SEPARATED AT BIRTH: SARAH PALIN AND KSM?

In an interview taped for next Sunday's 60 Minutes, President Obama announced that photos of Osama bin Laden's corpse won't be released. There are good arguments for and against releasing photographic evidence: Do you want to try to persuade doubters that bin Laden really died over the weekend? On the other hand, do you want to (as the president says in the interview) seem to be treating the body as a trophy?

And then there's Sarah Palin's reaction:

On Twitter, Sarah Palin ... opposed the decision.

"Show photo as warning to others seeking America's destruction. No pussy-footing around, no politicking, no drama;it's part of the mission," she wrote.

Hmmm ... show a nauseatingly bloody corpse while boasting that you're tough and mean business, and that your enemies ought to fear you and never try to cross your country again? Where have I encountered something like that before?

Oh, yeah, I remember now:

This gruesome but short sequence culminates with [Daniel] Pearl's decapitated head being held up by the hair as a series of demands are displayed on the screen, including the release of Pakistani prisoners and the delivery of F-16 war-planes. The producers of the video identify themselves as the National Movement for the Restoration of Pakistan Sovereignty (NMRPS), and conclude with the following statement:

"We assure Americans that they shall never be safe on the Muslim land of Pakistan. And if our demands are not met this scene shall be repeated again and again."

Yup, that's it. That's what this reminds me of.

Hey, Sarah, I hear there's an opening at Al Qaeda these days. Maybe that's the job you should be trying to get, not president of the United States.