“Face time” has long been an obsession among Washington’s political elite, but the phrase has lately taken on a whole new meaning. In normal times, it is measured in minutes spent with the president; in the past few days, the real badge of status has been an invitation to see the disfigured features of Osama bin Laden’s corpse.
Like cardinals summoned to a newly discovered relic, the chosen few have been discreetly asked to make an appointment at CIA headquarters in the Washington suburb of Langley, where a special viewing room has been made available.
The White House decided last week that the pictures, taken by the navy Seal team that killed Bin Laden, would not be made public. Barack Obama told CBS television: “It is important 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 or as a propaganda tool.”
The secrecy has inevitably produced a demand within the higher ranks of the political class to be exceptions to the rule. Three Republican senators jumped the gun, claiming to have seen electronic images of the body soon after Bin Laden’s death, only to admit somewhat sheepishly that they had been duped by internet fakes.
Small and macabre club
The genuine invitations to this small and macabre club have now been issued to the members of the congressional intelligence and armed services committees.
A CIA spokesperson said those committees had been chosen because “the Bin Laden raid was the product of excellent cooperation between the intelligence community and the US military”.
Despite White House warnings that the images are “gruesome”, some have already booked their slot. Senator Joe Lieberman told Politico, “I’m going to go out and look” and added that it would “in a way” bring closure.
All this has fuelled demands for the families of 9/11 victims to be granted the same privilege. At the same time, the Associated Press news agency has filed a demand to see the photos and any video available under the Freedom of Information Act. Even before that claim is heard, it is possible that pictures could be leaked depending on how widely they were circulated around the White House, Pentagon and State Department in the initial euphoria that accompanied the raid on Bin Laden’s house in Pakistan.
Amid the ghoulish clamour, meanwhile, a few have remained aloof. “I’ve seen enough dead people,” Vietnam veteran John McCain declared. – guardian.co.uk