Gates afraid bin Laden photo would be altered

WASHINGTON -- Defense Secretary Robert Gates says one of the reasons he opposed releasing photos of Osama bin Laden's corpse was that they might be altered in ways that could provoke a backlash.

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Gates says that after the White House released a picture of national security officials getting updates on the bin Laden mission in the situation room, he received altered images of it from around the country. One added football players sitting at the table, and another dressed all the officials in flamboyant hats like one worn at the royal wedding in London.

Gates says he and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton feared the bin Laden photos might be altered in some similar fashion  that would cause a backlash and endanger troops and other Americans overseas.

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