US weighs release of slain Osama photos

US officials weighed the pros and cons of releasing secret video and photos of Osama bin Laden, killed with a precision shot above his left eye, as fresh details emerged yesterday of an audacious American raid that netted potentially crucial al-Qaeda records as well as the body of the global terrorist leader.
White House counterterrorism adviser John Brennan said the US already was scouring items seized in the raid said to include hard drives, DVD's, documents and more that might tip US intelligence to al-Qaeda's operational details and perhaps lead the manhunt to the presumed next-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahri.
As for publicly releasing photos and video, Brennan said in a series of appearances on morning television: "This needs to be done thoughtfully," with careful consideration given to what kind of reaction the images might provoke.
Conspiracy theories fanned by distrust of the United States raced like wildfire through a quiet Pakistani town after revelations Osama bin Laden had been killed on their doorstep.
Neighbours only realised something was wrong when helicopters roared overhead in the dead of night, followed by loud explosions and gunfire, jolting them from their sleep.
Bashir Qureshi, 61, who lives just a bean field away from where bin Laden was shot and whose windows were blown out in the raid, was dismissive.
"Nobody believes it. We've never seen any Arabs around here," he said laughing. "They (the US) said they had thrown his body to the sea! This is wrong, he was not here."
Even a policeman guarding the site questioned the motive for his posting.
"I don't believe he was there. We were called to come at 3:00am but we've seen nothing, the operation was already over," he said.
Shakil Ahmed, who works for a pharmaceutical company, said he believed that the US desire to pull 130,000 international troops out of Afghanistan and wrap up a 10-year war against the Taliban was a motive for peddling lies.
"The US wants to quit Afghanistan. They are saying Osama is dead so they can have an excuse. They have tried to defame the Pakistani army by cooking up this story," he said.
The conspiracy theories were firmly batted aside by visiting US regional envoy Marc Grossman following pre-arranged talks with Pakistani and Afghan officials in Islamabad.
"You can have as many conspiracies as you wish," he said at a news conference, before adding: "He's dead. It's good".