Those "Inflammatory" bin Laden Photos

Yesterday, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney made the case that releasing photos of the deceased Osama bin Laden could be "inflammatory."

Carney's sentiments were echoed by Republican Congressman Mike Rogers, Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. Rogers told George Stephanopoulos, "If you're a sergeant in a town in Ghazni, Afghanistan and you're trying to get some local elder to cooperate about what's happening in your village, are you going to do it if this inflames into some kind of trophy - we have a trophy of Osama bin Laden?"

But if the Obama Administration and Congressman Rogers are concerned about "inflaming the Muslim world" didn't they think the singular act of killing bin Laden would be sufficiently inflammatory? I'm afraid that train has already left the station.

For crying out loud, release the photos.

UPDATE: White House Press Secretary Jay Carney announced earlier this afternoon that President Obama has decided not to release the bin Laden photos. Carney quote Obama in an interview he did earlier today with Steve Kroft which will air this Sunday on 60 Minutes. Obama told Kroft, "We don't trot out this stuff as trophies. This is somebody deserving of the justice he received. But we don't need to spike the football."

So President Obama will instead take a knee.