Chicago Reacts: Bin Laden Photos Won't Be Released
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Chicagoans are reacting to the decision by President Barack Obama not to make public the gruesome death photos of Osama bin Laden.
As CBS 2's Kristyn Hartman reports, President Obama told Steve Kroft of "60 Minutes" in an exclusive interview that there is no doubt that the man who was killed was bin Laden.
"We've done DNA sampling and testing, and so there is no doubt that we killed Osama bin Laden," Obama said.
President Obama said he has seen the photos of bin Laden's corpse himself, but they will not be released to the public.
"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," Obama said.
Ahmad Rehab of the Chicago Council on American-Islamic relations calls Obama's logic "spot-on."
But Rehab says while there may be many people that do not care to see the photos, there will always be those who require evidence.
"Bin Laden is a major figure, and his murder was a major world event," Rehab said. "We need to address that in a public manner, with evidence, and not just hearsay."
Rehab said the questions must be put to rest to combat conspiracy theories.
"It's all about DNA," he said.
Rehab hopes for the certification of the DNA report that identified bin Laden. There is no word on that from the White House.
On not releasing the pictures, Obama also tells "60 Minutes:" "We don't trot out this stuff as trophies. That's not who we are."
President Obama travels to Ground Zero later Thursday to meet with a handful of 9/11 families.
