Washington and the media spawned the “deathers”

More than a week ago Navy SEALs ushered Osama bin Laden to his everlasting calling. A rush of boots, the pop of small arms fire, and he was gone. Word has it that Osama remains dead. Or does he?

Conspiracies are popping up like lost relatives at a lottery winner’s doorstep, as are the attempts to discredit anyone asking questions about bin Laden’s demise. The situation is similar, in nature if not degree, to the "birther" movement. Osama conspiracists even have a nickname, "deathers."

Generally speaking, conspiracy theories combine overactive imaginations with the need to explain the unexplainable. However, the White House’s delay in producing Obama’s actual birth certificate prompted skepticism concerning his birthplace and his qualification for office. Thus "birthers" were born. Likewise for the White House account of bin Laden’s death. Just as a lack of White House transparency fueled the birthers it now fuels the "deathers," who can posit some interesting questions.

Why did finding bin Laden take so long? U.S. military and intelligence agencies possess satellite surveillance technology capable of determining the coin toss at next year’s Super Bowl, assuming there is one. Why couldn’t we find the world’s most infamous terrorist? Osama bin Laden’s prompt burial at sea did little to squelch the conspiracists, either. We saw photos of the dead Uday and Qusay Hussein, and of Saddam himself. Why not bin Laden?

Conspiracists can legitimately argue a captured bin Laden is more valuable than a dead bin Laden. A live al-Qaeda leader would be a wealth of intelligence information, ripe for the interrogating. The federal government could easily fake bin Laden’s death. Then he could be spirited to some remote corner of the globe for unencumbered questioning.

Would releasing photos of a deceased Osama bin Laden quell the conspiracies and satisfy the "deathers?" Probably not. Conspiracists will claim the pictures are forged products of the Photoshop age. Some may allege the bin Laden in the photos is a double, not the genuine article. Besides, releasing photos is of small benefit when the White House can’t so much as get its story straight.

We were told how bin Laden died during a fierce firefight while using his wife as a human shield. In one account bin Laden’s wife was wounded, in the next she wasn’t. Then she was shot, but only in the leg. Was she a human shield? Or did she charge SEAL Team Six? Osama bin Laden was armed; then he wasn’t. Was he reaching for his AK-47 when he was killed? Or, was he captured and summarily executed, which he richly deserved?

Considering the conflicting reports emanating from Washington, and dutifully parroted in the media, who can say with certainty what occurred in Abbottabad? Too much contradiction, too much swirl. No evidence, regardless its strength, will mollify the skeptics now. Photos and DNA tests can be faked while making each seem credible. Also, reports of Osama bin Laden’s death aren’t new; they began circulating within months of 9/11.

I believe bin Laden is dead. Does my opinion relegate the conspiracists to the far corners of Crackpotistan? Not entirely. When conspiracy theories become commonplace, the government and media are condemned more than the conspiracists. Contradictions and lies on the part of the federal government combined with a compliant media, over time, have fostered a public mistrust toward both parties. Frankly, neither entity is more credible than the tinfoil hat brigade.

Spin, swirl, and bias are par for the federal government and most media outlets. Phraseologies, like "quantitative easing" and "integrative complexity," breed distrust. Such phrasing is intended not to enlighten the public but to conceal an agenda the public would oppose, or worse, ridicule. Small wonder mainstream news reports and the federal government’s official statements create suspicion.

Whether people believe bin Laden died last week at the hands of Navy SEALs or ten years ago of natural causes is of little consequence. Good riddance to bad rubbish. And if he’s alive and under interrogation at a black ops center? Happy waterboarding! What’s truly shameful is how once-revered institutions have instilled such distrust in the population that every government action and media report spawns a conspiracy theory.

Are the "deathers" piloting black helicopters? Maybe so. But Washington and the "mainstream" media needn't point fingers. They birthed the "deather" movement.