Obama Explains Burial At Sea Ritual For Bin Laden: ‘Something That Makes Us Different’

The day after President Obama announced the capture and killing of Osama bin Laden news broke that the lifeless body of the al Qaeda leader was buried at sea in a manner that was consistent with Islamic tradition. Yesterday, the president sat down with 60 Minutes correspondent Steve Kroft for an exclusive and one time discussion of the bin Laden affair, and a new segment has been released by CBS in which Obama discusses the burial at sea.

CBS News reports:

About bin Laden’s burial at sea executed within 24 hours of his death as prescribed by Muslim law, the president said, “Frankly, we took more care on this than, obviously, bin Laden took when he killed 3,000 people. He didn’t have much regard for how they were treated and desecrated. But that, again, is something that makes us different. And I think we handled it appropriately.”

Kroft asks President Obama if it was his decision to bury the al Qaeda leader at sea. “It was a joint decision. We thought it was important to think through ahead of time how we would dispose of the body if he were killed in the compound,” says the president. “And I think that what we tried to do was – consulting with experts in Islamic law and ritual – to find something that was appropriate, that was, respectful of the body.”

Watch the clip below, courtesy of CBS News:

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