Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks in New York, Washington D.C. and Pennsylvania and the leader of the al-Qaida, was shot to death at a compound in Pakistan, the United States government and news organizations reported late Sunday evening. He was 53 years old.
President Barack Obama had called for an address to the nation, although it was not immediately clear that he was going to announce the death of bin Laden. Leaks to the media began after White House staffers began notifying staffers of key congressional committees, several news organizations reported.
Speaking stoically, President Obama addressed the nation from the East Room of the White House, praising the work of the intelligence community while pointing out that the fight against terrorism is still not complete.
"His death does not mark the end of our effort. There's no doubt that al-Qaida will continue to pursue attacks against us. We must — and we will — remain vigilant at home and abroad," Obama said.
Obama said he had instructed Leon Panetta, the head of the CIA and the nominee to succeed Robert Gates as Defense Secretary to make the capture and killing of bin Laden a top priority of the U.S. mission in Afghanistan. Obama then said he was briefed on a possible lead to bin Laden's location in August 2010, but that it took "many months" to follow up on the leads. Obama determined last week that there was enough intelligence to go after the al-Qaida and authorized the suprise attack.
The operation took place in Abbottabad, which is a city of about 100,000 people in Pakistan's Khyber Paktunkhwa province, approximately 100 miles north of Islamabad, according to the Washington Post.
While the government has succeeded in their mission of killing bin Laden, some government officials and international affairs scholars noted that people should remain alert, since many al-Qaida followers will view bin Laden as a martyr. The State Department has put out a "worldwide caution," fearing potential reprisal attacks from al Qaeda and their allies.
U.S. officials have taken custody of bin Laden's body, Obama said in his speech, and also noted that no Americans were harmed in what he pointed out was a "targeted operation." He also mentioned that efforts were made to avoid hurting or killing innocent civilians.
Obama also assured Americans in his speech that we were not at war with Islam.
"Bin Laden was not a Muslim leader; he was a mass murder of Muslims," Obama said. "Indeed, al-Qaida has slaughtered scores of Muslims in many countries including our own. So his demise should be welcomed by all who believe in peace and human dignity."
Obama finished his speech by issuing a call once again for unity, which he said had a times "frayed". He pointed out that the achievement of killing Osama bin Laden was "a testament to the greatness of our country and the determination of the American people."
