Washington, May 2 (IANS) Following are highlights of the speech from US President Barack Obama announcing the death of Osama bin Laden:
The US 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.
We were 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 organisation headed by Osama bin Laden. And so we went to war against Al Qaeda.
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 avoided capture and escaped across the Afghan border into Pakistan.
Shortly after taking office, I directed Leon Panetta, the director of CIA, to make the killing or capture of bin Laden the top priority.
Last August, after years of painstaking work by our intelligence community, I was briefed on a possible lead to bin Laden, hiding within a compound deep inside of Pakistan.
Last week, I determined we had enough intelligence to take action, and authorised an operation to get Osama bin Laden and bring him to justice.
Today, at my direction, the US launched a targeted operation against that compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. A small team of Americans carried out the operation with extraordinary courage and capability.
After a firefight, they killed Osama bin Laden and took custody of his body.
The death of bin Laden marks the most significant achievement to date in our nation’s effort to defeat Al Qaeda.
