Obama: bin Laden sea burial ‘was respectful’

Earlier this week, we told you that some Islamic scholars questioned President Obama's decision to bury Osama bin Laden at sea--arguing that a maritime burial isn't in keeping with Muslim practice.

In his interview with 60 Minutes--excerpted above, and to air in full Sunday--the president was at pains to beat back those criticisms.

Asked by correspondent Steve Kroft about the decision, Obama responded:

Frankly, we took more care on this than, obviously, bin Laden took when he killed 3,000 people. He didn't have much regard for how they were treated and desecrated. But that, again, is something that makes us different. And I think we handled it appropriately.

Kroft followed up by asking whether Obama himself had made the decision. The president responded:

It was a joint decision. We thought it was important to think through ahead of time how we would dispose of the body if he were killed in the compound. And I think that what we tried to do was--consulting with experts in Islamic law and ritual--to find something that was appropriate, that was, respectful of the body.