As you've no doubt heard, President Obama announced this week that Osama bin Laden was located and killed by U.S. Special Forces in Pakistan.
Bin Laden epitomized the terror that gripped our nation on Sept. 11, 2001. Now, citizens across the globe share in a sense of relief and justice with all those who lost loved ones at his hands.
Our heartfelt congratulations belong to the intelligence personnel, military forces and our Commander-In-Chief for bringing this long manhunt to a close. We also recognize the efforts of the previous administration and former President Bush to reach this important milestone.
Bin Laden's death comes at a pivotal time. Across the Arab World, people are rising up and calling for democracy and rejecting extremism and hatred. In Afghanistan, we are nearing President Obama's July timeline to begin an accelerated transition of security operations to the Afghan Army and Police. I strongly believe we must stay on schedule with this transition.
Moving forward, we must also remain vigilant in our efforts to confront radical extremism, even as we share in this momentous achievement.
I'm hopeful that the sense of unity we've seen over the last few days will last and that we apply it to confronting the many other great challenges that our nation faces.
Photo by Chapendra via Flickr .
