Victims of Bin Laden's Violence Should Get to See Photos of His Body

COMMENTARY | Osama bin Laden continues to haunt us even in death. People are, not surprisingly, trying to make a buck or shock people with unsavory fake photos of the purported death; ersatz bin Laden photos are flooding the internet.

I offer as reference an article on The Denver Post by the Associated Press titled "Bloody, fake photos of bin Laden go global."

And yet, the fake photos draw us to the real source of their success: President Obama's decision to not show the photos of a dead bin Laden, purportedly due to facial wounds.

This decision has opened the road for some people to provide fake photos to people around the world who yearn to see the "proof" bin Laden is gone and, perhaps on another level, to see him "punished." Is that wrong?

President Obama has chosen to listen to such people as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who has lobbied to have the pictures of a dead bin Laden classified. It has been likened to "spiking the ball." And I can see some value in that point of view. After all, many Muslims are already angry and to taunt them with terrible pictures might leave the United States open to terrorist reprisal.

However, CIA Director Leon Panetta feels that the photos should be released to prove to the world we got the Number One Wanted Man.

I was struck by a mother in the video provided by ABC News. While obtaining comments from various people, the reporter asked this mother about the president's decision not to show bin Laden body. She said that if it had not been for bin Laden, her son would be alive. She further said when murderers were put to death, families were allowed to watch if they wanted; I think she has a valid point.

Was President Obama correct in his decision not to show the photos of a dead Osama bin Laden?

Yes, I believe he was. However, I would add something to the decision. I think that the victims of bin Laden's terrorism should be brought to Washington, D.C., at the government's expense and allowed to see the photos if they wish.

We owe them that much.

References:

ABC News Website, Video, "Osama Bin Laden Dead: Photo to Remain Classified"

Denver Post Website, Associated Press, "Bloody, fake photos of bin Laden go global"