No Pictures, No Body
Published in Rossiskaya Gazeta
(Russia) on 5 May 2011
by Victor Feshchenko (link to original)
(Russia) on 5 May 2011
by Victor Feshchenko (link to original)
Translated from
by Olga Azarian.
Edited by Mark DeLucas.
The United States refuses to show proof of bin Laden’s death
For three days, the American government was discussing whether to publish postmortem “horrifying” pictures of the number one terrorist.
On one side, President Barack Obama announced that there won’t be any publication of the pictures because it could anger the Muslim world. According to American law, media distribution of deceased U.S. soldiers is not allowed. Therefore, Obama assimilated bin Laden with the American people.
On the other hand, the WikiLeaks experience already showed that Washington won’t be able to keep the pictures of the dead bin Laden secret for long. Considering that at least one picture of the dead terrorist fell into Congress' hands, the media rightly believes that someone, for sure, will hand over (or sell) these precious photos to the paparazzi.
So, the publication of these pictures is likely just a matter of time. Moreover, Reuters already got hold of pictures from the location of the raid. The agency swears that the pictures are real and were taken one hour after the raid was complete. According to unofficial sources, the photographer was able to bribe the compound’s guards.
The first of these pictures was taken in the compound’s courtyard, showing the aftermath of the raid. Other pictures included three dead men, presumably two of bin Laden’s assistants and his son. The pictures can be found easily on the Internet.
However, bin Laden himself was not seen in the pictures. It is understandable, because his body was reportedly taken right away to an Afghan military base. Hence, there is still no physical proof of his elimination. Safia, the 12-year-old daughter of the al-Qaida leader, confirms that her father was first taken unarmed and then executed. According to the Pentagon, U.S. special forces soldiers were concerned he was carrying a “shahid’s belt.” U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder already justified their actions by stating: “If he [bin Laden] had attempted to surrender, I think we should obviously have accepted that, but there was no indication that he wanted to do that.” The soldiers, whose identities were concealed for security reasons, will likely be decorated.
Safia herself and other bin Laden children are currently in Pakistani custody. They are not sure what to do with them yet or how to react to the raid conducted without their participation. In the newspaper Handelsblatt, President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari apologetically admitted that this raid wasn’t combined, but also called for appreciation of his country’s help earlier, during the search for bin Laden.
The Pakistani government didn’t agree with their president. They called this raid an “unauthorized one-sided action,” which “humiliated the country in front of the whole world.” This, obviously, means the failure of Pakistani intelligence to detect bin Laden under its own nose.
For three days, the American government was discussing whether to publish postmortem “horrifying” pictures of the number one terrorist.
On one side, President Barack Obama announced that there won’t be any publication of the pictures because it could anger the Muslim world. According to American law, media distribution of deceased U.S. soldiers is not allowed. Therefore, Obama assimilated bin Laden with the American people.
On the other hand, the WikiLeaks experience already showed that Washington won’t be able to keep the pictures of the dead bin Laden secret for long. Considering that at least one picture of the dead terrorist fell into Congress' hands, the media rightly believes that someone, for sure, will hand over (or sell) these precious photos to the paparazzi.
So, the publication of these pictures is likely just a matter of time. Moreover, Reuters already got hold of pictures from the location of the raid. The agency swears that the pictures are real and were taken one hour after the raid was complete. According to unofficial sources, the photographer was able to bribe the compound’s guards.
The first of these pictures was taken in the compound’s courtyard, showing the aftermath of the raid. Other pictures included three dead men, presumably two of bin Laden’s assistants and his son. The pictures can be found easily on the Internet.
However, bin Laden himself was not seen in the pictures. It is understandable, because his body was reportedly taken right away to an Afghan military base. Hence, there is still no physical proof of his elimination. Safia, the 12-year-old daughter of the al-Qaida leader, confirms that her father was first taken unarmed and then executed. According to the Pentagon, U.S. special forces soldiers were concerned he was carrying a “shahid’s belt.” U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder already justified their actions by stating: “If he [bin Laden] had attempted to surrender, I think we should obviously have accepted that, but there was no indication that he wanted to do that.” The soldiers, whose identities were concealed for security reasons, will likely be decorated.
Safia herself and other bin Laden children are currently in Pakistani custody. They are not sure what to do with them yet or how to react to the raid conducted without their participation. In the newspaper Handelsblatt, President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari apologetically admitted that this raid wasn’t combined, but also called for appreciation of his country’s help earlier, during the search for bin Laden.
The Pakistani government didn’t agree with their president. They called this raid an “unauthorized one-sided action,” which “humiliated the country in front of the whole world.” This, obviously, means the failure of Pakistani intelligence to detect bin Laden under its own nose.