I’m not a deather. I believe he’s dead. I understand why bin Laden was buried at sea, too. Nobody wanted him, not with the headaches it would bring. Those who didn’t want to steal his body would want to desecrate his grave. And the speed of the DNA test is reasonable too, given the resources the military can bring to bear.
But let’s go back to 2003, when Uday and Qusay Hussein were killed in similar circumstances. Their bodies were embalmed, and kept for several days before being buried. Hardly in keeping with Muslim tradition. Photos of the bodies were released, in part because so many people were skeptical, and despite US objections to American bodies being displayed on television. In fact, when the military was criticized over the photos, their response was that the Husseins were not ordinary combatants, and it was hoped that the photos would help bring closure to the Iraqi people.
For similar reasons, I think releasing the photos is the right thing to do. Bin Laden was not an ordinary combatant. Seeing him dead will bring closure to a lot of people. It won’t quiet the deather movement any more than releasing the birth certificate quieted the birthers. But I think releasing them is the right thing to do.
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I would agree with you. And quite frankly, if they cleaned up the body at all, it would not necessarily be that gruesome of a picture, unless the bullet used was, y’know, a 33mm round.