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Who cares about those grisly photos?

I find it hard to understand all the fuss about photos of Osama bin Laden’s corpse.

I find it hard to understand all the fuss about photos of Osama bin Laden's corpse.

I would have had no problem with releasing them, as further proof that he's gone. Such a release would not have been triumphal, but merely factual, further irrefutable evidence for doubters.

Yet, on the other hand, I see no sign that there are many doubters out there in the world, whether amongst radical Islamists or in nations prone to conspiracy theories. The Pakistani press is discussing their military's shortfalls, not whether the corpse was really bin Laden. Pakistani officials are doing the same.

Bin Laden's wives, survivors in the compound are talking. His daughter, who witnessed the killing, is talking.

Yes, an official Afghan Taliban spokesman said more evidence is needed, but that seems to be a stalling move, while the Taliban leadership digest the meaning of the man's death. After all, their paramount leader Mullah Omar brought ruin on his people by hosting bin Laden, and refusing to turn him over after 9/11 because of bonds of Pashtun hospitality and marriage.

So who really needs those grisly photos? Not Americans (except for the most benighted conspiracy theorists). Not the world at large (except for the most benighted conspiracy theorists). And those conspiracy mavens would not believe he was dead no matter what they were shown.

So the issue of the photos is moot. If they leak out one day, so be it. But we don't need them now.