CLASSIFIED

Federal Appeals Court Considers Releasing Osama bin Laden Death Photos

Conservative group Judicial Watch argues that the photos should not stay secret

Jan 11, 2013 by Lisa Fine

Staff Writer t

Should photos of Al Qaeda terrorist group leader Osama bin Laden's body be made public? A federal appeals court panel is considering the question.

Judicial Watch, a conservative legal group, argued Thursday that the government should release the photos under the Freedom of Information Act or provide specific reasons for denying the request, CNN reported.

A U.S. Justice Department lawyer said releasing the photos of bin Laden, killed in a U.S. raid in Pakistan in May 2011, would threaten national security by leading to retaliatory attacks against Americans. During the hearing, Judicial Watch's attorney questioned whether some of the less gruesome pictures like ones of Bin Laden's burial at sea could be released, CNN said.

A federal judge ruled in April against Judicial Watch's request to release the 52 bin Laden photos because of national security interests. The three judge panel on Thursday seemed skeptical to go against the decision, but did not say when they would rule, the article said.

"Why should we not defer to that?" asked Judge Merrick Garland at the hearing. "We are told there is a risk ... that Americans could die if the pictures are released."

Via CNN

Like this article? B Vote Up

?	Do you want the photos of Osama bin Laden's body to be made public?

>
Yes

>
No

>
I'm not sure

View results

All : 112

Comments (view in Forum)

o
Jan '13

thejimbo

!
Images of a dead bin Laden still dangerous...

...but giving classified information to support a FILM about his death isn't?
- B1 • Vote Up r12 Replies
- r Reply
Post
Jan '13

jessejaymes

!
I saw Dark Zero thirty and while it's my favorite movie of the year I don't see anything there that a good film maker (and she is a good filmmaker) couldn't have come up with on there own. There were no huge surprises in that movie.
- B2 • Vote Up
- r Reply
Post @jessejaymes
o
Jan '13

thejimbo

!
@jessejaymes Fair enough, I can't wait to see it myself. ;)
- B1 • Vote Up
- r Reply
Post @thejimbo
u
Jan '13

seedtick

!
Well, seeing the pictures will not make him any deader. I am satisfied just knowing that he was turned into fish farts long ago.
- B3 • Vote Up
- r Reply
Post @seedtick
o
Jan '13

thejimbo

!
@seedtick LOL, I almost spit my coffee out when I read that!
- B Vote Up
- r Reply
Post @thejimbo
Jan '13

Denizen_Kate

!
@jessejaymes - I just got back from seeing it. Four words: Don't mess with redheads! ;-)
- B1 • Vote Up
- r Reply
Post @Denizen_Kate
View all 12 replies >
u
Jan '13

Libertyiskey

!
Right they're not going to retaliate to us killing him just the release of the photos will piss them off.
- B2 • Vote Up
- r Reply
Post
Jan '13

MnMking2797

!
Everyone forgot anyway
- B Vote Up r1 Reply
- r Reply
Post
Jan '13

Denizen_Kate

!
Everyone forgot what?
- B Vote Up
- r Reply
Post @Denizen_Kate
Jan '13

MadAmerican

!
The way his DNA was confirmed on a Navy ship so quickly with the burial at sea has me very skeptical that he is even dead at all. The American public's number 1 enemy is supposed to be dead but they were never given proof, just hearsay from another lying government.
- B5 • Vote Up r5 Replies
- r Reply
Post
Jan '13

Keyjo

!
It really doesn't make sense to lie about his death. He would resurface and prove the government to be liars, the ultimate propaganda, P.R. ploy.
- B Vote Up
- r Reply
Post @Keyjo
Jan '13

NormalFlora

!
And all it would take to clear this up is for YOU to see the pictures? Narcissism can be so hilarious...
- B Vote Up
- r Reply
Post @NormalFlora
Jan '13

Denizen_Kate

!
SEAL Team Six said they got him. That's good enough for me.
- B Vote Up
- r Reply
Post @Denizen_Kate
Jan '13

DARSB

!
A small technical observation: the Navy obtained biological specimens of bin Laden's body. We have the DNA.
- B Vote Up
- r Reply
Post @DARSB
Jan '13

