Can someone please explain to me how it is that for months on end, after 9/11, the tragedy that took place was replayed over and over of the death, gore, and violence on worldwide tv, of the suffering of those AMERICAN citizens, and that was "somehow", okay? Yet, now Bin Laden is supposedly killed and there's video, yet this is "somehow" not fit for tv?
I, for one, would like undeniable proof, and not someone's say so on it. If I sound suspicious, I am, dammit! How many times has the story already changed, anyway?.....and the excuses! Give me a break! We are already in over our heads...who gives a rat's *** if other extremists are offended!
We, as americans, deserve better.

IMO, there's no reason for Obama to release the photos and videos. They will just be called fake even if he does. In addition, it will tick off terrorists even more (which is the last thing we need) by us rubbing it in their face with pictures of their dead leader. There is ZERO upside to releasing the photos, as it would just be an attempt to appease conspiracy theorists who won't be appeased anyway.

Also, if we release the photos, everyone with minor computer skills will photoshop the pictures and put it on mugs, T-shirts, posters and signs and everywhere else and exploit this as a joke or a propaganda tool (in the mid east). Why not just keep the photos in a vault and show them to Congress and world leaders via an appointment.

Because I don't trust them, either..They lie too.
What has occurred is an event that affects ALL of us, not just those in power. We have a right to view the evidence and decide for ourselves....or have we sold out on that freedom as well?

The theory is that showing them might get some of our troops killed ... so it just isn't worth it. Maybe that is true but we are supposed to be an open society and we have sure shown everything else in contrast with what Obama said.

agreed....ok, what about those who lost loved ones being allowed to view the photos?...THEIR word, I would take

We never saw bloody bodies from 9/11 on the TV so there is no comparison here,

It would be really low class of us to put out his death photos, personally I would like America to keep a little class.

no, we didn't...instead we saw our loved oned jumping to their deaths as the buildings collasped...There most surely is a comparison!

We didn't see close-ups of their faces shot out.

No we did not see bloody bodies that could be exploited on the internet so there is no comparison.

Bry, did you know that Bush and Obama are both against releasing those photos?

Ladies, it is not my intent to start a heated discussion here..believe what you wish...as for me, I would like proof, not the words of a politician, or those paid off to validate what he claims. I say on a family to family basis then, allow those directly affected by loss of loved ones in the 9/11 attack to view at their choosing and go public as their conscious dictates..that would be proof enough for me

i have to 10 websites that show the bodies of 9/11, along with the people jumping out the windows... the difference is there was more than on person filming on 9-11, compared to the one when bin laden was killed.

Bry, I can only share my thoughts from an outside perspective...and in some way I hope they help...

With 9/11....the footage was shown globally for days, and the world was horrified....terrified...and saddened.

Is it possible the footage shown of the Twin Towers falling, and the carnage that ensued, was about firstly, informing, secondly creating an empathy, around the world?...did that not happen, even if not intentionally?

Is it fair to say what came from the visual information was an almost immediate 'call to arms' for the US, and many countries to support the US?...in both practical, and then military?

A unification, of many countries, and at the time, an emotional, graphic desire to stand beside the US?




I don't feel the sharing of the footage of the death of Osama would have the same emotional reaction, for other countries.....is it possible this is part of the reason it has been decided to not show it?

The expediency, and the finality of it feels more like a job that had to be done...and an almost quiet dignity in not plastering the media with it.

I understand many in the US have an almost insatiable need to view the footage....so they can then find some form of closure...

I do wonder if it was the wider world views, the perception of concerns of justice versus vengeance...(no trial, no having the criminal held to accoutability, diminished in the witness box, to nothing more than an insane, vicious old man).... over a fast expedient death..... that have been a part of not sharing this footage.

To me, they are showing they have something to hide. But that's just my opinion.

If there's proof, we deserve to see it. If they can't bring it, they can't be trusted.

I too find it ironic that it is ok to show the collapse of the twin towers over and over in the weeks following 9-11 giving the terrorists involved plenty of time to masturbate on the deeds they have done. it would be nice to see OBL's body, there is nothing classless about that. If you watch Mexican news channels they show bloody bodies of cartel members almost nightly (not talking about Univision, or Telelmundo). If you kill someone who is a worldwide nuisance then it would be fitting to display the body. The radical islamists are going to try to kill and sometimes succeed in killing our troops regardless of whether we show his photos or not.

He's dead and gone - good enough for me. There is no upside to
releasing the video. It would just be a rallying cry for his
ding dong supporters. Let the fish eat him and may his memory
and remains be lost on the seafloor forever.

Thank you all for the comments. The following then, is/would be acceptable to me for what it's worth.

...as for me, I would like proof, not the words of a politician, or those paid off to validate what he claims. I say on a family to family basis then, allow those directly affected by loss of loved ones in the 9/11 attack to view at their choosing and go public as their conscious dictates..that would be proof enough for me.

Again, thanks for all of your comments on the subject.

Releasing these photos is disrespectful.

Tantamount to running through the streets holding high the head of your enemy while shouting and thumping your chest.

The act of a barbarian.

Not the action of a civilised nation.

And taking people out, is more civilized?