NDP deputy leader doubts bin Laden photos exist - Canada - CBC News
The deputy leader of Canada's new Official Opposition party says he doubts the U.S. has photos of Osama bin Laden's body.
Thomas Mulcair, who stands in for NDP Leader Jack Layton in the House of Commons when he is away, told CBC's Power & Politics with Evan Solomon that he doesn't believe photos exist of bin Laden following his killing by U.S. forces on Sunday in Pakistan.
"I don't think, from what I've heard, that those pictures exist and if they do I'll leave that up to the American military," he told host Evan Solomon.
"If they've got pictures of a cadaver then there's probably more going on than we suspect in what happened there," Mulcair said.
Mulcair also said the killing requires "a full analysis" on whether it was self-defence or a direct killing because "that has to do with American law and international law as well."
"I think that if the Americans have taken pictures in that circumstance, it won't be able to prove very much as to whether Mr. [bin Laden] was holding a weapon," he said.
Chris Alexander, newly elected Conservative MP and former Canadian ambassador to Afghanistan, said there's no reason to doubt U.S. President Barack Obama's account of what happened.
"We've heard lots of people who are denying the facts in this case," Alexander said.
"It's an insult to everyone's intelligence to propagate that kind of conspiracy. We have seen the president of the United States ... give a very compelling account of what this mission was about, what the result was. I don't think anyone has any reason to doubt the veracity of that."
NDP foreign affairs critic weighs in
NDP foreign affairs critic Paul Dewar said the party does not doubt the U.S. government has photos.
"We have no reason to doubt the veracity of President Obama’s statement," Dewar wrote in an emailed statement.
"I understand that the U.S. government has photos, but decided not to release them as they do not want them used as trophies. This is a legitimate concern. We agree these types of photos shouldn’t be used as propaganda tools.
"As in all cases, the public’s right to know must be balanced with public safety concerns."
Obama announced Sunday night that American forces had killed bin Laden after months of careful tracking. The U.S. government has photos but said it has decided not to release them because they're so inflammatory.
"There are sensitivities here in terms of the appropriateness of releasing photos of Osama bin Laden," White House press secretary Jay Carney told a press briefing Tuesday.
"It's fair to say that it's a gruesome photograph."
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I wouldn't say this was the best thing to jump on when you're just getting into government after an election, but I do agree with certain points made above:
There are American & International Laws that need to be followed & investigated, even if Osama was an evil pr*ck.... he's still a human being.
One thing that concerned me though was this:
"We've heard lots of people who are denying the facts in this case," Alexander said.
Facts are backed up by evidence..... if there is no evidence provided, then how does the public know they're facts?
Because we have to have faith in a politicians word to be true?
I imagine it happened, and I believe they did kill Osama..... more then I believe they didn't.
But Evidence needs to be provided to remove the conspiracy theories and the idea by many in the middle east that he's still alive & further add to his popularity/fame.
The whole defense about National Security or the worry that showing the photos would increase tensions and make some extremists angry isn't much of an argument, as they're already angry and whether it's true he's dead or not won't matter because they'll use any excuse to devise an attack on someone or something, photos or not.
And this whole conspiracy of whether Osama is alive or dead will continue on and on and on until evidence is shown..... just like Obama's birth certificate issue. People went on and on about it until Obama finally said "Here, look, now p*ss off."
The same will eventually need to be done here.
But I did hear in an Australian report about how Osama died. He was unarmed, one of his wifes jumped at one of the soldiers' weapons while Osama swore or cursed something and they shot her & him.
To add/update a good point made by Obama:
Obama won't release bin Laden photos - World - CBC News
Yet my concern about conspiracy theorists still remains.... the above is logical and reasonable for me, but I know there will be others, like Trump, who will want the evidence
The deputy leader of Canada's new Official Opposition party says he doubts the U.S. has photos of Osama bin Laden's body.
Thomas Mulcair, who stands in for NDP Leader Jack Layton in the House of Commons when he is away, told CBC's Power & Politics with Evan Solomon that he doesn't believe photos exist of bin Laden following his killing by U.S. forces on Sunday in Pakistan.
"I don't think, from what I've heard, that those pictures exist and if they do I'll leave that up to the American military," he told host Evan Solomon.
"If they've got pictures of a cadaver then there's probably more going on than we suspect in what happened there," Mulcair said.
Mulcair also said the killing requires "a full analysis" on whether it was self-defence or a direct killing because "that has to do with American law and international law as well."
"I think that if the Americans have taken pictures in that circumstance, it won't be able to prove very much as to whether Mr. [bin Laden] was holding a weapon," he said.
Chris Alexander, newly elected Conservative MP and former Canadian ambassador to Afghanistan, said there's no reason to doubt U.S. President Barack Obama's account of what happened.
"We've heard lots of people who are denying the facts in this case," Alexander said.
"It's an insult to everyone's intelligence to propagate that kind of conspiracy. We have seen the president of the United States ... give a very compelling account of what this mission was about, what the result was. I don't think anyone has any reason to doubt the veracity of that."
NDP foreign affairs critic weighs in
NDP foreign affairs critic Paul Dewar said the party does not doubt the U.S. government has photos.
"We have no reason to doubt the veracity of President Obama’s statement," Dewar wrote in an emailed statement.
"I understand that the U.S. government has photos, but decided not to release them as they do not want them used as trophies. This is a legitimate concern. We agree these types of photos shouldn’t be used as propaganda tools.
"As in all cases, the public’s right to know must be balanced with public safety concerns."
Obama announced Sunday night that American forces had killed bin Laden after months of careful tracking. The U.S. government has photos but said it has decided not to release them because they're so inflammatory.
"There are sensitivities here in terms of the appropriateness of releasing photos of Osama bin Laden," White House press secretary Jay Carney told a press briefing Tuesday.
"It's fair to say that it's a gruesome photograph."
----------------------------------------
I wouldn't say this was the best thing to jump on when you're just getting into government after an election, but I do agree with certain points made above:
There are American & International Laws that need to be followed & investigated, even if Osama was an evil pr*ck.... he's still a human being.
One thing that concerned me though was this:
"We've heard lots of people who are denying the facts in this case," Alexander said.
Facts are backed up by evidence..... if there is no evidence provided, then how does the public know they're facts?
Because we have to have faith in a politicians word to be true?
I imagine it happened, and I believe they did kill Osama..... more then I believe they didn't.
But Evidence needs to be provided to remove the conspiracy theories and the idea by many in the middle east that he's still alive & further add to his popularity/fame.
The whole defense about National Security or the worry that showing the photos would increase tensions and make some extremists angry isn't much of an argument, as they're already angry and whether it's true he's dead or not won't matter because they'll use any excuse to devise an attack on someone or something, photos or not.
And this whole conspiracy of whether Osama is alive or dead will continue on and on and on until evidence is shown..... just like Obama's birth certificate issue. People went on and on about it until Obama finally said "Here, look, now p*ss off."
The same will eventually need to be done here.
But I did hear in an Australian report about how Osama died. He was unarmed, one of his wifes jumped at one of the soldiers' weapons while Osama swore or cursed something and they shot her & him.
To add/update a good point made by Obama:
Obama won't release bin Laden photos - World - CBC News
Yet my concern about conspiracy theorists still remains.... the above is logical and reasonable for me, but I know there will be others, like Trump, who will want the evidence
