Here is the full transcript of Obama's statement tonight:
Tonight, I can report to the American people and to the world that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al Qaeda, and a terrorist who's responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent men, women, and children.
It was nearly 10 years ago that a bright September day was darkened by the worst attack on the American people in our history. The images of 9/11 are seared into our national memory — hijacked planes cutting through a cloudless September sky; the Twin Towers collapsing to the ground; black smoke billowing up from the Pentagon; the wreckage of Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where the actions of heroic citizens saved even more heartbreak and destruction.
And yet we know that the worst images are those that were unseen to the world. The empty seat at the dinner table. Children who were forced to grow up without their mother or their father. Parents who would never know the feeling of their child's embrace. Nearly 3,000 citizens taken from us, leaving a gaping hole in our hearts.
On September 11, 2001, in our time of grief, the American people came together. We offered our neighbors a hand, and we offered the wounded our blood. We reaffirmed our ties to each other, and our love of community and country. On that day, no matter where we came from, what God we prayed to, or what race or ethnicity we were, we were united as one American family.
We were also united in our resolve to protect our nation and to bring those who committed this vicious attack to justice. We quickly learned that the 9/11 attacks were carried out by al Qaeda — an organization headed by Osama bin Laden, which had openly declared war on the United States and was committed to killing innocents in our country and around the globe. And so we went to war against al Qaeda to protect our citizens, our friends, and our allies.
Over the last 10 years, thanks to the tireless and heroic work of our military and our counterterrorism professionals, we've made great strides in that effort. We've disrupted terrorist attacks and strengthened our homeland defense. In Afghanistan, we removed the Taliban government, which had given bin Laden and al Qaeda safe haven and support. And around the globe, we worked with our friends and allies to capture or kill scores of al Qaeda terrorists, including several who were a part of the 9/11 plot.
Yet Osama bin Laden avoided capture and escaped across the Afghan border into Pakistan. Meanwhile, al Qaeda continued to operate from along that border and operate through its affiliates across the world.
And so shortly after taking office, I directed Leon Panetta, the director of the CIA, to make the killing or capture of bin Laden the top priority of our war against al Qaeda, even as we continued our broader efforts to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat his network.
Then, last August, after years of painstaking work by our intelligence community, I was briefed on a possible lead to bin Laden. It was far from certain, and it took many months to run this thread to ground. I met repeatedly with my national security team as we developed more information about the possibility that we had located bin Laden hiding within a compound deep inside of Pakistan. And finally, last week, I determined that we had enough intelligence to take action, and authorized an operation to get Osama bin Laden and bring him to justice.
Today, at my direction, the United States launched a targeted operation against that compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. A small team of Americans carried out the operation with extraordinary courage and capability. No Americans were harmed. They took care to avoid civilian casualties. After a firefight, they killed Osama bin Laden and took custody of his body.
For over two decades, bin Laden has been al Qaeda's leader and symbol, and has continued to plot attacks against our country and our friends and allies. The death of bin Laden marks the most significant achievement to date in our nation's effort to defeat al Qaeda.
Yet his death does not mark the end of our effort. There's no doubt that al Qaeda will continue to pursue attacks against us. We must –- and we will — remain vigilant at home and abroad.
As we do, we must also reaffirm that the United States is not –- and never will be -– at war with Islam. I've made clear, just as President Bush did shortly after 9/11, that our war is not against Islam. Bin Laden was not a Muslim leader; he was a mass murderer of Muslims. Indeed, al Qaeda has slaughtered scores of Muslims in many countries, including our own. So his demise should be welcomed by all who believe in peace and human dignity.
Over the years, I've repeatedly made clear that we would take action within Pakistan if we knew where bin Laden was. That is what we've done. But it's important to note that our counterterrorism cooperation with Pakistan helped lead us to bin Laden and the compound where he was hiding. Indeed, bin Laden had declared war against Pakistan as well, and ordered attacks against the Pakistani people.
Tonight, I called President Zardari, and my team has also spoken with their Pakistani counterparts. They agree that this is a good and historic day for both of our nations. And going forward, it is essential that Pakistan continue to join us in the fight against al Qaeda and its affiliates.
The American people did not choose this fight. It came to our shores, and started with the senseless slaughter of our citizens. After nearly 10 years of service, struggle, and sacrifice, we know well the costs of war. These efforts weigh on me every time I, as Commander-in-Chief, have to sign a letter to a family that has lost a loved one, or look into the eyes of a service member who's been gravely wounded.
So Americans understand the costs of war. Yet as a country, we will never tolerate our security being threatened, nor stand idly by when our people have been killed. We will be relentless in defense of our citizens and our friends and allies. We will be true to the values that make us who we are. And on nights like this one, we can say to those families who have lost loved ones to al Qaeda's terror: Justice has been done.
