Osama bin Laden dead but war on terrorism far from over

 

Obama has killed Osama

The man behind the worst terrorist attacks in America is finally dead. This historical day comes almost 10 years after the attacks that killed roughly 3,000 civilians.

The leader of Al Qaeda was killed by U.S. forces in a mansion in Abbottabad, north of Islamabad in Pakistan. He died after a firefight that lasted 40 minutes. Four others in the building were killed including bin Laden's adult son.

In a surprise statement U.S. President Barack Obama called bin Laden's death "the most significant achievement to date in our nation's effort to defeat Al Qaeda." 

Bin Laden's body was later buried at sea. Many Muslims believe that bodies should be buried within one day. 

In his speech President Obama said that no Americans or civilians were harmed in the battle. The death is a result of years of intelligence work and months of following a specific lead to find bin Laden.

As the news broke on the other side of the world, the scene outside the White House was one of pure American pride and joy. Chants of "USA!" and the singing of "Star Spangled Banner" could be heard.

However there was no better place to be than New York. A cheering crowd gathered at ground zero, the site where the two towers of the World Trade Center stood before bin Laden's terrorist group flew two planes into the buildings on September 11, 2001. "God Bless America" could be heard through the crowd.

A New York fire-fighter forced to retire after lung failure due to the dust from the rubble of the World Trade Center wreckage said he was there to let the 343 fire-fighters who died in the attacks know "they didn't die in vain."  

"It's a war that I feel we just won," he said. "I'm down here to let them know that justice has been served."

Bob Gibson, a retired New York police officer, said the news of bin Laden's death gave him a sense of "closure."

"I never thought this night would come, that we would capture or kill bin Laden," he said. "And thank the Lord he has been eliminated."

The news also brought some relief to family members of those killed on 9/11.

Bin Laden evaded capture for years, once reportedly slipping out of a training camp in Afghanistan just hours before a barrage of U.S. cruise missiles destroyed it. However today his luck ran out, after years of hiding he was finally found and killed.

A travel alert warned of the "enhanced potential for anti-American violence given recent counter-terrorism activity in Pakistan." Some fear Al Qaeda supporters may try to retaliate against U.S. citizens or U.S. institutions.

But for now, Americans and many more are soaking up this historic moment.