I didn’t know what to expect, as my brother and I rushed, following my mom as she turned the TV on and flipped it to CNN. President Barack Obama was about to make a national statement.
For minutes we sat there. Was there going to be another war? Had there been another attack? For what felt like forever, we sat with weariness and slight fear. As I watched the three men talk on the show, I could picture some horrible event – perhaps a bombing or something akin to that – in my mind’s eye. It seemed eerily similar to 9/11. It was during this thought when I heard him announce the statement;
Osama Bin Laden is dead.
The man believed for being the main cause of 9/11, founder of the jihadist organization al-Qaeda, had seemed to disappear from the face of this Earth for ten years. Now this same man had finally been found, killed, and held by the U.S. government.
Bin Laden was killed in Abbottabad, Pakistan in a mansion by a US Intelligence in a ground operation. Previously, it was suspected that he was hiding near the border of Afghanistan in Pakistan’s federally administrated tribal areas. Instead, he had been hiding in plain sight, 35 miles north of Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan.
It wasn’t until 11:40pm when Obama came into the East room, as he confirmed Osama bin Laden has been killed.
“Last August, after years of painstaking work by our intelligence community, I was briefed on a possible lead to bin Laden.” President Barrack Obama said in his statement on Sunday. “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.” President Obama said. “After a firefight, they killed Osama bin Laden and took custody of his body.”
People and tourists cheer “USA, USA” outside the White House, as families affected by 9/11 celebrate his death. U.S. flags rose as the people broke out in the Star-Spangled Banner. As each minute passed by, more people joined and cheered in front of the White House gates.
“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.” said President Obama.
“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. In our time of grief, the American people came together, 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…and so we went to war against al Qauda to protect our citizens, our friends, and our allies.”
Despite some strains between Pakistan and the United States, Obama praises the Pakistan President Zardari for his cooperation with American forces.
“Our counterterrorism cooperation with Pakistan helped lead us to bin Laden and the compound where he was hiding. Bin Laden had declared war against Pakistan as well, and ordered attacks against the Pakistani people.” President Obama said. “They agree that this is a good and historic day for both our nations. It is essential that Pakistan continues to join us in the fight against al Qaeda and its affiliates.”
It took no less than five national Security Council meetings to find Osama bin laden, the first on March 14, the last April 28. He gave the final order to move forward on Bin Laden on Saturday, April 31, during the Royal Wedding.
“This is an enormous breakthrough against al-Queda organization. He was inspiring recruits to join the organization and he is no longer there.” CNN National Security Analysts, Peter Bergen said. “He’s one of the most recognizable figures in history. Killing Bin Laden is ending the war of terror now.”
Yet, Bergen believes that this will also be embarrassing for the Pakistani government, as they had previously denied that Bin Laden had been hiding in their country. Other reporters bring up the questions of the troops returning home. However, at this moment, on May 1, 2011, almost ten years after 9/11, American’s from Washington to Times Square, celebrate this historic day.
As President Obama had said, on night’s like this one, Justice has been done.