This Day In History, 2011: The bin Laden Raid

View this post on Instagram

From eight years ago today: six hours after the successful bin Laden raid, President Obama works on the remarks he would deliver to the nation announcing the news.⁣ ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ The initial draft of the speech was dictated by the President to his team in Chief of Staff Bill Daley’s office a few hours earlier.⁣ ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ “Today, at my direction, the United States launched a targeted operation against that 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 firefight, they killed Osama bin Laden and took custody of his body.⁣ ⁣ For over two decades, bin Laden has been al Qaeda’s leader and symbol, and has continued to plot attacks against our country and our friends and allies. The death of bin Laden marks the most significant achievement to date in our nation’s effort to defeat al Qaeda.⁣ ⁣ Yet his death does not mark the end of our effort. There’s no doubt that al Qaeda will continue to pursue attacks against us. We must –- and we will -- remain vigilant at home and abroad.⁣ ⁣ As we do, we must also reaffirm that the United States is not –- and never will be -– at war with Islam. I’ve made clear, just as President Bush did shortly after 9/11, that our war is not against Islam. Bin Laden was not a Muslim leader; he was a mass murderer of Muslims. Indeed, al Qaeda 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.”⁣ ⁣

A post shared by Pete Souza (@petesouza) on May 1, 2019 at 6:14am PDT