After three days of reflection, Barack Obama on Wednesday decided not to publish photos of the remains of Osama bin Laden, saying they constitute a "security risk" of the United States and could be used propaganda purposes.
Voices were raised in the U.S. Congress calling for the dissemination of such images in order to silence those who doubt the death of the leader of al-Qaida on Sunday in a commando raid against the American home where he was hiding Pakistan.
Hit by bullets, including a face, bin Laden died in the assault. His body was then taken and left at sea, according to the report of the authorities.Photos of the remains were taken to identify and members of Congress said Wednesday in seeing them.
Three U.S. senators are, however, their income statements Wednesday on the shots that circulated among them being obviously fake.
Among them, Saxby Chambliss, the leading Republican member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, who said that these photos "correspond to what is expected when someone is hit by a bullet to the head.It's not pretty. "
Asked if Saxby Chambliss, who is also a member of the Committee of Defence, had seen pictures authentic, his spokeswoman Bronwyn Lance Chester, however, told AFP: "It was very clear about this: he has not seen the official photos.
Two other members of the Committee on Defense, Republican Kelly Ayotte and Scott Brown, who also claimed to have seen pictures of the corpse of Bin Laden, were finally questioned their authenticity.
Mr.Obama has decided that the risks created by the dissemination of these images beyond the benefits to be expected, "he told CBS television.
"We discussed it internally, and remember that we are absolutely certain it was him. There have been sampling and DNA analysis. So there is no doubt that we have killed Osama bin Laden, "Obama said, according to a report of the interview broadcast by the channel.
"It is very important not to allow photographic evidence in nature as a tool of incitement (to violence) or propaganda. This is not our kind. We do not fly these things like trophies, "saidObama, according to the channel that will broadcast the full interview in the Sunday program "60 Minutes".
"The truth is that it was someone who deserved what he got. And I think Americans and people around the world are glad he is dead," Obama said.
But "given the violent nature of the photo, (publication) would create a risk to national security," he said according to CBS.
The nature of the horrible scene mentioned by Obama is illustrated by photographs obtained by Reuters from three unidentified men who died, none of them is like Bin Laden.
AFP was unable to verify the photos.Reuters said to have purchased a Pakistani security official who entered the home of bin Laden shortly after the American raid on Monday.
The dead lie in large pools of blood. One wearing a T-shirt that has blood flowing from her right ear. According to the time indication, this photo was taken at 2:30 am (local time), about 50 minutes after the announcement by U.S. officials to end the raid.
The other two corpses are wearing traditional Pakistani. One of them has blood flowing from his mouth and chin.A computer cable and probably a water gun to child are near his right shoulder.
The third man has blood flowing from his nose and a large blood stain in the middle of his white tunic.
Other photographs taken in the light of dawn showed the tail of a crashed helicopter and land covered with trash on the property of Ben Laden.
Reuters said that the photos had the same pixel size indicating that they had not been manipulated and the data files correspond to the digital time indications in the photos, from 2:30 to 6:43 local.
"There is no doubt that bin Laden is dead. There is certainly no doubt among members of Al Qaeda on his death.And so we do not believe that a photograph in itself make any difference whatsoever, "argued Obama.
"There will be people who will disagree. The truth is that Bin Laden never walk on this earth," stressed the president.
Earlier Wednesday, the head of the Intelligence Committee in the House of Representatives, Republican Mike Rogers claimed to have seen a photo and said he did not want it to be released, saying food security concerns for U.S. troops stationed abroad.
"Imagine how Americans would react if Al-Qaeda killed one of our soldiers and commanders of the army and put the pictures on the internet," he told Mr.Rogers.
The influential Republican Senator Lindsey Graham has meanwhile said Wednesday that Obama had made a "mistake".
"The purpose of sending our soldiers into the residence, rather than bombing, was to obtain clear proof of the death of bin Laden. I know that Bin Laden is dead. But the best way to protect and defend our interests abroad is to prove that fact to the rest of the world, "he said.
