Discover Yahoo! With Your Friends

Explore news, videos, and much more based on what your friends are reading and watching. Publish your own activity and retain full control.

To get started, first

YOUR FRIENDS' ACTIVITY

    The Cutline

    ‘Gruesome’ Bin Laden death photos should be secret, White House says

    The Situation Room, Sunday, May 1, 2011. (White House/Pete Souza)

    The CIA has 52 photographs or videos that were taken of Osama bin Laden after he was killed on May 1 in the American raid on his compound in Islamabad, Pakistan, according to the Justice Department. But the White House has asked a court to reject a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit that is seeking their release to the public.

    In a filing, the Justice Department argued that Bin Laden's death photos are classified and "wholly exempt from disclosure" and that their release could incite terrorism against American citizens, particularly overseas.

    John Bennett, the head of the CIA's clandestine service, said in a statement to the court that the public release "would provide terrorist groups and other entities hostile to the United States with information to create propaganda which, in turn, could be used to recruit, raise funds, inflame tensions, or rally support for causes and actions that reasonably could be expected to result in exceptionally grave damage to both the national defense and foreign relations of the United States." Bennett added that the images are "quite graphic, as they depict the fatal bullet wound to (bin Laden) and other similarly gruesome images of his corpse."

    Judicial Watch, the watchdog group that filed the original suit, contends the images are part of the public record. Similar FOIA lawsuits seeking release of the photos have been filed by dozens of news organizations.

    "We shouldn't throw out our transparency laws because complying with them might offend terrorists," Tom Fitton, president of the group, said in a statement. "The historical record of Osama bin Laden's death should be released to the American people as the law requires."

    According to the Associated Press, which filed its own request to review the materials, the Obama administration appears to be trying to delay the process. "Unnecessary bureaucratic delays harm the public interest and allow anonymous U.S. officials to selectively leak details of the mission," the news service argued in its appeal.

     

    152 comments

    • dan s  •  8 mths ago
      In the movies the room they are in looks way cooler, whats up with the low tech, no monitors or pictures from the far reaches of space of the event.
      • Carl C 7 mths ago
        Good point. The White House "Situation Room" is not a super high tech center like a TV news situation room or even on TMZ with Harvey Levin. . If you notice, the room is standing room only and is occupied by key Administration staff and Department of Defense officials. It's more like a side conference room than like a board room.
    • Advance Maintenance Suppl ...  •  7 mths ago
      The reason they refuse to show the photos - is because he was never there to begin with
    • Rebellious Slave  •  7 mths ago
      Naw..what's gruesome is what happened to the thousands of innocent people who died during 9-11.
      • Brit 7 mths ago
        And releasing pictures of the 911 victims would be inappropriate too. Get it?
      • rabbit 7 mths ago
        they didn't have any problem showing people jumping from the trade center. but they don't want to show pictures of a dead guy.
      • dre 7 mths ago
        the govt didn't show people jumping from the trade center, the media did. they don't give a fluck about protecting lives, all they care about is there ratngs and shock value. that's why they are so danmmn pressed to get the pictures. #$%$!!!
    • Mindless in Seattle  •  7 mths ago
      Show the photos, quite trying to hide things. Saddam's sons were shown!!
      • martin n 7 mths ago
        They got shot the F@$# up with a Bradley when they battled Marines inside their reinforced mansion---photos were all over the news and papers within hours. We all know why they won't show the pics
      • dre 7 mths ago
        #$%$ are u talking about martin n?
    • Lt. Dan  •  7 mths ago
      show them, these devils posted the murders of innocent people having their heads cut off. whats a couple bullets to the head? let em know whats coming.
    • emme  •  7 mths ago
      too gruesome for who? ever watch the SAW movie series?
      • Brit 7 mths ago
        That is a movie. This is real life. There is a difference.
      • A Yahoo! User 7 mths ago
        They're fake.
    • charles  •  7 mths ago
      my grandfather saw bodies falling 100 stories but we cant see the dead photo of the man who caused that?
    • H  •  7 mths ago
      After all the hell he has caused, I want to see the hell that those SEALs caused to his face.
      • TIsAStalker 7 mths ago
        IN RESPONSE TO: "would provide terrorist groups and other entities hostile to the United States with information to create propaganda which, in turn, could be used to recruit, raise funds, inflame tensions, or rally support for causes and actions that reasonably could be expected to result in exceptionally grave damage to both the national defense and foreign relations of the United States."

