Elon University community members share thoughts on Obama withholding bin Laden photos
May 12th, 2011 § Leave a Comment
Courtesy of nytimes.com
by Madelyn Smith
May 12, 2011
The death of Osama bin Laden at the hands of the U.S. military caused an electrifying reaction throughout the world.
Mass crowds of Americans, including students at Elon University, celebrated revenge on the al-Qaida leader and suspected terrorist who had caused great harm on 9/11.
Others were more wary of the future, citing potentially greater threat to U.S. soldiers in the Middle East and an increase in anti-American sentiment.
Many Americans also wanted to see photos taken of bin Laden after his death. Some wanted further visual proof of his death, which may have quelled a growing conspiracy theory that suggested bin Laden was not actually killed.
But May 4, Obama announced his decision to not release the photos, saying they could endanger U.S. forces and make anti-U.S. violence even worse worldwide.
According to a recent NBC poll of 800 adults in the U.S., about two-thirds of Americans – 64 percent – supported Obama’s decision not to release the photos, some agreeing with his decision more strongly than others.
24 percent said they strongly believe the photos should have been released to the public.
Shereen Elgamal, assistant professor of Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies at Elon University, is from Egypt and moved to the U.S. in 1993.
She said the U.S. government was right to not release the photos.
Shereen Elgamal, assistant professor of Arabic and Middle Eastern studies at Elon University. Photo by Madelyn. Smith
Others who were interviewed also agreed with the decision to withhold the post-mortem photos.
Amy Smedberg, a junior at Clemson University and employee at All That Jas in Elon, recognized how delicate the topic can be but agreed with Obama’s decision.
“I think it’s a good idea to not release them,” she said. “First of all, kids could get a hold of them, and I don’t think there’s a need to see them – I personally wouldn’t want to see them.”
Megan Wright, a student at Greensboro Day School, also supported the decision to keep the images private.
“Americans might have been happier – more people might have believed it,” she said. “But it was respectful not to release the photos.”
“It’s an interesting thing,” said sophomore Brent Edwards. “I understand why [Obama] said they weren’t going to release them, but at the same time a lot of people aren’t sure if he is actually dead or not, so it’s a grey area more so than anything else.”
In regards to the conspiracy theory brewing among some Americans that bin Laden was not actually killed, freshman Avery McGaha said people want the photos released not for proof, but simply as a political “bandwagon” they can jump onto.
“If I were a political pundit trying to undermine an administration I’d probably create a similar sort of conspiracy,” he said. “This doubt of bin Laden’s death is something that some people feel they can latch onto.”
Another reason Obama said he would not release the photos was due to their graphic nature. Elgamal disagreed with this reasoning.
“We’re really used to a high level of violence,” she said. “It’s not about how graphic the pictures are – we watch movies, television series that have graphic scenes all the time. To me, it’s an issue of life and death, and how life is from God and then we go back to God [at death]. So I feel there’s a certain level of formality and respect that has to be associated with actual death. When it comes to graphic images, that’s not an issue for me.”
Overall, Elon community members who were interviewed agreed with Obama’s decision. They supported the national climate of support for the withholding of images of bin Laden after his death.
See a video below of Elgamal discussing her perception of the differences between photos of Osama bin Laden after his death on May 1, 2011 and Saddam Hussein after his death Dec. 30, 2006.