MadAmerican

!
@DARSB All i am saying is that they got the DNA confirmation within hours on a NAavy ship. I do not believe Navy ships have the DNA equipment to check this since the majority of law enforcement agencies have to send their samples off and wait weeks for confirmation. The burial at sea? No press cameras? Things do not add up for me, and no the pictures will not prove it but why hide them? To me if it smells like fish, then it's probobly fish.
- B Vote Up
- r Reply
Post @MadAmerican
Jan '13

martydotcom

!
What's the upside?
- B2 • Vote Up r11 Replies
- r Reply
Post
Jan '13

jessejaymes

!
No upside at all. I do not favor releasing the photographs.
- B Vote Up
- r Reply
Post @jessejaymes
u
Jan '13

BelinKS

!
@jessejaymes
I do! I want to know for sure that the mastermind behinds the largest terrorist attack pun our country is really dead! Been lied to by this administration has lied to us about the Benghazi attacks until they were outed so bad they had to admit it. Maybe they(he) thought that since he got away with lying about this, they(he) though they(he) would get away with the Benghazi lies. I and most others want proof!
- B1 • Vote Up
- r Reply
Post @BelinKS
Jan '13

jessejaymes

!
@BelinKS And in a world of photoshopping, in a world where I (yes me) can film you in front of a green screen and make a photo of you in bed with GW Bush doing the wild thing and not one single average citizen can prove it's not real. What do you think this accomplishes? You'll say it's a fake anyhow. What's the difference? it could be a fake.
- B Vote Up
- r Reply
Post @jessejaymes
Jan '13

martydotcom

!
@BelinKS I think many would suggest you need to accept reality, when we say it's true, when the enemy says it's true and have you ever seen what a human face looks like with a bullet hole dead center..you don't know who it is you're looking at
- B Vote Up
- r Reply
Post @martydotcom
u
Jan '13

BelinKS

!
@martydotcom
Once they are cleaned up you can. I still remember the face of the first x-ray I ever took of a dead person. He shot himself in the head and was not cleaned up yet.
- B1 • Vote Up
- r Reply
Post @BelinKS
View all 11 replies >
o
Jan '13

Sharpshooter

!
How about it's just in poor taste....

Making the photos public is much akin to pissing on a fallen EC. He's dead and no longer your enemy... defiling corpses is uncalled for.
- B1 • Vote Up r8 Replies
- r Reply
Post
u
Jan '13

BelinKS

!
How do we know he's actually dead? Obama has lied to many times to be taken at his word!
- B2 • Vote Up
- r Reply
Post @BelinKS
o
Jan '13

Sharpshooter

!
@BelinKS How would you know the photo is of OBL? Head shots don't look they do in the movies...
- B Vote Up
- r Reply
Post @Sharpshooter
u
Jan '13

BelinKS

!
@Sharpshooter
I have seen many people dead of gunshot wounds. I had to take the x-rays before they were taken by the coroner for the coroner!
- B1 • Vote Up
- r Reply
Post @BelinKS
o
Jan '13

Sharpshooter

!
@BelinKS Then you know what I mean..... BTW.... I don't trust the other Muslim either...
- B1 • Vote Up
- r Reply
Post @Sharpshooter
u
Jan '13

BelinKS

!
@Sharpshooter
Are you referring to our currant dictator?
- B2 • Vote Up
- r Reply
Post @BelinKS
View all 8 replies >
Jan '13

twinertia

!
I'd like some proof, but I'd also like some proof that the proof hasn't been doctored.
- B5 • Vote Up r1 Reply
- r Reply
Post
u
Jan '13

BelinKS

!
I agree!
- B Vote Up
- r Reply
Post @BelinKS
Jan '13

PNWest

!
I want the photos released. Does anyone really think that releasing these photos is going to make anyone hate us any more or any less? Those that hate us will hate us. Those that are on our side will get to see the corpse and know that this evil scumbag got what he deserved.
- B5 • Vote Up r1 Reply
- r Reply
Post
u
Jan '13

BelinKS

!
See, we do agree on some things! I'm right there with you!
- B1 • Vote Up
- r Reply
Post @BelinKS
Jan '13

Buppyeb1

!
Isn't this against the Geneva Convention, anyway?
- B Vote Up r2 Replies
- r Reply
Post
u
Jan '13

BelinKS

!
No. Dead people from wars are shown all the time. We saw Saddam's corpse!
- B Vote Up
- r Reply
Post @BelinKS
Jan '13