        BUT dragging a dead U.S. soldier or reporter through the streets in another country is A-OK?
    • bythebayck  •  7 mths ago
      How is this any more gruesome than what our kids watch on tv on a daily basis? As for retaliation...it would have happened long before now if it were going to. Even in small doses. I would choose not to view the photos however, it looks like decisions are being made for us, once more and that laws are being twisted and disregarded. For these reasons alone, I stand by releasing the photos for public CHOICE to view or not to view.
    • michael  •  7 mths ago
      we see more worse in road accidents,let alone in a shooting,that happens everyday!!!!
    • IBT  •  7 mths ago
      They are waiting until it is closer to the 2012 election to release the photos. Then, they will be released to remind voters that it was President Obama that had it done. Just another way to garner more votes.
    • martin n  •  7 mths ago
      Couldn't be more gruesome than the pics of Saddam's two sons who got blasted by a Bradley----come on, lets see the pics and end the controversy NOW!!!! My 2 cents, its all a sham
    •  •  7 mths ago
      All you people who want the pictures shown are you ready for another foray into Islamic territory AGAIN because they came up with more terrorist acts against us (because of the pics)??? If we are ready to take on more Mussies then I say go for it... show the pics!!!
    • The Wiz  •  7 mths ago
      The photos should be soaked in a prostitutes menstrual blood and then buried with a slaughtered pig as should have Bin Laden's body! In fact that should be the final fate of everyone who wants to be a "terrorist!"
    • B  •  7 mths ago
      I doubt Bin Laden was even at that compound at the time of the strike - it is all a massive government effort to distract the public from where the real truth leads back to
    • JCMTQ  •  7 mths ago
      You'd believe pictures? Hell, you've seen video of the WTC being destroyed, pics of the Pentagon and the PA crash site. Yet there are still plenty of idiots claiming it's not real. All the pics of the Holocaust = not real. So get over yourselves and move on. The guy was taken out and pics won't prove anything to you.
    • elvis  •  7 mths ago
      Ah come on - lets see his pictures. I want to see him with his head partially blown of. Come on, we can still recognize him with a couple of gunshots to the head.

