© The Associated Press/Anjum Naveed
Pakistani youngsters play cricket near the compound of Osama bin Laden, which is being demolished by authorities in Abbottabad, Pakistan on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2012.
US, Washington - The hunt for Osama bin Laden took nearly a decade. It could take even longer to uncover U.S. government emails, planning reports, photographs and more that would shed light on how an elite team of U.S. Navy Seals killed the world's most wanted terrorist.
Ten months after that electrifying covert mission, an administration that has pledged to be the most transparent in American history is refusing to release documents under the Freedom of Information Act, the U.S. openness in government law, that would provide insights into how bin Laden died, how the U.S. verified his identity and how it decided to bury him at sea, as well as photographs taken during and after the May 2011 raid on his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
Government officials have discussed details of the mission openly in speeches, interviews and television appearances, but the administration will not disclose records that would confirm their narrative of that fateful night. The Obama administration has not even disclosed where all the documents might be stored.
Requests for bin Laden materials were among the most significant filed last year under the open records law, which compels the government to turn over copies of federal records for free or at little cost. Anyone who seeks information under the FOIA generally is supposed to get it unless disclosure would harm national security, violate personal privacy or expose business secrets or confidential decision-making. The law has been the focus of extra attention since Sunday, the start of Sunshine Week, when American news organizations promote open government and freedom of information.
Comment: On a weekend when millions of Syrians have come out in support of President Assad's government, two massive boob-trapped car bomb explosions go off at government buildings. Think about who benefits...