By IBTimes Staff Reporter: Subscribe to IBTimes's RSS feed
May 7, 2011 5:18 PM EDT
The official account of why Osama bin Laden's body was buried at sea was first revealed by a senior defense official on Monday May 2, 2011, the day after President Barack Obama announced he had been killed by U.S. forces.
The official statement as read is as follows:
Today's religious rites were conducted for the deceased on the deck of the USS Carl Vinson, which is located in the North Arabian Sea. Preparations for at-sea burial began at 1:10 a.m. Eastern Standard Time and were completed at 2:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time.
Traditional procedures for Islamic burial were followed. The deceased's body was washed and then placed in a white sheet. The body was placed in a weighted bag, a military officer read prepared religious remarks, which were translated into Arabic by a native speaker. After the words were complete, the body was placed on a prepared flat board, tipped up, whereupon the deceased body eased into the sea.
The first question raised by a reporter had to do with what the justification for burying him at sea was.
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The official replied:
The justification for burial at sea is when there is no land alternative. And as -- according to Islamic teachings and practice, deceased must be buried with proper procedures within 24 hours. And that was the basis for that decision.
When asked if officials feared that wherever he was buried would become a place that would attract militants, the official reiterated the previous justification, explaining and clarifying further noting that no country would take the body.
"There was no available alternative in terms of a country that was willing to accept the body, and we took pains to ensure that we were compliant with Muslim tradition and law, and sought to dispose of the body, using the appropriate procedures and rituals, within 24 hours," the official said.
The official was asked if an imam or a Muslim chaplain was present for the burial. The official would not be specific, only stating that rites were read and there was translation into Arabic.
"As I indicated in my statement, a military officer read prepared religious remarks, which were translated into Arabic by a native speaker, and all Islamic teachings and procedures ... procedures for Islamic burial were followed," he said.
He was then asked where the USS Carl Vinson was when the burial took place.
"In the North Arabian Sea," the official replied.
Later the same day President Barack Obama's Assistant for Homeland Security and Counter-Terrorism, John Brennan spoke at the White House.
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