The Washington Times is wondering the same thing I did:

All of this goes to show that President Obama is walking a fine line in what he wants two different groups to understand about bin Laden’s burial. There are those who question why a millionaire mass murderer who was disavowed as practicing a reputedly inauthentic version of Islam received an Islamic funeral. Sea burial itself is an American honor for which only service members, their dependents or outstanding U.S. citizens are eligible. This group is to trust that the decisions made by the Obama administration are the correct, “appropriate” ones and stop asking impertinent questions.

Meanwhile, the other group is subtly being courted with the emphasis on “conformance to Islamic requirements” throughout administration briefings. By reiterating, as Mr. Brennan did at least seven times in his Monday briefing, that the burial was done according to Islamic requirements, he has communicated that the President is more concerned about placating the feelings of Muslim extremists than closure for the American people. Families of the victims of the 9/11 attacks who want to see photos of bin Laden’s corpse must be satisfied with a presidential victory lap at Ground Zero, while radical Islamists can be comforted by Mr. Brennan’s repetitive assurances that the burial was conducted according to rites with which they’re familiar—ones which inherently confer dignity and respect to the dead.

I’ve had three radio interviews on this subject this week (including one at 6 AM this morning).

A symposium.

[Update a few minutes later]

Pakistan’s tangled web.

Jay Carney says that bin Laden wasn’t a Muslim leader?

Well, he seems to have been a leader, so is he saying that he wasn’t a Muslim? These people are tying themselves up into logical knots.

…but not much else.

They’re reverting to form. And of course, there were two different teams involved. The military ran the one in Pakistan, the White House ran the one in Washington.

Nancy Pelosi actually called George Bush to thank him for his service, at least with respect to getting bin Laden. I wonder what she saw in that briefing?

…to learn that Hamas hearts bin Laden. And so does the Muslim Brotherhood, at least when it speaks in Arabic. But that’s what taqqiyah is all about.