archy

They know no shame
Salam Pax wants to know why the administration has delayed showing photos of Saddam's dead sons. The Iraqi people want proof that Uday and Qusay are dead and refuse to dance in the streets for our photographers till they have it. Did anyone doubt that the administration would show the photos in the end? This administration has not been known for its tact or taste or for missing an opportunity for triumphalist gloating. So why go through this little charade of agonizing over the moral implications of showing the photos?

I think it's obvious. Their moral dilemma act allowed them to delay the release till Thursday. On Tuesday and Wednesday they could use the fact of the killings to drive Stephen Hadley's admission that the White House knew the uranium claim in the State of the Union Address was bogus off the front pages. Today, they can use the photos to drive the release of the 9/11 report off the front pages. After all, gory sensationalism trumps everything in allocation of news space.