Press comments on death of Osama bin Laden
Always, following 9-11, our duty was to capture Osama bin Laden for the crimes against humanity that he perpetrated and carried out, and it has finally happened. It has happened; and that is correct. Our soldiers, our intelligence agencies and our allies are all to be thanked most sincerely for their unwavering persistence. All around the world those who have lost their lives as a result of Osama bin-Laden’s and al-Qaida’s actions are to be remembered and mourned, as they always are, but now expressly at this moment at the news of bin Laden’s death. The precious souls of the 3,000 people, of all faiths, who died in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania are near us again. As we opted for war and invasion in our effort to bring Osama bin Laden to justice, we mourn again at this time all of the lives lost by our brave soldiers. We mourn all of the lives lost in the nations where these wars were, and are, being waged.
These next weeks will be dangerous weeks for those who are in the path of anger and retribution for this most necessary capture of bin Laden’s body. We must be vigilant, and we know we can count on our soldiers to protect those in danger.
Then, next, we must move forward with all efforts to do all we can to use this moment to find a different path away from war. Not only is it our country’s intelligence agencies’ responsibility to be vigilant in protecting our citizens by thwarting reprisals at this momentous time, but it is our duty, as a people, to do all we can as we watch a world struggle for freedoms: freedom of speech, freedom to organize, freedom to build a government that benefits all in their country. Just as soldiers in our country come from us, the people, so did the soldiers in the armies of Egypt and Tunisia. We can take hope from the fact that the protests in these countries stemmed from informed citizens wanting these freedoms, and not from the dictates and tactics advocated and carried out by Osama bin Laden. May it be that his death marks the movement away from the use of terrorism and fanaticism and that from this day forward the people of our world follow a better path for change.