Obama: I won't release bin Laden death photos

Updated 6:19 p.m. Eastern Time

In an interview with Steve Kroft for this Sunday's "60 Minutes" conducted today, President Obama said he won't release post-mortem images of Osama bin Laden taken to prove his death.

"It is important to make sure that very graphic photos of somebody who was shot in the head are not floating around as an incitement to additional violence or as a propaganda tool," said the president.

"We don't trot out this stuff as trophies," Mr. Obama added. "The fact of the matter is, this is somebody who was deserving of the justice that he received."

The president said he had discussed the issue with his intelligence team, including Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and that they agree with the decision. White House press secretary Jay Carney said Wednesday that Mr. Obama made the decision today.

President Obama interviewed on "60 Minutes," May 4, 2011.

/ CBS

In explaining his choice not to release the photo, Mr. Obama said that "we don't need to spike the football." He said that "given the graphic nature of these photos it would create a national security risk."

The president told Kroft he saw the photos following the raid on the compound and knew that bin Laden had been killed.

"We discussed this internally," he said. "Keep in mind that we are absolutely certain that this was him. We've done DNA sampling and testing. And so there is no doubt that we killed Osama bin Laden."

When Kroft noted that there are people in Pakistan and elsewhere who believe bin Laden is still alive, the president said "we we monitoring worldwide reaction."

"There is no doubt that Osama bin Laden is dead," he said. "Certainly there is no doubt among al Qaeda members that he is dead. So we don't think that a photograph in and of itself is going to make any difference."

"There are going to be some folks who deny it," he added. "The fact of the matter is, you will not see bin Laden walking on this earth again."

TRANSCRIPT: Obama discusses decision not to release images on "60 Minutes"

Asked about the decision Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Carney said "there are obviously arguments to be made on either side."

"The fact of the matter is, as the president described, these are graphic photographs of someone who was shot in the face -- the head, rather," he said. "It is not in our national security interests to allow those images, as has been in the past been the case, to become icons to rally opinion against the United States. The president's number one priority is the safety and security of American citizens at home and Americans abroad. There is no need to release these photographs to establish Osama bin Laden's identity. And he saw no other compelling reason to release them, given the potential for national security risks. And further, because he believes, as he said so clearly, this is not who we are." (See video at left.)

"He wanted to hear the opinions of others, but he was very clear about his view on this," Carney added. "And, obviously, his decision is categorical." He said it applied to "all visual evidence" of bin Laden's death, including video of his burial at sea. 

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Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-SC, called the decision a "mistake."

President Obama interviewed on "60 Minutes," May 4, 2011.

/ CBS News

"The whole purpose of sending our soldiers into the compound, rather than an aerial bombardment, was to obtain indisputable proof of bin Laden's death," he said.

Neil Livingstone, Chairman and CEO of Executive Action and author of nine books on terrorism, also disagreed with the decision.

"If we can't conclusively demonstrate that indeed he is dead there will be those who say he is still out there," he told CBS News. "Al Qaeda might even try to keep his legacy going and say 'they got someone else, they didn't really get him.'"

Sarah Palin registered her disapproval on Twitter.

"Show photo as warning to others seeking America's destruction. No pussy-footing around, no politicking, no drama;it's part of the mission," she wrote.

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Republican House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers said earlier in the day that the Obama administration should not release the gruesome post-mortem images, saying it could complicate the job for American troops overseas. Rogers told CBS News he has seen a post-mortem photo. 

"The risks of release outweigh the benefits," Rogers said. "Conspiracy theorists around the world will just claim the photos are doctored anyway, and there is a real risk that releasing the photos will only serve to inflame public opinion in the Middle East."

"Imagine how the American people would react if Al Qaeda killed one of our troops or military leaders, and put photos of the body on the Internet," Rogers continued. "Osama bin Laden is not a trophy - he is dead and let's now focus on continuing the fight until Al Qaeda has been eliminated."

Many in Congress happy bin Laden photos won't be released

President Barack Obama delivers a statement in the East Room of the White House on the mission against Osama bin Laden, May 1, 2011.

/ White House/Pete Souza

Skeptics have called on the United States to release photos of bin Laden, who officials say was shot in the face during a raid on his compound, in order to prove that the al Qaeda leader is really dead.

The White House had said it was debating whether to release the photographs. CIA director Leon Panetta told CBS News Tuesday that he thought a photo would be released, though he said the White House would make the final decision. 

CBS News national security correspondent David Martin has been told the photographs are "very gruesome" and won't be for the "squeamish."

"I've had it described to me and it does sound very gruesome," he said. "Remember, bin Laden was shot twice at close range, once in the chest and once in the head, right above his left eye, and that bullet opened his skull, exposing the brain, and it also blew out his eye. So these are not going to be pictures for the squeamish."

Two Republican senators -- Saxby Chambliss, R-GA, Vice Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and the Armed Services Committee, and Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-NH, a member of the Armed Services Committee - told CBS News Wednesday they had seen post-mortem photographs of bin Laden. No Democrats have said they have seen the images.