Buppyeb1

!
@BelinKS True
- B Vote Up
- r Reply
Post @Buppyeb1
u
Jan '13

SmedleyButler

!
Yes show them, so we can see the bad photo shop job like the BBC did.
- B1 • Vote Up r10 Replies
- r Reply
Post
u
Jan '13

BelinKS

!
There are people smart enough to tell the difference between a real photo and a doctored one!
- B1 • Vote Up
- r Reply
Post @BelinKS
Jan '13

Real4WheelDrv

!
@BelinKS Only those same people would be called anti government/Obama nutjobs
- B2 • Vote Up
- r Reply
Post @Real4WheelDrv
u
Jan '13

BelinKS

!
@Real4WheelDrv
If doctored in favor of Obama, I would still know. I don't care if someone calls me a nutjob. I know what a person dead of gunshot wounds looks like. I've taken many x-rays of people dead of gunshot wounds at the hospital I once worked at before the coroner took that person and copies of the x-rays I took. I also know enough about computer generated or manipulated photos to know the difference.
- B1 • Vote Up
- r Reply
Post @BelinKS
u
Jan '13

BelinKS

!
@BelinKS
Thank you MongoAP
- B Vote Up
- r Reply
Post @BelinKS
u
Jan '13

SmedleyButler

!
@BelinKS I hope so.
- B Vote Up
- r Reply
Post @SmedleyButler
View all 10 replies >
Jan '13

Vance1

!
because of national security interests?
- B Vote Up
- r Reply
Post
u
Jan '13

BelinKS

!
I think at least a few should be released so that our country knows for sure he is dead! This administration has shown that it will lie to us to serve their own purpose! Putting lives at stake? If he is truely dead, the damage is already done. They already will want to kill. The Obama administration had no problem with letting the people at the Benghazi Consulate being slaughtered. Then they lied about that too.
I want to see the pictures that prove Osama BinLaden is actually dead!
- B Vote Up r2 Replies
- r Reply
Post
Jan '13

PNWest

!
I agree with your last sentence.
- B Vote Up
- r Reply
Post @PNWest
u
Jan '13

BelinKS

!
@PNWest
I was agreeing with you. The proof about the lies concerning the slaughter at Benghazi are well documented.
- B Vote Up
- r Reply
Post @BelinKS
Jan '13

Dan_Tien

!
If people don't believe eyewitness accounts by SEALs, bin Laden's wife and the confirmation of his death by Al Qaeda, then they are not going to believe that photographs of his body are genuine either. I suspect that there is less concern about freedom of information in this demand to release the photos than there is the anticipation of profiting from publishing them.
- B Vote Up
- r Reply
Post
Jan '13

kathyparsell

!
Even Osama bin Laden deserves the dignity of his death photos being kept private, unless it is his family seeks to make them public. It is no ones business what he looked like dead. It has no purpose other than people's prurient curiosity. It can on the other hand cause lots of trouble and potentially cause further unnecessary deaths. Creepy people!
- B Vote Up r5 Replies
- r Reply
Post
Jan '13

SavageMazx

!
While I see no reason to release them, I also see no reason that OBL deserves any dignity in death.
- B Vote Up
- r Reply
Post @SavageMazx
Jan '13

Keyjo

!
@SavageMazx
I agree. Those Marines got in trouble for urinating on dead enemy, but given the chance, I'd have pissed on Bin Laden's corpse.
- B Vote Up
- r Reply
Post @Keyjo
Jan '13

SavageMazx

!
@Keyjo I will never forget 9/11, lost a friend. ...watching the planes hit....watching the tower burn....people jumping...the towers coming down and then knowing the NYFD lost entire crews....nope OBL deserved more than he got...sort like good old Mohamar in Libya.
- B1 • Vote Up
- r Reply
Post @SavageMazx
Jan '13

kathyparsell

!
@SavageMazx I consider his execution fair & just, however once dead he has paid for his crime. His family loved him as did his people, dragging this out only serves to give him more power through hatred even after death.
- B Vote Up
- r Reply
Post @kathyparsell
Jan '13

kathyparsell

!
@Keyjo They deserved any trouble they got by taking pictures of it. Talk about stupid!
- B Vote Up
- r Reply
Post @kathyparsell
u
Jan '13

