Obama Says He Won't Release Photos of Bin Laden's Corpse 05 May 2011 President Obama has decided not to release photographs of Osama bin Laden's body, CBS News reported on Wednesday. Mr. Obama said he concluded that images of Bin Laden, bloodied by gunshots, would do nothing to persuade skeptics, but could inflame tensions in the Muslim world and pose problems for America's national security. On Tuesday, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, Leon E. Panetta, said he did not think "there was any question that ultimately a photograph would be presented to the public."