Monday, May 16, 2011
Conservative group sues over bin Laden death photos
So the Obama Adminstration has refused to release any photos showing Osama Bin Ladin death. A conserative legal watchdog group has filed a lawsiut agianst the administration saying that " The American people have a right to know , by law, basic information about the killing of Osama Bin Laden," said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. Since Obama has no intention in releasing the photos they must now take it to court. In Obama's defense he says he doesn't want to "spike the football" by releasing these graphic photos of a man getting shot in the head so that it could be used as a propaganda tool. I personally agree with the conserative group, we do have the right to view these photos and the Obama administration has no right to withhold it from us. I feel like they are trying to hide something from us, there has been suspicion on wether Osama is really dead, but thats just my piont of view. But what do you guys think? do you support Obama or the corservative group?
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I heavily support Obama on this one. There is no reason why photographs should be released. The images would just spread hate and be used against the U.S.. Furthermore, the photos, even if they were released, would prove nothing. The United States Government is fully capable of perfectly doctoring a photo if they wanted to. This is just an attack on Obama for the sake of an attack on Obama. Conservative groups have plenty of other ammo they could be throwing in the canon, so I don't see why this was chosen.
We don't want the rest of Al-Qaeda using photos of the dead Osama to make him seem more of a martyr than he already is to them, so it would be best to not release them for now. To paraphrase what Jeff said, the Obama administration has the ability to create deceiving photos if they want to. There would be no way to prove if the photos were legitimate or not even if Obama released them for the public to see.
I think this group should learn to wait for a while. The photos will definitely be released someday in the future, even if the government refuses to let us see them now. The world at the present moment is not ready for something like this. An early release of the photos will only be a catalyst for increased terrorist group activity and an incentive for them to plaster more plans of violent acts against innocent civilians on their agenda. A early release of the photos will also pose the risk of attracting attacks from other conservatives over the authenticity of the images.
If the Obama administration eventually does decide to make these photographs public, I probably wouldn't view them when I'm eating lunch.
I definitely agree with Obama on this one. There is already a growing hatred in the middle east toward America. If we release the photos, I think the hatred will increase not only in the middle east but all around the the world. I also agree with Michael. If we were to release the photos, I think it would make Osama look more like a martyr than a terrorist.
I completely agree with Jeff regarding this issue. Not only would releasing photographs further portray Osama as a martyr to his brethren, but it would also further undermine the Middle Eastern image of America. Surely, Osama was a terrible man and an atrocious terrorist, but releasing pictures of his thoroughly adulterated body would be perceived as a disrespectful act by much of the Middle East and would rub salt in many wounds. As such, Obama is doing the proper thing by not releasing any pictures of Osama's dead body.
I think there is a middle ground here between Obama's stance and that of the conservative group's. Obama has his reasons for not releasing the photos and good ones at that, yet at the same time I understand where the conservative group is coming from too because many citizens conservative and liberal have been asking for the photos. I think the hybrid solution would be for the Obama Administration to procure undeniable evidence of Osama's death, if they don't want photo released give the people reassurance through another method.
After following the news coverage of Bin Laden's death, I personally agree with Obama. Simply because I don't think its appropriate for the public to see such bloody images. In addition, I don't think it would be appropriate for the younger generations meaning younger children. I say this because after the news of Bin Laden's death began to emerge, people started to cheer because he had finally died. First of all, the cheering really sends the wrong message because it teaches children that death is a cheerful matter when it's not. I think releasing Bin Laden's death photos would not only scare children, but also show them that death is also a public matter, when it is in fact s private matter.
I agree with Jeff about not releasing the photos. It is very disrespectful to the family of Osama and his children because they did nothing wrong. And it is also respectful not to release photos because it is respecting him as a human. This shows that Obama is a respectable man and a honorable leader. Obama and the people in charge of the slaying of Osama Bin Laden did their part and everyone celebrated and it is time to move on. A photo will bring more controversy and just is not necessary. And taking the government to court over pictures is not worth time or money because there are plenty of other problems.
Some things in war were not meant to be shared to the public, but were in an age where the public has a healthy skepticism of the government and feels the right to know everything that their government does.
I really think its just a gimmick for conservative groups to draw bad media attention on President Obama. Doesn't seem like a very decisive partisan issue that would really matter, unless it benefited the party.
Remember when they executed Saddam Hussein and the photos leaked? I bet some soldier has a picture of killing Bin Laden on his iPhone somewhere and just hasn't released it yet!
-Raymond Lim
I also support Obama on this issue. Before I read this post, I was also in support of him, but solely for the reason that it would be heavily disturbing. I don't think we need to see pictures of a murdered man to know that he is dead. I think we should just have faith that our government wouldn't lie to us on such a huge and momentous matter.
I hadn't even thought about how it would affect Osama's supporters before I read this post, but now that I have, I completely agree. Releasing bloody, horrendous, and disturbing pictures of a man that many almost worshipped would instill a lot of anger in a lot of people. I think it would damage us as a nation to release those pictures as I think they would just cause even more anger and hatred. I believe releasing the pictures would be dangerous.
I also agree with what many commenters have said about the photos not even being any real proof. The Obama administration could fabricate photos if they wanted, so I don't think we need to see any pictures to prove anything. I am fully with Obama on this one.
-Alice Bebbington
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