Obama refuses to release Laden photos

FE Team | Published: May 06, 2011 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

WASHINGTON, May 5(Agencies): President Barack Obama has said publishing photos of the dead Osama Bin Laden threatens US national security. "I think that, given the graphic nature of these photos, it would create some national security risk," Mr Obama said. The al-Qaeda leader was killed by US special forces in northern Pakistan on Monday. His body was buried at sea. Mr Obama said: "It is important for us to make sure that very graphic photos of somebody who was shot in the head are not floating around as an incitement to additional violence, as a propaganda tool. That's not who we are." Continued from page 1 col. 6 The US administration has been monitoring world reaction - amid conspiracy theories about the al-Qaeda leader following conflicting accounts given by US officials. "There are going to be some folks who deny it. The fact of the matter is, you won't see Bin Laden walking on this Earth again," Mr Obama said. Report from Rawalpindi adds, Pakistan said Thursday it wanted Washington to reduce its military personnel in the country and threatened to review cooperation in case of another raid similar to that which killed Osama bin Laden. Army chief General Ashfaq Kayani "made it very clear that any similar action violating the sovereignty will warrant a review of military, intelligence cooperation with the US," a military statement said. However, Pakistan's military Thursday admitted to intelligence "shortcomings" on pinpointing Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden's location and ordered an investigation. The acknowledgement came after army chief of staff General Ashfaq Kayani convened a meeting of corps commanders on the fourth day after US commandos tracked down and killed bin Laden in the Pakistani town of Abbottabad. "While admitting own shortcomings" in developing intelligence on bin Laden's whereabouts, the meeting said "achievements" by military intelligence against Al-Qaeda and other terror groups were without parallel. In the bin Laden case, the military said the CIA developed intelligence based on initial information provided by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency but did not share further developments with the Pakistanis. It said an investigation had been ordered into the circumstances that led to the intelligence breakdown. Meanwhile, on Thursday, Pakistan Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir again dismissed allegations his country's secret services had links to al-Qaeda, and said the investigation into the presence of Bin Laden in Abbottabad would reveal what failures there were. Report from Beijing adds, China reaffirmed its support on Thursday for efforts by its ally Pakistan to combat terrorism after the killing of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden by US forces, and urged the world to help Islamabad. Foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu stopped short of directly criticising the daring raid by US special forces on Pakistani soil that ended with bin Laden's death but said national sovereignty "should be respected" at all times. Another report from Brussels adds, The European Union says it will not turn its back on Pakistan even though the revelation that Osama bin Laden lived comfortably for years close to the capital has raised questions about the role its security serices played. EU spokesman Michael Mann said Thursday "there can be no doubt" Pakistan will remain an important partner in the region and that Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani will continue to receive EU backing.