Tonight, we give thanks to the countless intelligence and counterterrorism professionals who've worked tirelessly to achieve this outcome. The American people do not see their work, nor know their names. But tonight, they feel the satisfaction of their work and the result of their pursuit of justice.
We give thanks for the men who carried out this operation, for they exemplify the professionalism, patriotism, and unparalleled courage of those who serve our country. And they are part of a generation that has borne the heaviest share of the burden since that September day.
Finally, let me say to the families who lost loved ones on 9/11 that we have never forgotten your loss, nor wavered in our commitment to see that we do whatever it takes to prevent another attack on our shores.
And tonight, let us think back to the sense of unity that prevailed on 9/11. I know that it has, at times, frayed. Yet today's achievement is a testament to the greatness of our country and the determination of the American people.
The cause of securing our country is not complete. But tonight, we are once again reminded that America can do whatever we set our mind to. That is the story of our history, whether it's the pursuit of prosperity for our people, or the struggle for equality for all our citizens; our commitment to stand up for our values abroad, and our sacrifices to make the world a safer place.
Let us remember that we can do these things not just because of wealth or power, but because of who we are: one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
Thank you. May God bless you. And may God bless the United States of America.
"This is amazing. I am so happy for all of my friends who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. I will be much more happy when I see his body though. What a great day for America."
from a poster on ats.
sorry if I sound a bit off message ...
seems like he's been buried already, at sea,
nice.
Body was identified by CIA, so that's that then. All's well in the world.
I don't have a clue what all the fuss is about - he had nothing to do with 911 (according to the FBI) and yet the news is full of arseholes and idiots celebrating and shouting 'UUUU SSSS AAAA' like football hooligans.
The USA is the world's most dangerous terrorist organisation. Some might refuse to believe that, but it has murdered hundreds of thousands of innocent people in the last few years, not to mention its war crims in other areas. It's a fact.
Osama bin Laden corpse photo is fake Image of bloodied man picked up by British newspapers has been circulating online for two years
Amelia Hill
guardian.co.uk,
2 May 2011
An image apparently showing a dead Osama bin Laden broadcast on Pakistani television and picked up by British newspaper websites is a fake. The bloodied image of a man with matted hair and a blank, half-opened eye has been circulating on the internet for the past two years. It was used on the front pages of the Mail, Times, Telegraph, Sun and Mirror websites, though swiftly removed after the fake was exposed on Twitter.
It appears the fake picture was initially published by the Middle East online newspaper themedialine.org on 29 April 2009, with a warning from the editor that it was "unable to ascertain whether the photo is genuine or not". Since then, however, the image has been claimed as genuine on a number of conspiracy forums and used to substantiate claims that the terrorist responsible for the 9/11 bombings had been killed.
The Guardian was one of the few sites to hold back from using the manipulated image on its front page, reporting the picture's existence in its live blog but questioning its legitimacy. The image is based on a genuine photograph of Bin Laden taken in 1998 and used by the Reuters news agency. On Twitter, a composite including the other photograph used to make the image was posted by @HannahMarbina and other users showed how easy it was to find the image already online with a simple search.
The only excuse I can think of for the behaviour of the idiots in the first photo is that they truly believe that Bin Laden was the cause of all the wars that America is involved in. Why are they so ignorant of the facts?
This quote has been doing the rounds on fb today and it's perfect...
"I will mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that." -Martin Luther King Jr.
As any expert in Terrorism will tell you, cut off the head of the snake and the body dies. Terrorist cells are highly centralized and cease to function when any part is removed. So this marks not only the successful conclusion of a 10-year war spanning 3 (or more) countries, but the end of Al Qaeda as a threat, the price of which in human lives (both "ours" and "theirs") was well worth paying. (Just ask Madeleine Albright.)
/sarcasm
If true, I won't lose any sleep over OBL. But I mourn the death of western justice. All this proves is that the west is little more 'civilized' than those we demonize.
Bin Laden's death: Details, aftermath and context A primer on the latest revelations in the wake of the terrorist leader's demise
The street celebrations have long dispersed and the chants of "USA! USA!" only still echo across Twitter. Now, over 24 hours since the news of Osama bin Laden's death, details of the raid that killed him are being thrown into question by differing White House narratives and the scramble to determine the significance of his demise begins.
The White House goes back on much of Deputy National Security Advisor, John Brennan's, detailing of the bin Laden raid:
During a press briefing Monday afternoon, Brennan offered up an uncertain but juicy narrative about the raid that killed the al-Qaida leader: Reportedly, bin Laden used one of his wives as a human shield; it was suggested bin Laden was armed; and Brennan said that bin Laden's son Khalid was killed in the raid.
