Osama photos

[237SJ]

I wasn`t in the UK when Osama Bin Laden was killed but foreign TV said that he was buried at sea very quickly in accordance with Muslim law and they didn`t have any pictures of him to prove that he had been bumped off. This morning I came back from Nigeria and on the front pages of the national paper there was a picture of Osama with three bullets through his head. I have just heard on my local radio that the US authorities are thinking of releasing a picture of a very dead Osama. Does anyone else wonder why we in the west don`t get the whole picture sometimes?

[jno]

depends. Was it the fake photo?

http://www.guardian.c...-bin-laden-photo-fake

[Gromit]

That photo is a fake. It was originaLly used here and then quickly removed when it was discovered it had been on the www for several years.

[albaqwerty]

Powers that be have decided that the pictures aren't palatable for public consumption.

[237SJ]

You might be right. The photo might be fake. I don`t have any strong feelings either way but it seems a little bit strange that the US authorities say they might consider releasing a picture when they denied the existence of a picture before now.

[Gromit]

It was all recorded on a Seal's helmet cam (never thought I would write that strange sentence).

They can Produce a 'still' from that.

[douglas9401]

For all we know he is still in close proximity to a seal's helmet Gromit.

[Gromit]

Brilliant douglas9401

[anotheoldgit]

Why the need for proof that he is dead?

Don't you think that the US would have egg on their face if after they have declared they have killed him, he was to suddenly turn up smiling?

[Gromit]

AOG

No one has seen him for 10 years yet he remained a figurehead and hero to anyone who hated the west. OSL hasn't done much for a long time and had largely become irrevelant, but what he symbolised hadn't.

If enough people doubt he is dead, then he is still able to galvanise anti western supporters. Conclusive proof will dispel all doubt.

OSL Has long been portrayed as the bogeyman, when in reality there were others just as evil. He has been used to justify the War on Terror (a bogus title) for the US to do whatever they wanted to do to any country they wanted to do it to. Maybe it suits them to have some ambiguity whether he is not really dead. He can still scare people from beyond the grave. They need a bogeyman to justify wars, so until the next one comes along, the is he isn't he (dead) might serve a purpose.

[jackthehat]

I saw the 'photograph' on the DM website yesterday and was puzzled when, later on, reference was made as to whether it would be appropriate to publish a post-mortem picture....

OSL had, as I recall, been suffering from a chronic kidney disorder for many years; one that would have seen him increasingly marginalised in terms of 'actively' being involved in terrorism.........doubtless his vast wealth would have played a large part in the proliferation of terrorist acts, though, and will continue to do so.

[vodkancoke]

I am not very interested in seeing a picture of his dead body (bearing in mind I personally think they bumped him off about 8 years ago!) but I am puzzled as to why they were so quick to release gory images of Saddam Husseins assasinated sons dead in a car yet they feel the need to delay the release of the OBL pictures saying they are too disturbing? Yet another cover-up perhaps?

[trt]

They should show his photo with the top of his head blown off. If it upsets the Muslims, to bad.

The Iraq's showed showed Saddam Hussein being hung and when he was dead with a wound to his neck.

The TV stations showed the poor people jumping to their deaths from the twin towers.

[BertiWooster]

For funks sake .

Even , if the US authorities puts out pictures - the conspiracy theorists are not going to be satisfied that what they are seeing , is Bin Laden ; and will claim that any pictures released are fake

[andy-hughes]

This topic was hotly debated on the Jeremy Vine Show on Radio Two today.

One caller summed up the whole 'picture / no picture' - proof? scenario very simply - if Bin Laden is still alive, all the Taliban have to do is to produce a film of him.

A quick smiley shot of him holding up a paper headlining his death should do it - but that's simply not going to happen.

He is dead - he was buried at sea simply to avoid any 'shrining' of his corpse, and compliancec with Muslim custom.