not sure I would have released those videos

It piques one’s curiosity to watch bin Laden watching himself and Obama on television, sure. But I’m not sure it was a good idea to release those videos yesterday.

The obvious speculation is that the Pentagon did this to try to remove a bit of the bin Laden mystique. The problem is that the sword cuts both ways. By lessening the mystique, it also makes it feel more like they sent a hit squad of 25 Navy SEALS to gun down a pathetic old washed up shut-in who was doing nothing but reliving his past glory days on video. (I enjoyed the line in whichever newspaper that he looks like an aging actor imagining a comeback.)

Granted, that’s not what he was. He was something much worse, and I don’t mourn his disappearance; indeed, I’m greatly relieved. But I do question the release of those videos.