THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: President Barack Obama will not release “trophy” pictures of Osama bin Laden’s body, he said last night, insisting: “You will not see bin Laden walking on this Earth again.”The “graphic” photographs would be used as a “propaganda tool” by terrorist organisations if they were published, he said.
But the president risked a row with the head of the CIA, who had promised the pictures would be released to silence doubters, and with families of 9/11 victims who want them to provide “closure”.
In an interview on US television, Mr Obama said: “Given the graphic nature of these photos, it would create a national security risk. We don’t want this floating around as incitement to additional violence or a propaganda tool. That is not who we are. We don’t trot out this stuff as trophies.”
He told CBS: “There is no doubt we have killed Osama bin Laden. The fact of the matter is you will not see bin Laden walking on this Earth again.”
However, a photograph of the al-Qaeda leader with a gaping bullet wound in his face has already circulated among United States congressmen, leading to speculation that it could be leaked in days to come. » | Gordon Rayner, Steven Swinford and Toby Harnden | Wednesday, April 04, 2011