Photoshopped images purporting to show bin Laden after he was killed have already surfaced on the Internet. Sen. Scott Brown, R-MA, who had claimed to have seen the actual post-mortem photos, said Wednesday that he had been fooled by one such false image. It appears Ayotte and Chambliss may also have been duped.

Special Report: The killing of Osama bin Laden

[mooring7]

Wait until the election and the polls show him behind. Party politics will have the pictures up and runnig 7 days before the election.
This time around the Republicans will be accusing him of being a Muslim more than ever and the photos will be used to refute that claim by showing that he gave the orders to kill Mr. Muslim himself Osama Bin Laden........ somehow, someway, someone unknown to us all will leak the photos...... POLITICS ! the only draw back is the radical muslims will no longer like us.

[bryanabbott]

Important? Important like when Al Quaeda publishes video of their soldiers slowly severing the heads of Americans??? That kind of important???????

F*ckin P*ssy...

[mooring7]

PHOTOS OF A DEAD BIN LADEN WILL BE PUBLISHED........TOWARDS THE END OF THE PRESIDENTS RE ELECTION CAMPAIGN.......ESPECIALLY IF HE DIPS IN THE POLLS................IN THE WORDS OF THE COMEDIAN HOWIE MANDEL " WHAT WOULD YOU DO ?????"

[dontbullshitme]

I cant believe the half of you ppl.......That you are content to believe in something without actual proof....You are the very reason dumbasses get voted into office & jack up the country...
Personally , I don't believe a damn thing an already known liar is telling us unless I have actual proof....The half of you dumbasses that DO believe without proof need to crawl off in a another corener of the world & stop the deterioration of this country through your ignorance....Are people that stupid that think the pictures released of a DEAD Bin Laden will fuel the fire of the nutbag terrorists? Listen up ya dopes- They already have enough reason & to attack us according to their beliefs.. Like not releasing them is going to simmer things down? lmfao - not in this day and age...... wake the **** up & DEMAND to see proof....Dumbasses cant see this one coming right before election campaigns............

[Yagoso]

Thank you to hear someone with a brain, to accept without proof is not from Mississippi. You can see this main totally lying as he could not look into the camera as he said Bin Laden's name. People in this country have believed everything these officials have said without proper proof.To think that to show the video would create a riot when there has been no retaliation for his death is a farce.If the main is dead where is the fire ?

[david_silberstein]

I dont think that the government should show the dead picture of Osama Bin Laden. Considering that we just made Al Qaeda pissed by killing one of their head leaders. If we showed the dead picture of him it would just add more fuel to the fire. Also they say that the picture is gruesome because he got shot in the head and everyman considers some kind of dignity.

[bones2011]

if everyman deserves his dignity, by not releasing the photos, dont you think they would have given him a proper barrel, instead of tossing him in the sea, let alone without any evidence.

[bryanabbott]

Coward.

I don't think I want you making decisions for our military.

[david_silberstein]

I dont think that they should show the picture because Al Qaeda is already mad enough that we just killed one of their big leaders and then it would just add gas to the fire if we would of showed a gruesome dead picture of him

[dontbullshitme]

WHAT A *******........ ANYONE EVER TELL YOU TO START THINKING AHEAD? ADD FUEL TO THE FIRE? DAMN YOU ARE IGNORANT..... THOSE RAGHEAD ***** WILL ATTACK US REGARDLESS.....WAKE THE **** UP *******...ALL YOU DO IS HELP THE LIARS IN OFFICE TRY TO KEEP THEIR LITTLE LIES UNDER THE TABLE.....

[CliffyB]

At least Pres. Obama is remaining true to form; "Ain't releasing anything without a subpoena, or at least a couple of months of badgering from the Donald. Not bad for the most transparent administration in the history of the nation. It's not like it was his birth certificate or something.

[Ammeh]

Well, we can at least use his pictures, before being shot in the head, to keep the rats away.

[thebes42]

What a load of RUBBISH!

I would like to be absolutely clear on something-
NO "conspiracy theorists" are saying that UBL is still alive.
They are saying he died of natural causes years ago, or perhaps that Bhutto was right when she said he was murdered in 2005.
But the CBS branch of the Ministry of Truth wants you to think otherwise.

[notreich]

Right, there's only a small band of wacko liberals at CBS and other points who believe Osama was just recently killed in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

[jbgivens1958]

Well it looked as though our government has given us one more reason to not trust them. Allegedly we got Bin Laden., But wait, they took picture that are too gruesome to show, so they show the gruesome pictures of everyone else killed in the compound. They ran DNA testing that is so easy to fake that it is not worth mentioning, but they do. And then bury the body at sea so there will never be any question as to the true of the proof.

As for me, I believe the administration needed a boost with elections coming up and this was their best option.

[djsteil]

The government felt the picture(s) of Osama were to gruesome to show, so they show a gruesome picture of Obama and his inner circle! How hypocritical is that?

[notreich]

Thass right, they made the whole thing up.