Rep. Rob Andrews Sees bin Laden Photos, Talks Significance

Congressman Rob Andrews (D-NJ) has been a strong supporter of President Obama and his administration for the past few years, but it was clear this morning that they were on different pages on a hot topic--Osama bin Laden. 

Day five of my two week stay in Washington D.C. was a very exciting morning for my friend Matt Jakubowski and I, as we both got to sit down with Congressman Andrews and speak to him about some important issues.

But before we even got to the round table just a few feet from the House floor, Andrews informed us he was up early on Friday to view the pictures of bin Laden, who was killed 12 days ago.

Andrews only described the pictures of bin Laden by saying that he would never want to mess with the Navy SEALS. They were graphic, he said, and it seemed for the most part the congressman was unaffected by viewing the pictures just two hours before we met with him.

I was very happy to hear that my representative, and all of West Deptford's representative, took time to go view the pictures. I was prepared to ask him to go view the pictures on behalf of New Jersey's District 1, so hearing that he had seen them that morning was satisfying.

However, the most interesting part of our discussion about the pictures was that Andrews believes that they should be released to the public. Based on his reaction when we asked him, as well as his comments, the pictures are not too violent to be disclosed.

Fundamentally disagreeing with the President, Andrews stood by his belief that the pictures could, in fact, be OK for the mature public. The disagreement with President Obama caught me by surprise.

Though Congressman Andrews and I don't see eye to eye on many issues, he got this one right. These pictures should be available to the general public to provide closure to Americans that were directly affected by bin Laden's disgusting actions. Though we have gotten confirmation by a number of news outlets, representatives and the president, the best confirmation for me is using my own two eyes.

I encourage everyone to write to their representative and ask them to take some time to go and view the pictures of Osama bin Laden, dead.