Obama said his decision not to release the photos, described by others as extremely gory depictions of a bloodied bin Laden, was an effort to prevent a global backlash.
The move appeared to contradict CIA Director Leon Panetta’s assertion Tuesday that the
photos would eventually be made public, suggesting a split among the president’s top aides, and it drew swift criticism from some Republicans. Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) called withholding the photographs a “mistake,” saying it will “unnecessarily prolong” questions about whether the al-Qaeda founder really died.Just days after one of the most heralded covert actions in U.S. history, the White House found itself struggling to tell the story of the dramatic raid and having to justify the legal basis for it.
The conundrum mirrored problems that the Obama administration has had communicating its national security approach in the past. From the immediate aftermath of an attempted airliner bombing on Dec. 25, 2009, to the early management of the H1N1 flu crisis, the White House has repeatedly labored to prove its command of inflammatory facts during fast-moving events.
This time, officials backed away from several of the most provocative elements disclosed in the first 24 hours. Bin Laden was not “killed in a firefight,” he did not use his wife as a “human shield,” President Obama and his team did not watched “Live Coverage” of the operation and a $1 million Compound of Osama bin laden.
A White House claim that the compound was worth $1 million appeared to be contradicted by property records showing that the land was worth $48,000 when it was purchased in stages in 2004 and 2005, according to the Associated Press.
Several lawmakers and aides on Capitol Hill expressed astonishment that even in killing the world’s most notorious terrorist, the White House undermined its triumph.
Some of the errors were minor. The raid was initially described as having taken place on Sunday; it in fact occurred in the early hours of Monday, using local time in Pakistan. A clerical error led to a mistake in the official transcript identifying which of bin Laden’s sons was killed, following a briefing Monday by White House counterterrorism chief John O. Brennan.
During the telephone briefing that senior advisers gave reporters late Sunday night, one official said the United States had “lost one helicopter due to mechanical failure” during the raid. In response to a question about the helicopter a few minutes later, another official asserted: “We didn’t say it was mechanical.”
By Wednesday, administration officials were choosing their words much more carefully. “We’ve been as forthcoming with facts as we can be,” said White House press secretary Jay Carney. “A lot of information came out quickly. When we needed to clarify some of the information that we had, as more information came in, we’ve provided that. But in terms of further details of the operation, you know, I don’t have any for you.”
Carney said the administration is “at a point where we need to be mindful of the necessity to protect our ability in the future to go after other bad guys, perhaps in the same way we went after this one.”
