Obama: Absolutely no doubt bin Laden dead
(CBS News) When President Obama saw the picture of Osama bin Laden face after Navy SEALs killed the Al Qaeda leader, he reaction was, "It was him."
But Mr. Obama decided not to release the graphic photos of the deceased bin Laden.
He told "60 Minutes" correspondent Steve Kroft, "You know, we discussed this internally. Keep in mind that we are absolutely certain this was him. We've done DNA sampling and testing. And so there is no doubt that we killed Osama bin Laden. It is important for us 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. As a propaganda tool."
"60 Minutes": Killing Bin Laden--The President's Story, Part 1
"60 Minutes": Killing Bin Laden--The President's Story, Part 2
"60 Minutes": Killing Bin Laden--The President's Story Part 3
Transcript: "60 Minutes": Killing Bin Laden--The President's Story
The president continued, "You know, that's not who we are. You know, we don't trot out this stuff as trophies. You know, the fact of the matter is this was somebody who was deserving of the justice that he received. And I think Americans and people around the world are glad that he's gone. But we don't need to spike the football. And I think that given the graphic nature of these photos, it would create some national security risk. And I've discussed this with Bob Gates and Hillary Clinton and my intelligence teams and they all agree."
He told Kroft, "You know, the truth is that - and we're monitoring worldwide reaction -- there's no doubt that bin Laden is dead. Certainly there's no doubt among al Qaeda members that he is dead. And so we don't think that a photograph in and of itself is gonna make any difference. There are gonna be some folks who deny it. The fact of the matter is, you will not see bin Laden walking on this earth again."
Ending the greatest manhunt in American history