Bin Laden

Today, President Obama said that photos and videos showing a dead Osama Bin Laden would not be released.  Many pundits on both sides of the fence cranked up the political posturing and set forth a barrage of what could be a firestorm of conspiracy theories.  I personally could care less whether the photos emerge or not.

However, I do find certain things curious about the controversy.  Many who do not want the photos released seem to fear a Muslim backlash were the very ones demanding or applauding the release of photos from Abu Ghraib prison.  Most likely to serve as an embarrassment to the Bush administration.  Let's face it, radical Muslims will hate us regardless of the released photos and are hell bent on killing us long before a photo of any kind emerged.

On another note, Many who want the photos released say it will counter the conspiracy theories that have already begun to rise.  If that is true, there are photos and videos of the lunar landing, the Kennedy assassination and 9-11 itself that have had no effect in dispelling theories.  Apparently, the administration did not have a concise plan on the stories told and there seems to be conflicts on the time of the raid, whether Bin Laden was armed or was hiding behind women in his compound.  Naturally, every time a story changes, it only fans the flames of the conspiracy theorists. We can look forward to the next few months of nasty debates on this matter.

Whatever the outcome, some things probably are better off just not shown. The cell phone video of the hanging of Saddam Hussein was released but for the sake of human decency's sake should have never surfaced but like the gruesome photos of interment camps at the end of World War II, they will be part of history and serve to rally the sentiments of generations to come.