A reader writes:
I share most of your feelings about the death of Osama bin Laden. But I wonder if your tarring of skeptics ("The Birth of Deatherism", "DNA Truthers") ignores examples of government misinformation in the recent past. I'll give you two names: Jessica Lynch and Pat Tillman. In both of these cases, a covert operation and the death of a prominent figure, the government deliberately distorted the facts and misled the public. I think situations like this can arouse a mistrust of government that in many ways is justified.
Agreed. Some skepticism remains necessary and we won't discover all the facts for a while. Another writes:
I don't want to venture into tinfoil hat territory, but please keep some skepticism. Specifically, the story of Osama using his wife as a human shield is rather tidy. And the helicopter that crashed due to mechanical failure – that's what you would expect them to say if it was shot down. Of course, I don't know if these stories are true or false. I'm just suggesting you consider what fraction of the statements regarding Pat Tillman were true, and assume that ratio still holds.
Indeed, the White House is now saying that bin Laden's wife wasn't killed or used as a shield after all.
The Dish 