Obama Rules Out Releasing Photos of Slain Bin Laden

Warns Photo Would Be Used as a 'Propaganda Tool'

Following repeated suggestions that the photo would be released and numerous changes in the official story of the incident, President Obama has ruled out ever releasing photographs of a slain Osama bin Laden. ‘

Obama argued that releasing the photo would amount to “spiking the football,”: while the White House later insisted that the photos could be incendiary and used as a “propaganda tool” by militant factions.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said the photos were “too gruesome” and that they showed bin Laden was shot in the face. The questions about the al-Qaeda leader’s killing have increased with official confirmation that he was unarmed when shot.

A number of US politicians say they were shown the photo, and they were split over whether or not to release it to the public. How many of these claims were actually authentic remains to be seen, as Sen. Scott Brown (R – MA) later conceded that the photo he saw was actually one of the photoshopped fakes floating around the Internet.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.