Brown: Don't show bin Laden corpse to 'sell newspapers'
UPDATED
WASHINGTON — Having seen unreleased photos of Osama bin Laden’s corpse, US Senator Scott Brown does not believe pictures of the dead terrorist leader should be made public, the Massachusetts Republican said in an interview on NECN.
“Let me assure you that he is dead, that bin Laden is dead — I have seen the photos,” Brown said hours before President Obama declared he would not release the images.
During an interview with "60 Minutes," the president told the CBS News program that "we don't trot out trophies."
Asked directly if the pictures, which have been described as bloody and gruesome, should be made available for everyone, Brown told NECN: “If it’s to sell newspapers or just have a news cycle story, no, I don’t think they should be released. We’re still dealing with the sensitivities of the Muslim and Arab world. And we still have men and women serving throughout the world.”
He said he expects President Obama will OK the release of information “as appropriate” after US investigators have learned as much as possible from materials captured in the raid on bin Laden.
Brown called the operation against bin Laden “a huge step forward for freedom in the free world” and said the credit should be widely spread around.
“Everybody deserves credit,” said Brown, mentioning President Bush, the US intelligence services and the military. He said President Obama “made the ultimate decision and he made a bold decision. I have a handwritten note to him to that effect. I’m glad we are where we are.”
Mark Arsenault can be reached at marsenault@globe.com.
About Political Intelligence
Glen Johnson is Politics Editor at boston.com and lead blogger for "Political Intelligence." He moved to Massachusetts in the fourth grade, and has covered local, state, and national politics for over 25 years. E-mail him at johnson@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @globeglen. |