Just three days after the world learned President Obama ordered a daring special operations mission resulting in the death of Osama bin Laden, Sarah Palin has come around to claim he’s “pussy-footing around” — specifically by not immediately releasing photos of the deceased al Qaeda leader. To underscore the irony, Palin claims the pictures should be released “as warning to others seeking America’s destruction” — one day after numerous reports had her moving in a more pragmatic direction on foreign policy.
Palin took to Twitter, one of her go-to modes of communications, moments after news broke that Obama would not release the bin Laden photos.
“Show photo as warning to others seeking America’s destruction. No pussy-footing around, no politicking, no drama;it’s part of the mission,” she said.
It’s unclear why she thinks photos of bin Laden’s corpse will scare suicidal terrorists.
There appears to be a difference of opinions among politicians in both parties about whether this is the right course of action. Among Republicans, House Intelligence Committee chairman Mike Rogers argued that the pictures should not be released.
“I don’t want to make the job of our troops serving in places like Iraq and Afghanistan any harder than it already is,” Rogers said. “Imagine how the American people would react if Al Qaida killed one of our troops or military leaders, and put photos of the body on the Internet.”
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, disagreed. She suggested that a proliferation of bin Laden death deniers might make it necessary to release proof at some point.
Likely Republican Presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty likewise says the photos should be released to put conspiracy theories to rest.
Brian Beutler
Brian Beutler is TPM's senior congressional reporter. Since 2009, he's led coverage of health care reform, Wall Street reform, taxes, the GOP budget, the government shutdown fight, and the debt limit fight. He can be reached at brian@talkingpointsmemo.com.