would seek to avenge Bin Laden and Al Qaeda, or even in the hearts of ordinary, peaceful Muslims?

Obviously these men were trusted insiders for Bin Laden, and the photos at least show further proof a deadly raid took place. There was likely every good reason in the world to shoot the men we se laying dead on the floor of Bin Laden's compound; this was a kill mission, after all. The mission was to take out the Bin Laden threat; if these men were a part of that, and most likely they were, they needed to die. But do we need to see it?

Many Americans and people around the world who have watched this story develop say yes, and not only that, they want more. Without actual photos of Osama Bin Laden's body after the attack that reportedly killed him, some are hesitant to even believe Bin Laden is dead. Many other people are glad President Obama has decided not to release the photos, and just want the whole situation to simmer down. What do you think? Sound off in the comments below.

Source:

Reuters.com - photo links