      They really should've just captured him so he could be executed live on T.V. (a little guillotine action would've been nice for a change).
    • Craig  •  7 mths ago
      We broadcast videos of the planes crashing into the buildings. We broadcast videos of people jumping to their deaths to escape the heat and flames. We broadcast the pictures of the hole in the ground in PA. Nobody can deny that the terrorists responsible for these acts rejoice every time they see them. Nobody can deny that no matter what we do, there are those that intend to do us harm. And broadcasting a picture of Bin Laden's corpse will not make America or Americans any less safe.
    • ncrdisabled  •  7 mths ago
      I was in the NAVY 7 years on Submarines and had a top secret rating now most of what was top secret is now most out there as normal so I bet if a few years go by it will be released the same way
    • John  •  7 mths ago
      Right- that's why Obama said go ahead and make a movie about this and release it in October 2012...
    [ [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 2]], 'http://yhoo.it/KeQd0p', '[Slideshow: See photos taken on the way down]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 7]], ' http://yhoo.it/KpUoHO', '[Slideshow: Death-defying daredevils]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['know that we have confidence in', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/LqYjAX ', '[Related: The Secret Service guide to Cartagena]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['We picked up this other dog and', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JUSxvi', '[Related: 8 common dog fears, how to calm them]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 5]], 'http://bit.ly/JnoJYN', '[Related: Did WH share raid details with filmmakers?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 3]], 'http://bit.ly/KoKiqJ', '[Factbox: AQAP, al-Qaeda in Yemen]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have my contacts on or glasses', 3]], 'http://abcn.ws/KTE5AZ', '[Related: Should the murder charge be dropped?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JD7nlD', '[Related: Bristol Palin reality show debuts June 19]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 1]], 'http://bit.ly/JRPFRO', '[Related: McCain adviser who vetted Palin weighs in on VP race]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['A JetBlue flight from New York to Las Vegas', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/GV9zpj', '[Related: View photos of the JetBlue plane in Amarillo]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 15]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/white-house-stays-out-of-teen-s-killing-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120411/martinzimmermen.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['Titanic', 7]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/titanic-anniversary/', ' ', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/b/4e/b4e5ad9f00b5dfeeec2226d53e173569.jpeg', '550', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['He was in shock and still strapped to his seat', 6]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/navy-jet-crashes-in-virginia-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120406/jet_ap.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['xxxxxxxxxxxx', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/russian-grannies-win-bid-to-sing-at-eurovision-1331223625-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/1/56/156d92f2760dcd3e75bcd649a8b85fcf.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP', ] ]
    [ [ [['did not go as far his colleague', 8]], '29438204', '0' ], [ [[' the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 4]], '28924649', '0' ], [ [['because I know God protects me', 14], ['Brian Snow was at a nearby credit union', 5]], '28811216', '0' ], [ [['The state news agency RIA-Novosti quoted Rosaviatsiya', 6]], '28805461', '0' ], [ [['measure all but certain to fail in the face of bipartisan', 4]], '28771014', '0' ], [ [['matter what you do in this case', 5]], '28759848', '0' ], [ [['presume laws are constitutional', 7]], '28747556', '0' ], [ [['has destroyed 15 to 25 houses', 7]], '28744868', '0' ], [ [['short answer is yes', 7]], '28746030', '0' ], [ [['opportunity to tell the real story', 7]], '28731764', '0' ], [ [['entirely respectable way to put off the searing constitutional controversy', 7]], '28723797', '0' ], [ [['point of my campaign is that big ideas matter', 9]], '28712293', '0' ], [ [['As the standoff dragged into a second day', 7]], '28687424', '0' ], [ [['French police stepped up the search', 17]], '28667224', '0' ], [ [['Seeking to elevate his candidacy back to a general', 8]], '28660934', '0' ], [ [['The tragic story of Trayvon Martin', 4]], '28647343', '0' ], [ [['Karzai will get a chance soon to express', 8]], '28630306', '0' ], [ [['powerful storms stretching', 8]], '28493546', '0' ], [ [['basic norm that death is private', 6]], '28413590', '0' ], [ [['songwriter also saw a surge in sales for her debut album', 6]], '28413590', '1', 'Watch music videos from Whitney Houston ', 'on Yahoo! Music', 'http://music.yahoo.com' ], [ [['keyword', 99999999999999999999999]], 'videoID', '1', 'overwrite-pre-description', 'overwrite-link-string', 'overwrite-link-url' ] ]

    About The Cutline

    The Cutline is the Yahoo! News media blog devoted to making sense of the press and its influence.

    Subscribe

    [X]

    How to subscribe

    Roll over each section to subscribe using Add to My Yahoo! or RSS Feed feeds.

    Yahoo! News offers dozens of RSS feeds you can read in My Yahoo! or using third-party RSS news reader software. Click here to find out more about RSS and how you can use it with Yahoo! News.

    Meet The Cutline Team

    The Upshot Network

    Edited by Dylan Stableford
    Edited by Eric Pfeiffer
    Edited by Olivier Knox
    Add your ideas and help make it happen. Join the conversation.
    Should Bill and Donna take on more risk to boost their business?
    How Josh's comment on a Remake America video laid the groundwork for something bigger.