Reuters Defends Decision To Publish Bin Laden Compound Photos

Osama Bin Laden Photos
Posted: 05/ 4/11 06:29 PM ET
NEW YORK -- The White House isn’t releasing photos of Osama bin Laden’s dead body, but that didn’t stop Reuters from publishing several gruesome photos Wednesday showing the aftermath of the U.S. raid on bin Laden’s compound in Pakistan and sending them to clients of the wire service.
Reuters defended that decision in a statement to The Huffington Post.
"As this is a story of global importance, Reuters chose to share these photographs with its media clients and allow them to make editorial decisions on how they were used," a spokesperson said.
The news organization declined to comment further on photos showing three, unidentified men lying in pools of blood. (WARNING: the photographs can be viewed here but they are very graphic.)
But in an article accompanying the photos, Reuters said it purchased the photographs from a Pakistani security official who entered the compound about an hour after the U.S. raid took place that killed the al Qaeda leader. The official chose to remain anonymous.
“Reuters is confident of the authenticity of the purchased images because details in the photos appear to show a wrecked helicopter from the assault, matching details from photos taken independently on Monday,” the article read.
During Wednesday's press briefing, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney read from a transcript of an interview Obama gave earlier in the day to "60 Minutes," whereby the president explained the reasoning behind not releasing a photo of bin Laden's corpse.
Story continues below
“We don’t need to spike the football, and I think that given the graphic nature of these photos, it would create some national security risk,” Obama told "60 Minutes" correspondent Steve Kroft.
The White House declined to comment on the Reuters photos.
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NEW YORK -- The White House isn’t releasing photos of Osama bin Laden’s dead body, but that didn’t stop Reuters from publishing several gruesome photos Wednesday showing the aftermath of the U.S...
NEW YORK -- The White House isn’t releasing photos of Osama bin Laden’s dead body, but that didn’t stop Reuters from publishing several gruesome photos Wednesday showing the aftermath of the U.S...
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WHITE HOUSE RELEASES BIN LADEN DEATH PHOTO
DRUDGE: WHITE HOUSE TO RELEASE BIN LADEN DEATH PHOTO
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0 minute ago (9:18 PM)
Hey...if we had a President we could trust, there would be no need for a confirmati­on of anything..­.period!
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1 minute ago (9:17 PM)
Nobody CARES what the former Governor of Alaska thinks!
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1 minute ago (9:16 PM)
my post should not be deemed offensive,­its trueeeeeee­e
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2 minutes ago (9:15 PM)
Obama's the President & it's his call, for whatever reasons, he feels is in our national security best interests. PERIOD!
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0 minute ago (9:17 PM)
But it was imperitive to release the Abu Ghraib photos. Please explain.
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0 minute ago (9:18 PM)
The pictures belong to the taxpayers that paid for the mission, doubtful that they are any worse than what is shown on television or at the movies
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3 minutes ago (9:14 PM)
It's a shame that a Pakistani security official would take photos of the deceased individual­s and sell them to the press. This type of misconduct makes me believe that the Pakistani officials cannot be trusted. Therefore, I do not believe the Pakistani officials when they said they were unaware that Bin Laden was in their country. I am certain that there were a few Pakistani officials that knew he was there.
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1 minute ago (9:16 PM)
This would never happen in america.
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3 minutes ago (9:14 PM)
Are other "civilized­" countries as bloodthirs­ty as us? Do we really need to see photos?
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3 minutes ago (9:14 PM)
If you want pics of Oh Bee Ell, you just have to go over to 4chan.
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3 minutes ago (9:14 PM)
Should we have left the helicopter for Pakistan's perusal? I've never seen anything like it before. I'm sure others will be curious to know how it was made and such. I know the SEALs needed to get out of there quickly, but maybe they should have blown the helicopter up or something. Our guns and ammo are already being used against us throughout the world, we don't need someone flying into the US in undetectab­le aircrafts.
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1 minute ago (9:17 PM)
I know! I thought they destroyed the chopper for security reasons. I guess you never know if what the media reports is accurate or even true. This whole thing reminds me of that movie, "Wag the Dog".
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6 minutes ago (9:12 PM)
Blood bath photos? Huffington Post lies in the title. Only pictures of trashed building after the body was dumped there.
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1 minute ago (9:16 PM)
You can go to the reuters site for the pictures, there's a link.
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7 minutes ago (9:11 PM)
The only reason Reuters has to release their photos is because they spent a lot of MONEY on them.
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6 minutes ago (9:12 PM)
Bingo!
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8 minutes ago (9:10 PM)
WHo are these people who are "outside" in the photo above?
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8 minutes ago (9:09 PM)
Can obammer suck any more??
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5 minutes ago (9:12 PM)
move to Pakistan and get out!
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3 minutes ago (9:14 PM)
can you suck any more?
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2 minutes ago (9:15 PM)
Uhhh, they do not have to ?
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3 minutes ago (9:15 PM)
Give it time.
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2 minutes ago (9:16 PM)
cbrown another blind little sheep
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2 minutes ago (9:16 PM)
Go brush your tooth baggertrol­lie
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0 minute ago (9:18 PM)
you don't own a toothbrush­, borrow your boyfriends­!
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8 minutes ago (9:09 PM)
Bin Laden is probably still alive somewhere and if these politician­s want the public to believe them they should back it up with proof, like pictures or a body ! WHERE'S THE BODY ?, WHERE'S THE BODY ? ??????????­??.... "W H E R E 'S......T H E .......B O D Y ? "
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4 minutes ago (9:14 PM)
...probabl­y with Obama's birth certificat­e.
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8 minutes ago (9:09 PM)
In photograph­ing, reporting and publishing that which is true, the news media are defending you and your right to know what is going on. To say that "Reuters is defending" has it backwards. Those who obstruct the free flow of informatio­n should be on the defensive.
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6 minutes ago (9:11 PM)
That "free flow of informatio­n" is totally commercial­. Nothing but profits, nothing free.
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9 minutes ago (9:08 PM)
Those are pretty graphic, but not as graphic as this... http://www­.whatupwat­er.com/
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