Is Osama Bin Laden Really Dead? Conspiracy Theorist Debate

On Sunday, May 1, 2011, President Obama addressed the nation to announce the death of September 11 mastermind Osama bin Laden.

More details were released explaining the nature of the Navy SEALs mission, which included a raid on the compound in Abbottabad and the number of casualties involved.

For a select group of people across the globe, the validity of bin Laden's death is questionable.

These are the issues that skeptics are questioning:

1) Photos of bin Laden have yet to be shown. The Obama administration, along with several prominent Republicans, has decided to not show pictures of bin Laden's dead body. By releasing the picture to the public, the image could fuel more terrorist efforts and encourage recruitment.

2) There is DNA confirming that the corpse was bin Laden. When compared to DNA samples from his dead sister's brain, it was confirmed that the SEALs killed bin Laden.

3) The body was buried. Bin Laden's body was buried in the North Arabian Sea within 24 hours of his death in respect of Islamic tradition. There was concern that a grave would serve as a rallying point for terrorists.

4) The raid, killing, and burial of bin Laden's body was swiftly performed. The raid lasted 40 minutes, bin Laden was shot and killed on the second floor of the mansion, and the body was buried in the sea over the course of a full day.

There have been numerous conspiracy theories for other major historical events, and due to the reach of this particular event, theories will likely continue to swirl.

Part of the effort to discredit the facts presented by the Obama administration is the timing of the news. With the recent release of Obama's birth certificate, many conspiracy theorists claim that Obama was deflecting from speculation that the certificate was doctored.

Meanwhile, reality-show host and entrepreneur Donald Trump, a major player in questioning if Obama was a naturalized citizen, recently began questioning Obama's academic background.

The question that many seem to neglect to answer is the long-term motivation of those involved if this is in fact a conspiracy. Should concrete facts, not speculation, surface that contradict the current facts, those involved will be subjected to a great deal of scorn. Would politicians, military officials, media, and witnesses conspire together to subject themselves to potential global and historic embarrassment and public judgement?

Also, is the government, and the other parties involved, efficient enough to pull off such an endeavor?

More evidence will surface that will strengthen or weaken arguments in the coming years, but new major events will also occur that will create more opportunities to question the motives and competency of the supposed perpetrators.