[Reader-list] Bin Laden Dead, President Obama Says

[Shashidhar]

Full story at

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/02/world/asia/osama-bin-laden-is-killed.html?
hp

WASHINGTON -
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/b/osama_bin_lade
n/index.html?inline=nyt-per> Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of the most
devastating attack on American soil in modern times and the most hunted man
in the world, was killed in a firefight with United States forces in
Pakistan on Sunday,
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/o/barack_obama/i
ndex.html?inline=nyt-per> President Obama announced. 

In a dramatic late-night appearance in the East Room of the White House, Mr.
Obama declared that "justice has been done" as he disclosed that American
military and
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/c/central
_intelligence_agency/index.html?inline=nyt-org> C.I.A. operatives had
finally cornered the
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/a/al_qaed
a/index.html?inline=nyt-org> Al Qaeda leader who had eluded them for nearly
a decade and shot him to death at a compound in Pakistan. 

"For over two decades, Bin Laden has been Al Qaeda's leader and symbol," the
president said in a statement carried on television around the world. "The
death of bin Laden marks the most significant achievement to date in our
nation's effort to defeat Al Qaeda. But his death does not mark the end of
our effort." He added: "We must and we will remain vigilant at home and
abroad." 

The death of Mr. Bin Laden is a defining moment in the American-led war on
terrorism. What remains to be seen is whether the death of the leader of Al
Qaeda galvanizes his followers by turning him into a martyr, or whether it
serves as a turning of the page in the war in Afghanistan and gives further
impetus to the Obama administration to bring American troops home. 

The death of Mr. bin Laden came nearly 10 years after Al Qaeda terrorists
hijacked four American passenger jets and crashed them into the World Trade
Center in New York, the Pentagon outside Washington and the countryside of
Pennsylvania. Late Sunday night, as the president was speaking, cheering
crowds gathered outside the gates of the White House shortly before midnight
as word of his death began trickling out, waving United States flags,
shouting in happiness and chanting "USA! USA!" 

"This is important news for us, and for the world," said Gordon Felt,
president of the Families of Flight 93, the airliner that crashed into the
Pennsylvania countryside after passengers fought with hijackers. "It cannot
ease our pain, or bring back our loved ones. It does bring a measure of
comfort that the mastermind of the September 11th tragedy and the face of
global terror can no longer spread his evil." 

Mr. bin Laden escaped from American troops in the mountains of Tora Bora,
Afghanistan, back in 2001 and although he was widely believed to be in
Pakistan, American intelligence had largely lost his trail for most of the
years that followed until picking up a fresh trail last August. Mr. Obama
said in his national address on Sunday night that it took months to firm up
that information and last week he determined it was clear enough to
authorize a secret operation in Pakistan. 

The forces attacked the compound in what Mr. Obama called a "targeted
operation" that left Mr. bin Laden dead. "No Americans were harmed," Mr.
Obama said. "They took care to avoid civilian casualties. After a firefight
they killed Osama bin Laden and took custody of his body." 

President Obama noted that the operation that killed Mr. Bin Laden was
launched with the cooperation of Pakistani officials, but the fact that Mr.
Bin Laden killed in an deep inside Pakistan was bound once again to raise
questions about just how much Pakistan is willing to work with the United
States, since Pakistani officials denied for years that Mr. Bin Laden was in
their country. 

The capture of Mr. Bin Laden comes as relations between the United States
and Pakistan have fallen to their lowest point in memory as differences over
how to fight al Qaeda linked militants became clearer. 

The chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, Adm.
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/m/michael_g_mull
en/index.html?inline=nyt-per> Mike Mullen, publicly criticized the Pakistani
military two weeks ago for failing to act against extremists allied to al
Qaeda who shelter in the Pakistani tribal areas of North Waziristan. 

The United States has supported the Pakistani military with nearly $20
billion since 9/11 for counter terrorism campaigns but American officials
have complained that the Pakistanis were unable to quell the militancy. 

Last week, the head of the Pakistani army, Gen. Ashfaq Pervez Kayani told a
Pakistanis that Pakistan had broken the back of terrorism in Pakistan, a
statement that was received with high skepticism by American officials.