Poll: Release the Picture of Osama Dead or not?
 

A lot of talk about this was interested in how the board felt about it

Release the photo of Osama dead or not?

Yes. Freedom of information is a good thing. Even though I believe his death is legitimate, if they do not release it then it sets a precedent for future incidents in which the government might lie about something and use this as an excuse to not release proof.

I say put it out there, though not because I doubt he really is dead.

They should have done that immediately instead of spawning more conspiracy theories. Now everyone thinks they just needed time to make a decent shop.

I think those theories are going to be there regardless of the timeframe.

I guess, I just... I don't know, if it kept even one person from buying into a conspiracy, the world would be a slightly less unbearable place.

I get what you mean man. No worries.

Eh, there's enough pictures of dead people out there. One more doesn't add value, and is subject to way too much abuse by too many of my idiot countrymen.

I don't see that it really matters.

Photos can be faked/staged, DNA evidence can be faked/staged, damn near everything can be faked/staged if you put enough professionals and money behind it. I bet in the coming months Bin Laden speaking videos are released by groups trying to "Prove" that he is still alive (ones that of course were filmed before his death).

The most plausible line of thinking that I've heard from the corpser perspective: He is still alive is that we have him in custody and are using "enhanced interrogation" techniques to extract information from him. Personally I consider that a low probability, but it would certainly be a plausible reason to keep him alive but tell the world he's dead. Realistically, the physical data taken from his mansion is probably more useful than interrogating a guy who probably would lie even under extreme torture.

The thing about all the conspiracy theories is that the government gives plenty of reason for those to create these theories. For example, the original story coming out of Pakistan is already starting to differ from what they are saying happened now. ( So the news articles are saying). So naturally people start questioning parts of the story because they are getting different explanations from the same people, the next thing you know they start questioning the entire story in general. I don't even know what the current theories are right now, but had the government just said it was a kill mission. We went in killed him and few others and thats it, end of story, here's a picture, good night. Then, in my opinion that leaves less room for theories, but as long as they keep all the confusion alive about not showing pictures, and changing stories. Then I believe the conspiracy theories will continue to be on the increase. Just my opinion.

I was thinking this would be sort of a smooth move by Osama. Record a few videos "just in case" saying something along the lines of "As you can see, the reports of my death are completely untrue". Then he can go on to make some vague statements that could apply to any situation, but people will read into them and fill in the blanks and think he's specifically talking about events that occurred after his death.

I fuly agree. That's why I voted no.

No evidence will convince some people.
Not a picture (Oh, it could have been photoshop!),
not the body (oh, it's another person, that's why they shot him in the face), not the DNA (whose DNA did they REALLY compare it to?),
not a video (Hollywood at work).

The same group of people still doubting that even the long form birth certificate is real will NOT believe anything they don't want to believe.

In addition, why provoke Bin Laden's supporters by displaying gorry pictures of their "holy man?"
I know that Americans have a love story with blood, guts and violence, and that they love their guns. But why encourage that even further!

They can watch a good horror movie, or a war movie, that might give them their "pint of blood" for the day.

Enough is enough. There is no reason to desecrate a dead man, to swallow in horror, and to antagonize and provoke Islam's extremist, just to give satisfaction to the perpetual conspiracy theorists of this world. They will NEVER be satisfied.

Is it your position that what the government says should be taken on faith when a politician whom you like is president, and that those who lack such faith and demand evidence are mentally ill?

Mentally ill? Not usually. With their head up their . . .let me rephrase that . . .up Limbaugh, Coulter, O'Reilly, and Palin's A . .?

Absolutely!

Yes, I do believe Ben Laden is dead. Is it solely because I respect President Obama? No.

Would I have believed it if Bush had provided the same evidences during his presidency? Yes.

Did I believe Bush when he talked about WMD's in Iraq? NO, mainly because BUSH and CHENEY were the ONLY people who spread that rumor, and it went against all other information from UN, etc. . . AND, if Saddam Hussein had WMD, he would have used it rather than letting our troops invade Iraq.

But let me reverse the question. Why don't you believe it? Because You don't like Obama? Because "he is a Muslim?" Because "he is Black," Because "he wasn't born in Hawaii?"

I realize you're not making this assertion, but it really doesn't make much sense. If the plan was to photoshop it, they've had taken the time beforehand to work out a pixel perfect fake.

At this point I almost wonder if Obama isn't just playing the conspiracy nuts. Giving them just enough rope to hang themselves. It seemed to be his strategy with the birthers.

The amount of people who don't think Osama is dead is pretty small, from what I've gathered. Even in the Middle East, it seems that the large majority believe that the guy is actually dead. The people who don't think Osama is dead are most likely the people who aren't going to be convinced by pictures anyway. So, releasing the photos would most likely not convince the people they're intended to convince and quite possible end up pissing off and offending a crap load of people.

On the other hand, I'm only human and am quite susceptible to morbid curiosity.

Much like taking bin Laden alive, there is no upside to releasing a picture of his corpse. The best way to handle this (from a government perspective) would be to declassify the whole file, including pictures, some time much farther down the road (15-20 years).

I apologize for my insinuation. It appears that you favor blind faith in some government claims regardless of who has power.

But let me reverse the question. Why don't you believe it? I don't practice blind faith, especially when one of the most corrupt professions in history is involved.

Because You don't like Obama? Since I dislike almost all politicians, the answer is no.

Because "he is a Muslim?" Because "he is Black," Because "he wasn't born in Hawaii?" I don't think the first and the third and I don't care about the second.

False dichotomy. Many of those who doubt that bin Laden was killed a few days ago think that he has been dead for a long time.