Within hours, the White House had modified every one of these claims, reported Politico late last night:
"During a background, off-camera briefing for television reporters later Monday, a senior White House official said bin Laden was not armed when he was killed, apparently by the U.S. raid team ... Another White House official familiar with the TV briefing confirmed the change to POLITICO, adding, 'I’m not aware of him having a weapon.'"
Secondly: "A senior official also corrected what Brennan described earlier as 'my understanding' that the woman who acted as a shield for bin Laden was one of his wives and was killed...''A different guy's wife was killed,' a different official familiar with the briefing for TV reporters said Monday night. Bin Laden’s wife was 'injured but not killed,' the official said."
And finally: "In another discrepancy, Brennan said during his on-the-record briefing that bin Laden’s son Khalid was killed in the attack. However, the official White House transcript had the counterterrorism adviser saying it was another son, Hamza, who perished in the raid."
Neither Politico, nor the White House were able last night to account for the modifications to the narrative, but no doubt today much media energy will focus on "what really happened".
SEALS seize "mother lode of intelligence":
In another Politico scoop, Mike Allen reported Monday night that, according to a U.S. official, "the 'mother lode of intelligence' had been seized during Sunday's raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound. Navy SEALs grabbed personal computers, thumb drives, and electronic equipment during the raid that killed the al-Qaeda leader. The official said 'hundreds of people' are exploring the data, and intelligence operatives in Washington are excited to find out what is there. 'It is going to be great, even if only 10 percent is actionable,' the official said."
Eyes on Pakistan:
As of yesterday afternoon, the fulcrum of the story moved to Pakistan: how much did the authorities know about bin Laden's whereabouts? Should they have known or done more?
Salman Rushdie weighed in on the Daily Beast:
In the aftermath of the raid on Abbottabad, all the big questions need to be answered by Pakistan. The old flim-flam (“Who, us? We knew nothing!”) just isn’t going to wash, must not be allowed to wash by countries such as the United States that have persisted in treating Pakistan as an ally even though they have long known about the Pakistani double game—its support, for example, for the Haqqani network that has killed hundreds of Americans in Afghanistan.
And as the BBC reported Tuesday, that "the ISI, has said it is embarrassed by its failures on al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden. An ISI official told the BBC the compound in Abbottabad where Bin Laden was killed by US forces on Sunday had been raided in 2003. But the compound "was not on our radar" since then, the official said."
It is worth recalling that the U.S. have long been skeptical about the ISI. As was revealed last week in leaked dossiers on Guantanamo Bay, the U.S. has described the Pakistani intelligence group as a "terrorist" organization.
Some context:
A number of writers are already considering bin Laden's death in light of the Arab Spring.
"The death of the founder and spiritual leader of the global terrorist network, coming amid Arab pro-democracy uprisings that had already raised questions about Al Qaeda’s relevance, may further undercut the appeal of the violent extremism Bin Laden stood for," write Scott Shane and Robert F. Worth in the New York Times. They speak to a former bin Laden ally, who intimates that bin Laden "had not really led the group for the last 10 years."
"'He was always a symbol,' said Mr. Abdel Rahman, 38, the eldest son of an Egyptian sheik imprisoned for his role in plotting to attack New York City landmarks. 'But as a movement, he was unable to lead and manage as he was being pursued so closely.'"
Another important point worth focussing on comes from Mona Eltahawy, writing an opinion piece in the Guardian. Eltahaway chides the "USA! USA!" chanting and the "frat boy" style celebrations witnessed at Ground Zero Sunday night (as did David Sirota on Salon Monday) and she writes:
Good riddance, Bin Laden. I long detested you and knew that when Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire in the Tunisian town of Sidi Bouzid last December, he was igniting a fire that would render irrelevantBin Laden the man and his inflated self-importance. When Tunisians overthrew Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in 29 days and Egyptians Hosni Mubarak in 18 days it was an appropriate rebuke to dictators and Bin Laden. What had become more mesmerising to young people in the Middle East and North Africa: change via revolutionary fervour that has blown apart stereotypes of Arabs and Muslims, or the hate-filled al-Qaida message that falsely promised change through nihilistic violence?...
...The scene at Ground Zero was like a parody of Team America, the film created by the South Park team to parody Bush's America gone wild on nationalism. Now that we've parodied the parody, can the frat boys go home and can we return to the revolutions of the Middle East and north Africa that symbolically killed Bin Laden months ago?
The Arab Spring illustrated the complexity and variety of situations across Muslim nations, which loosened bin Laden's purchase as a figure representative of Islam, and broke down the pernicious "us versus them" narrative, which reared its head in the wake of 9/11. Eltahaway makes this point poignantly.
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum You cannot attach files in this forum You cannot download files in this forum
