Bin Laden is Dead

When President Obama announced late last night in a surprising White House speech that Al Qaeda figure head Osama bin Laden was dead, revelers outside the White House and around the world rejoiced. After almost 10 long years of searching for bin Laden, who’s believed to be the September 11th mastermind – and who is said to have been hiding in Pakistan – we enter a new era that’s certain to change the way we are engaged in war throughout the Middle East.

“Shortly after taking office,” said Obama, “I directed Leon Panetta, the director of the CIA, to make the killing or capture of bin Laden the top priority of our war against Al Qaeda.”

He said that as of last August, he was briefed on a lead, the first after many years of what he called “painstaking intelligence.” The lead took the U.S. into Pakistan where it’s believed that bin Laden was killed in a compound where he had been hiding for the last few years.

“Today,” said Obama, “at my direction, the United States launched a targeted operation against the compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. A small team of Americans carried out the operation with extraordinary courage and capability. No Americans were harmed. They took care to avoid civilian casualties. After a fire fight, 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.”

The news is drawing much commentary by mainstream media networks this morning, as well as users on Facebook and Twitter who are both praising, questioning and criticizing the murder.

What are your thoughts on this latest development? Is it a time to reflect? Or a time to celebrate?

Click here to watch Obama’s history-making speech.