BelinKS

!
The people of this country need to see with their own eyes that the mastermind behind the deadliest attack on our country is actually dead! People will know if the photos are faked and Obama lied once again!
- B Vote Up r11 Replies
- r Reply
Post
Jan '13

SignifiedNBlue

!
Agree, deadliest attack by foreign means. The MOST deadly attack by one of our own happened in a small, innocent New England town to the most innocent people God put on on this earth. 6/7 old children!
- B Vote Up
- r Reply
Post @SignifiedNBlue
u
Jan '13

BelinKS

!
@SignifiedNBlue
Deadliest refers to the number of people dead. Many small children died in the twin towers. There were many different daycares there for the people working there!
- B Vote Up
- r Reply
Post @BelinKS
Jan '13

SignifiedNBlue

!
@BelinKS I understand that. Im refering to, our own, an American.
- B Vote Up
- r Reply
Post @SignifiedNBlue
u
Jan '13

BelinKS

!
@BelinKS sorry to have to be the one who told you about the babies and toddlers at the twin towers. I lost a child. I know the hurt that never goes away. I didn't know that heart ache and empty arms were actual physical feelings before my son died. He was 10. Your chest hurts so bad you don't know how your living through it. The feelings in your arms is really hard to describe. Somewhat like restless leg, only at least a hundred times worse. The only way that would fix it would be to hold your child alive again. I'm crying just trying to tell you. Timothy McVeigh also killed all the babies and toddlers in the Oklahoma bombing. The day care took the direct hit. No survivors. Having your child die is the worst thing that can happen to a parent! Nothing else can even come close. Not the death of my brother, not the death of my dad. Not even the miscarriages I had. Not even the one that was late term.
- B Vote Up
- r Reply
Post @BelinKS
Jan '13

Keyjo

!
@SignifiedNBlue
Have you forgotten about a guy named Timothy McVeigh in a place called Oklahoma City!?
- B Vote Up
- r Reply
Post @Keyjo
View all 11 replies >
Jan '13

SignifiedNBlue

!
The Government at all levels are dishonest, they have never EARNED the trust of the very people who line their pockets! That IS the American public! It NEVER should have been a question. Release the damn photos!! I will never believe hes dead until they are
- B Vote Up r3 Replies
- r Reply
Post
Jan '13

jessejaymes

!
And if they do release them just like when he released his long form birth certificate, you'll say the photos are a fake.
- B Vote Up
- r Reply
Post @jessejaymes
Jan '13

SignifiedNBlue

!
@jessejaymes most likely LOL!!
- B Vote Up
- r Reply
Post @SignifiedNBlue
Jan '13

SignifiedNBlue

!
@SignifiedNBlue Binny boy is probably living it up in a high rise in Chicago sipping tea with Bill Aires the Pentagons Unibomber .. Oh come on, you did it to Bush. The mans been gone freaking years and hes still the cause of every negative thing on earth!!
Ps he never took a 4 million dollar vacation...and I never voted Bush!
- B Vote Up
- r Reply
Post @SignifiedNBlue
Jan '13

Food4thoughts

!
If it takes away one bullet from Donald trumps arsenal of absurd accusations...Qu'ils mangent de la brioche!
- B Vote Up r1 Reply
- r Reply
Post
Jan '13

SavageMazx

!
Lol good point.
- B Vote Up
- r Reply
Post @SavageMazx
Jan '13

JoeJared

!
I have to wonder what a body dead for 11 years looks like.
- B2 • Vote Up
- r Reply
Post
Jan '13

mudpike

!
Let's see here , showing 'supposed proof' of the death of the cowardly animal 'supposedly' reponsible for the deaths of thousands of innocent Americans seems unacceptable to some ? But mooslem TV showing beheadings of people - even Americans brought few complaints from from our ' lame stream media'. Why ?
Don't need to hear the nonsense about 'the higher standard'. If they are the 'religion of peace & tolerance'- they need to prove it with actions not rhetoric.
- B Vote Up
- r Reply
Post
u
Jan '13

RobertJHarsh

!
I voted no. Whatever photos are released will be fakes. I still want to see the footage from the 12 cameras at the Oklahoma City bombing.
- B2 • Vote Up
- r Reply
Post
R Load more comments...

Do you want the photos of Osama bin Laden's body to be made public?

Do you want the photos of Osama bin Laden's body to be made public?