Conspiracy theories are nothing new. So, it’s no wonder that just 2 days after jubilant crowds gathered in New York and Washington, DC after hearing about Osama bin Laden’s death that many people are starting to wonder if he was killed. It’s interesting how many Americans believe so many conspiracy theories. Does that come from us watching too much TV or reading too much in the tabloid magazines?
Some people and you may be one of them, do not believe that we landed on the moon or that a man walked on the moon. Then, of course, there are those who still believe that Elvis is alive. That accounts for the many sightings of Elvis over the years. Then, I recall tabloid magazines reported that President Kennedy is alive but brain dead or lying in a coma somewhere. And Paul McCartney supposedly died a long time ago, according to background lyrics heard in a song with the words “Paul is dead”. The birthers believe the conspiracy theory that President Obama conspired to change his birth certificate so he could become President.
Greta Van Susterern tweeted 2 days after bin Laden’s death that a viewer E-mailed her that he does not think we really got bin Laden. Susteren tweeted back that she thinks we got bin Laden and that we landed on the moon. Skeptics will always doubt any and all proof of bin Laden’s death.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. So many people are urging the Obama administration to release pictures of bin Laden. Well, we released pictures of a man walking on the moon and that did nothing to dispel those skeptics. Everyone by now knows pictures can be photo enhanced to suit any purpose. A picture is not going to answer any doubter’s doubts any more than the President’s birth certificate silenced the birther movement and Donald Trump.
Whether to release the photographs of bin Laden should be based on other considerations and not to appease the doubts of the skeptics. There are many reasons to forego releasing the photographs of bin Laden, including the grotesque nature of any photo. No matter which way President Obama decides, the debate over bin Laden’s death will probably continue as long as the debate over Elvis’ faked death and the fake moon landing. It’s in some of our DNA to be skeptical. But I, like Greta Van Susteren and others, believe we landed on the moon and that Osama bin Laden is dead.
Debbie Hines is a trial lawyer and legal and political commentator. She also contributes to the Huffington Post. She addresses issues on race and gender in law and politics. She holds a juris Doctorate from George Washington University Law School and a BA in American history from the University of Pennsylvania.
Zam says
goo-goo, ga ga, I’m amazed you actually passed the bar exam! You use a comical ploy: comparing skeptics of the death of bin Laden to Elvis, and landing on the moon. I don’t want to mince words, but…erm…you’re an idiot. Why? Lawyers, of all people, want EVIDENCE: photographs; witnesses, autopsy, forensic tests, DNA tests (done by USA AND independent international labs). None of this has happened. You must be some Obama brown noser who wants to pad their career by following the party line. You suck.
The problem with you, and so much of the mainstream media windbags is you are all spineless cowards. You all are afraid to ask the most basic questions as you are deathly afraid of being labelled a “conspiracy nutcase”. You fear this like the plague. But me? I have nothing to lose. Yet I’m not afraid like you, to ask reasonable, logical questions: as in any murder, we need to do an investigation: we want EVIDENCE. We want THE BODY. We want photographs. We want witnesses. We want the Bin Laden family and relatives to PUBLICLY identify the body as Bin Laden. None of this has happened, and I certainly don’t trust that asshole obama to tell the truth….this is the same asshole who campaigned on a grocery list of lies: “I’ll close Gitmo first thing (still open); I’ll fight for unions and labor (where was he during Wisconsins fuckover? golfing?); I’ll get us out of Iraq and Afghanistan (we’re not only still in these 2 countries, but now we’re in Pakistan, Yemen, and advising in Libya!. Jesus christ get a clue!!!
You find nothing odd with dumping the body of the 9-11 alleged “mastermind” at sea within 24 hours of killing him? A man they’ve spent TRILLIONS of taxpayer dollars trying to track down for the last 10+ years? That’s OK for you? Are you actually that stupid, that naive, that you believe what your government says all the time? The government that assured you, me and the rest of the world that Saddam had “weapons of mass destruction”? Do you have any fucking clue how many, MANY times the US government has lied before? From reading your dumbshit article here, I don’t think it ever occurred to you that politicians like obama, Bush, Clinton, etc have lied.
I’m sorry missy, but I sincerely feel sorry for any of your clients LOL 😀
Americans are fucking idiots. Thank god I moved from there many years ago…yet its sad to see my home country sliding ever further down the toilet 🙁
Debbie Hines says
I disagree…Skeptics are the same whether they doubt Elvis’ death, moon landing or the bin Laden “deathers”. Obama does not need to prove the death of bin Laden beyond a reasonable doubt ( not that he could ever do that with skeptics who are not reasonable). The American people are not jurors in a court room. And even if they were jurors, murder cases have also been won in court without a body, DNA or photos.
Sir Thoughtleak says
With all due respect, I don’t think it’s about the idea of “conspiracy theories” (all though I know they do exist), it’s about thinking critically , doing due diligence and asking questions when circumstances don’t make logical sense and also when there is a documented history of deceit from government in general. Our group campaigned hard for B.O. however the moment we just start accepting what is being fed to us, especially when it doesn’t fundamentally add up, that is the moment you have relinquished your personal power of the mind. We should all ways question the illogical…
Mark C. says
Sorry, but the Bin Laden story isn’t adding up. It doesn’t take a conspiracy theory to figure that out. In fact, there are several articles (one of which was even published by Fox News in Dec 2001… ironically) that claim Bin Laden’s death in the winter of 2001. People should think critically of what our government tells us. If you think government is completely honest, then take a look at Richard Nixon.. and in more extreme cases, take a look at Hitler and Stalin. It doesn’t take a conspiracy theory to come to this conclusion. All it takes is common sense… and in this case, common sense can protect us from future lies and abuses.