Osama bin Laden killed in Pakistan by U.S. troops

Is it necessary to show the public photos of Osama bin Laden's dead body, or is it morbid? The White House is debating whether or not to release photos of the al Qaeda leader's corpse. The photos would be released to allay public anxiety and squash conspiracy theories that the terrorist is not dead.

"There's no doubt it's him," said a U.S. official who has allegedly seen the pictures. But the other side of the debate is that the photos are grisly and graphic, displaying a gaping hole above his left eye where brains and blood can be seen. In 2003, the U.S. government released pictures of Saddam Hussein's dead sons Uday and Qusay Hussein, but only after their bodies had been worked on by a mortician.

Declaring the killing of Osama bin Laden “a good day for America,” President Barack Obama said Monday the world was safer without the al-Qaida terrorist and mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. His administration used DNA testing to help confirm that American forces in Pakistan had in fact killed bin Laden, as U.S. officials sought to erase all doubt about the stunning news.

A U.S. official says Osama bin Laden went down firing at the Navy SEALs who stormed his compound.

“Today we are reminded that as a nation there is nothing we can’t do,” Obama said of the news bound to lift his political standing and help define his presidency. He hailed the pride of those who broke out in overnight celebrations as word spread around the globe.

An elite crew of American forces killed bin Laden during a daring raid on Monday, capping the world’s most intense manhunt, a search that spanned nearly a decade.