President Obama has decided to release at least one photo showing Osama Bin Laden’s death.
The images, being described as ‘graphic’, are bound to stir emotions in the east and the west, and will likely become the most viewed photographs in modern history.
One image shows a bullet wound to his head above his left eye.
Will it remove all doubt about the death?
The exact timing on the release is being debated.
White House counterterrorism chief John Brennan said in a televised interview early Tuesday on NBC’s Today Show that bin Laden’s death was the latest in a series of U.S. operations that have dealt what he called “severe body blows” to al-Qaida.
U.S. officials say analysts are continuing to scour digital and paper files that U.S. Navy Seals took from the $1 million compound that sheltered the world’s most wanted man near Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad.
Brennan said in a series of appearances on morning television in response to questions about the release of tapes and images of Bin Laden’s killing : ‘This needs to be done thoughtfully,’ with careful consideration given to what kind of reaction the images might provoke.
The Taliban cast suspicion Tuesday on the announcement of Osama bin Laden’s death, saying they would not believe the al-Qaida leader was dead until they had seen proof or received confirmation from sources close to him.
Though U.S. officials have said they confirmed bin Laden’s identity both with face-mapping software and DNA tests, the lack of photos of the body and its burial at sea have raised doubts in Afghanistan and Pakistan that the man who evaded American detection for so long has actually been killed.
This news is only coming from one side, from Obama’s office, and America has not shown any evidence or proof to support this claim,” Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said in a statement emailed to journalists. “On the other side, our sources close to Osama bin Laden have not confirmed or denied the news.”
“Until there is news from sources close to Osama bin Laden it will be too early to provide any reaction,” the statement said.
More to follow …story developing but it appears that the White House is not in a hurry and is being extra careful
Update
The White House said the release of the photo of bin Laden’s body could be ‘inflammatory’ because it is “gruesome”
White House press secretary Jay Carney said the White House is mulling whether to make the photo public, but he said officials are concerned about the “sensitivity” of doing so. Carney said there is a discussion internally about the most appropriate way to handle but “there is not some roiling debate here about this.”
Asked if President Barack Obama is involved in the photo discussion, Carney said the president is involved in every aspect of this issue.
Update: The White House has not so far released the photo. We took the title of the article from Drudge. We updated the title to read”to release ” instead of released just as Drudge did
Drudge report, Agencies
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