Now that Obama has decided not to release the photos of Osama bin Laden’s body, al-Qaeda has another option besides simply heroizing the “martyred” OBL: insist that he never died, that it’s just another infidel conspiracy theory to demoralize the umma, etc. Perhaps they could circulate a previously taped video of him. If they choose that option, the administration would do well to realize that conspiracy theories are not the sole domain of the Middle East, and may very well spread — a lesson Obama should have learned from his birth-certificate fiasco.
— Raymond Ibrahim is associate director of the Middle East Forum.