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By KIMBERLY DOZIER and ERICA WERNER, Associated Press


WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama said Wednesday he's
decided not to release death photos of terrorist Osama bin Laden
because their graphic nature could incite violence and create
national security risks for the United States.


      "There's no doubt we killed Osama bin Laden," the president
said in an interview with CBS News, and there was no need to
release the photographs or gloat. "There's no need to spike the
football," he said.


      The president said that for anyone who doesn't believe bin Laden
is dead, "we don't think that a photograph in and of itself is
going to make any difference."


      "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,"
said Obama.


      The president made his comments in an interview Wednesday with
CBS' "60 Minutes". Presidential spokesman Jay Carney read the
president's quotes to reporters in the White House briefing room,
ahead of the program's airing.


      Photos taken by the Navy SEAL raiders show bin Laden shot in the
head, numerous officials have said. CIA Director Leon Panetta said
Tuesday he expected at least one photo to be released. Asked about
that, Carney said the decision had not been made at that time.


      But Carney also said the president never doubted his position on
not releasing the photos. Obama said in the interview, "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."


      "I think that, given the graphic nature of these photos, it
would create some national security risk," he said.


      Carney said there would not be images released of bin Laden's
burial at sea, either.


      Some family members of those who died in the 9/11 terror attacks
thought it important to document bin Laden's death, as did some
skeptics in the Arab world who doubted his demise in the absence of
convincing evidence. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said in a
statement that Obama's decision was a mistake.


      "The whole purpose of sending our soldiers into the compound,
rather than an aerial bombardment, was to obtain indisputable proof
of bin Laden's death," Graham said. "I know bin Laden is dead.
But the best way to protect and defend our interests overseas is to
prove that fact to the rest of the world."


      But many other lawmakers and others expressed concerns that the
photographic images could be seen as a "trophy" that would
inflame U.S. critics and make it harder for members of the American
military deployed overseas to do their jobs.


      Obama's decision on the photos came a day ahead of his planned
visit to ground zero in New York City to lay a wreath and visit
with 9/11 families and first responders.


      It also came after a revised description of the circumstances of
bin Laden's death. After initially saying the terrorist was armed
or even firing, the White House said Tuesday that bin Laden was
unarmed, raising questions about the basis for his killing.


      Attorney General Eric Holder, in an appearance on Capitol Hill,
sought to underscore the legality of the shooting.


      "Let me make something very clear: The operation in which Osama
bin Laden was killed was lawful," Holder told senators Wednesday.
The raid "was justified as an action of national self-defense"
against "a lawful military target," he said.


      Carney said that the SEAL team that raided the compound where
bin Laden was living in Abbottabad, Pakistan, had the authority to
kill him unless he offered to surrender, in which case the team was
required to accept the surrender.


      "Consistent with the laws of war, bin Laden's surrender would
have been accepted if feasible," said Carney. Officials have said
bin Laden resisted, though they have not offered further details.


      Meanwhile, the SEALS involved in the daring raid are in the
Washington area for debriefing, and U.S. officials have begun to
comb through the intelligence trove of computer files, flash
drives, DVDs and documents that the commandos hauled out of the
terrorist's hideaway.


      Bin Laden had about 500 euros sewn into his clothes when he was
killed and had phone numbers with him when he was killed, U.S.
officials said, a possible indication that the terrorist mastermind
was ready to flee his compound on short notice.


      Wednesday was not the first time Obama has had to make a
consequential decision about releasing photos connected with U.S.
troop actions. In 2009 he sought to block the court-ordered release
of photos of U.S. troops abusing prisoners in Iraq, a reversal of
position that he explained by saying the pictures could inflame
anti-American opinion and endanger U.S. forces in Iraq an
Afghanistan.

Gallery

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Bin  Laden is dead -- how he got that way is a bit fuzzy

White House: bin Laden unarmed during assault

For 72 hours, Obama kept one of history's biggest secrets

The hunt for Osama bin Laden

The White House had been weighing the release of a photo, in
part to offer proof that bin Laden was killed during a raid on his
compound early Monday. However, officials had cautioned that the
photo was gruesome and could be inflammatory.

Obama says he won't release bin Laden death photos

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