Comment & Debate
Obama defended his decision to withold photos of Bin Laden’s dead body in an interview with CBS News program “60 Minutes,” saying U.S. officials did not want to give extremist groups the ability to use the photos as “propaganda tools.” He tells 60 Minutes: “I think Americans and people around the world are glad that he is gone. But we don’t need to spike the football.”[1]
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney offered these concerns, saying that the administration didn’t want the photos to become “icons” that would help rally support against the United States.[2]