To those who argue that death photos should be released:

I won't suggest you are taking your position because you regularly criticize the President, but I think you are failing to consider the unique nature of the death of bin Laden.

He was an ikon with the power to influence like few others in recent history. To hundreds of millions he was heroic, or call it what you will, but powerful enough to influence thousands to commit suicide for his cause. Make no mistake, his death photo, especially if it showed any disfigurement, would be the single most powerful image of the 21st century. The image would be the wordless, highly emotional and motivating rallying point for a whole new generation of terrorists. It would be worse than if he were to have a physical tomb (shrine). Worse than putting him on trial (circus). I don't think you realize how much we are despised; how many are full of hate because of how we have treated them, or how they imagine they have been treated by us, or because they are simply jealous of our prosperity.

Because someone who hates bitterly has the power to reach out and do lots of damage in this ever shrinking technological world, the rules of common sense survival have changed. It is now disasterous to feed hatred. It is critical to dampen it's effects whenever possible. In this case, pulling a trigger and burial at sea were important, necessary actions. Keeping the death photos from view is even more critical. It steals the terrorists' thunder. They are left with pictures of a smiling bearded man, which do not themselves convey the message of American "brutality". They can argue about whether he is alive, but soon it will be no less a joke than the one about Elvis being in the building. bin Laden's must become forgotten. This is how to do it.