Although a very few people are doubting this, and a lack of a public burial/photos of the dead Bin Laden may promote some few doubtful people I have a few threads of thought that several professors I have discussed the issue with support concerning these issues. 1st as to the quick burial, although I have not studied it myself I am told that Islamic law declares that the burial must be done as quickly as possible, and we are told that every Islamic rite was followed concerning his death. 2nd if he were brought to another country what country would he be buried in? Would we really want him buried in the U.S., and surely some major event would be sparked wherever he would have been buried. 3rd what benefit could there possibly be for lying? There would be no possible benefit other than a momentary spiking in poll numbers over a year before a presidential election, if Obama were wanting to use this as a lie to bump his numbers, why not wait until next year, when a momentary bump would actually help?
As for the second issue of why the pictures have not been released, I have two concerns. The first is that of proper respect for the dead, as some Americans have little respect for other people's practices and surely would have defamed the photo within minutes of it's release, and therefore would enrage his followers and possibly others(ex. the Florida church who burned a Koran and the aftermath in Afghanistan).
The second issue I wanted to address is that of the War on terror. We must remember that this is not the end of the war on terror. While this was one step and one major leader of terrorism we must not stop in our efforts to end terrorism. I believe this begins with education, and an increased understanding of others cultures, customs, and belief systems.
It begins with building bridging social capital(for more info see Putnam, Bowling Alone 2000). We must support our government and trust each other, because without trust we can not accomplish anything. United we stand, and divided we fall. This applies not only to our nation, but to the world. If we are to rise up from the dust and seize our potential we must learn to share ideas and work together, seek for ways to help build a stronger world for all. As we seek to rise out of the recession we have been in, we must look for ways to innovate and make changes that will increase our ability to make the world better, rather than to line our own pockets.
IN GOD WE TRUST
