Cornyn: No Need to See bin Laden Photos

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said he is passing on an opportunity many of his colleagues may never get — viewing the photos of Osama bin Laden’s corpse.

As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Cornyn was part of a select group of lawmakers invited to the CIA headquarters to view the images of the al-Qaida leader after the White House decided not to publicly release the photos. On a conference call with reporters today, Cornyn said that what he has been told about the mission convinces him that bin Laden is dead.

“I am satisfied from reports I’ve gotten from the intelligence community and our armed services that we found our man,” he said. “I don’t intend to travel over to the CIA’s offices just to look at someone that’s been shot in the head."

Members of the House Armed Services Committee and House and Senate intelligence committees were also invited to see the photos.

President Barack Obama told CBS News last week that publicly releasing the photos might offer extremists a new “propaganda” tool to incite further violence and could present national security concerns.

“That’s not who we are. We don’t trot out this stuff as trophies,” the president said.