Qorvis' Greg Lagana Discusses White House Communications on Bin Laden Killing in The Hill

WASHINGTON, May 10, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In an opinion editorial yesterday on The Hill's Congress Blog, Qorvis Communications Partner Greg Lagana commends the Obama administration for its decision to withhold the Osama Bin Laden death photo.

"Releasing the photo will do nothing to convince most doubters around the world, but it would diminish the United States and, in a strange way, further elevate Osama bin Laden in the eyes of many," he writes.

While Lagana approves of the White House's decision regarding the photo, he contends that the White House's handling of events following Bin Laden's death was less than perfect. From John Brennan's "gloating" to Leon Panetta's "open speculation about release of the photos," the administration made several missteps. However, President Obama ultimately made the "right decision for a great nation" by ordering the mission and by also refusing to release the death photo.

"We can't forget about [Bin Laden], but we can refuse to elevate him any further, and we can refuse to stoop to the level of medieval victors who paraded the heads of their enemies on pikes — regardless of the reason," Lagana said.

For nearly a decade, the United States has "single-mindedly" pursued Osama Bin Laden, and while pleased about the news of his death, Lagana finds that the "pep-rally atmosphere seemed somehow inappropriate." Lagana reminds us that we have not yet reached the end of the war on terror, but that it was "the death of one criminal, one terrorist who paid for his crimes."

Lagana joined Qorvis as partner. He was formerly senior vice-president for communications and marketing at DynCorp International, a major services provider for the United States government. Prior to which, he spent four years in the Bush (43) White House, as a member of the Coalition Information Center staff and then as associate director of the Office of Global Communications. For more than two decades, Lagana served in the U.S. Foreign Service in public diplomacy and public affairs with the United States Information Agency and the Department of State.

SOURCE Qorvis Communications