This is an absolute embarrassment that severely dampens what should have been a resounding display of courage and triumph for our country, and it goes for both sides of the aisle. Allow me:
Republican House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers said earlier in the day that the Obama administration should not release the gruesome post-mortem images, saying it could complicate the job for American troops overseas. Rogers told CBS News he has seen a post-mortem photo.
"The risks of release outweigh the benefits," Rogers said. "Conspiracy theorists around the world will just claim the photos are doctored anyway, and there is a real risk that releasing the photos will only serve to inflame public opinion in the Middle East."
"Imagine how the American people would react if Al Qaeda killed one of our troops or military leaders, and put photos of the body on the internet," Rogers continued. "Osama bin Laden is not a trophy - he is dead and let's now focus on continuing the fight until Al Qaida has been eliminated."
This bumbling statement is flawed on so many levels it's not even funny.
1. Public opinion in the Middle East is what it is about America. Those who hate us are going to continue hating, and those who are moderate will not be swayed by a picture of a deposed mass murderer. The innocents over there have seen more violence firsthand than most of us here can ever imagine seeing.
2. Conspiracy theorists WILL have their theories from now til all eternity. That's fine. They will probably be unemployed people who spend all their time on internet boards deriding the country, government, etc anyway. That doesn't mean we should let these putative conspiracy theorists force us to appear to be cowering at the possibility of retaliation by a couple of smelly bearded bozos with RPGs and AK47s.
3. No need to imagine how "American people would react" - we've seen photos and VIDEO of our own citizens (let alone soldiers) jumping out of gigantic buildings, being beheaded, and in various states of violent injury/death all at the hands of these fucks and this dead fuck in particular.
4. Analogizing the posting of bin Laden's domepieced head to the posting of a dead soldier or "military leader" is an insult to all soldiers. He was not a soldier, and he was certainly no military leader. He was a criminal, a mass murderer, and an illegitimate combatant. He's not entitled to any special respect.