Jeff Bergosh Blog: Release the Death Photo Of Bin -Laden--Public Deserves Complete Transparency

Guidelines

I am one member of a five person board. The opinions I express on this forum are mine only, and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the Escambia County Staff, Administrators, Employees, or anyone else associated with Escambia County Florida. I am interested in establishing this blog as a means of additional transparency to the public, outreach to the community, and information dissemination to all who choose to look. Feedback is welcome, but because public participation is equally encouraged, appropriate language and decorum is mandatory. Although this is not my campaign site for re-election--sometimes campaign related information will be discussed, therefore in an abundance of caution I add the following :

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Release the Death Photo Of Bin -Laden--Public Deserves Complete Transparency

I typically only discuss education matters here on my blog--so in a sense this entry will be a departure. But looking at the issue of the death of Osama Bin-Laden from another perspective-this is a teachable moment.

The lesson is two-fold. First, if you anger the sleeping leviathan that is the U.S.A.-you will be dealt with. Case in point, Osama Bin Laden who sleeps now with the fishes.

Part two is that transparency is the best policy-therefore pictures of the corpse of Bin-Laden must be released to the public. Gamesmanship over releasing vs. not releasing the images should not be something the President engages in. He should learn the lesson of his own Birth Certificate--holding it and not releasing it until very recently was a mistake. He should have released it right away--just as he should release the information and images of Bin-Laden's death expeditiously. As of this writing it is up in the air whether or not the White House will release the photos.

The following passage is something I submitted to our local newspaper, the PNJ, yesterday as a Letter to the Editor. Whether or not the PNJ will publish it remains to be seen, however it would not surprise me if they hold it for two weeks and then publish it when the story is cold--or as they did with my last submission--perhaps they'll publish it un-credited. Either way, this is how I feel:

Show Us the Picture

Like all patriotic Americans I am extremely pleased that Osama Bin Laden has been taken off the game board for good.

The men who executed this mission are to be commended and all who participated in the planning deserve credit for their piece of the complex puzzle which brought justice to Bin-Laden – including the Navy, the CIA, President Barack Obama, and the Bush Administration.

The issue now is proof.

Show us the picture of Bin-Laden’s corpse.

America needs to see this, just as we needed the pictures of other high profile terrorists that have been terminated, including Saddam Hussein, his sons Uday and Qusay, Al-Zarkawi from Iraq, etc. etc.

I believe Bin Laden was killed in this recent raid, but like Coach Bill Parcells famously quipped in a beverage commercial when asked about his belief in Bigfoot---“..I would have to see some visual evidence at some point..”

America needs to see some visual evidence of the death of Bin Laden NOW.

Don’t treat Bin Laden differently than any other previously exterminated terrorists. Show us proof, and if it offends some Americans-- they don’t have to look.

If it offends non-Americans—that’s their problem, too bad!