Osama bin Laden Dead, Body in U.S. Custody


Osama bin Laden

President Barack Obama Held Emergency Press Conference Sunday

A moment that every American should feel proud of-

Tonight, I can report to the American people and the world that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden,” said President Barack Obama in an address to the nation and world Sunday evening.

His death was the result of a U.S. operation launched today in Abbottabad, Pakistan, against a compound where bin Laden was believed to be hiding, according to U.S. intelligence. After a firefight, a small team of American forces killed bin Laden and took possession of his body.

Both Bill Clinton and George W. Bush had targeted bin Laden during their presidencies, and both had failed to either capture him or kill him. The failure to snare bin Laden weighed most heavily, perhaps, on the Bush Administration, which occupied the White House during the 9/11 attacks, and the al Qaeda leader’s killing falls exactly eight years to the day when Bush famously declared “Mission Accomplished” in Iraq.

“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.”

The president made the decision to undertake the operation at 8:20 a.m. on April 29th in the White House’s Diplomatic Room before he left to survey tornado damage in Alabama. Tom Donilon, his National Security Advisor, prepared the formal orders and convened the principals at 3 p.m. that same day to complete the planning.

The next day, without giving off a hint of the weighty operation being planned, Obama prepared for and delivered his address, mocking Donald Trump at the annual White House Correspondent’s Association dinner. The next morning he played nine holes of golf.

Final preparations were made on Sunday. At 2 p.m., the president met with top advisers for an hour and half, at which point he returned to the Situation Room for an additional briefing. Twenty minutes after that, he learned that bin Laden had been “tentatively identified.” By 7 p.m. he was told it was highly probable that bin Laden was at the compound. By 8:30 p.m., he received an additional briefing. He signed off on the attack after that.

Kudos to our President and all of our troops and intelligence officers making sacrifices to keep our country safe!

Readers, how did you react when you heard the news? Do you think it matter’s that bin Laden is dead? Will this have a negative impact on national security? Do you think we’ve won the war against terrorism?

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