than we would like. sometimes it is a lot harder than we would like. sometimes it brings about more tragedy then absolutely we would even believe. but it is our commitment to continue to do all we can to support those in our armed services and our intelligence community and this president in his quest and there's -- and their to defend the american people against the spread of radical islam and the threat it continues >> september 11 reminded every american that freedom is not free. it told the entire world that america has the resolve. it may take a decade but we will continue to follow through. the same result with any

challenge that this country faces. and i congratulate all of those who were involved. it was not something that happened overnight. those who work to find a career, intelligence community, the work that president bush did in the work of president obama did. he had a decision he had to make and we've taken for the decision that he made. to the navy seals, going in in two helicopters, once breaking down, still carrying out the mission. it is a testament to the strength of this country and we will continue to have this resolved as we fight terrorism anywhere else in the world. >> you then have been emblazoned in the hearts and minds and souls of our countrymen as 9/11. perhaps occasionally american justice will be delayed, but it will not be denied.

today is a day to celebrate and to congratulate. ramallah those who labored all these many years in the contest -- in the intelligence community, to the enlisted personnel, to the incredible courage of the navy seals, and certainly all the way to the commander in chief, president obama, congratulations are in order. but one thing that has not changed after today is that the price of liberty remains eternal vigilance. thank you. >> thank you all. [unintelligible] >> we heard more about the death

of osama bin laden from president obama. he and the first lady held a dinner at the white house tonight. >> thank you. everybody, please have a seat. good evening, all of you. on the behalf of michelle and myself, i want to welcome everybody to the white house. we scheduled this dinner a few weeks ago because i thought it would be a good opportunity for leaders of both parties and their spouses to spend some time together outside of politics. and tonight seems like an especially fitting occasion to do this. obviously, we have had disagreements and disagreements -- differences in the past.

i suspect we will have them again in the future. but last night, as americans learned that the united states had carried out an operation that resulted in the death and capture of osama bin laden -- [applause] thanks. i think we experience the same sense of unity that took place on 9/11. we're reminded again there is something that this nation stands for and what we can achieve, that runs far deeper than party, far deeper than politics.

i want to again recognize the heroes who carried out this incredibly dangerous mission, as well as all the military and counter-terrorism professionals that may be mission possible. -- who made the mission possible. i also want to thank the members of congress from both parties who had given extraordinary support to our military and our intelligence officials. without your support, they could not do what they do. i know that unity that we felt on 9/11 has frayed a little over the years. and i have no illusions about the difficulties and debate that will have to be engaged in in the weeks and months to come. but i also know there have been several moments like this during the course of this year that have brought us together as an american family, whether the tragedy in tucson ormost recently our unified response to that terrible storms that

have taken place in the south. last night was one of those moments. so tonight, it is my fervent hope that we can harness some of that unity and some of that tried to confront the many -- manye to confront the challenges that we still face. glad to see all of you here tonight. we are joyful that you could join us. please have a little bit of fun. thank you very much, everybody. [applause] >> good afternoon, everyone. i am proud to be here with the

leadership of the democratic house to say he'll to the cheap. his commitment of resources, making a priority to capture and apprehension of osama bin laden. congratulations, congressman-the director of the cia, task to achieve this, the special ops and all the military that paid such a role, with such precision, that not one a letter -- that not one american life was lost. i hope that is some comfort to the families of 9/11 that this has taken place. it can never make them whole but i hope it is some comfort to them that at last osama bin laden has been apprehended. we have more work to do. he is one person. terrorism is still out there. we have a commitment to honor our oath of office to protect and defend.

president obama has done that with this, building on the work of president bush before him and before that, president clinton, even before 9/11, made osama bin laden public enemy no. 1 in the united states. i hope that we will have the chance to speak about this on the floor and a resolution and perhaps go to new york, in a joint session, as the york delegation has suggested, in a way that is a much better occasion now that this historic event has taken place. again, i say failed to the cheap. a real tribute to the leadership of our commander-in-chief, president barack obama. now i will yield to our distinguished mr. r d with, steny hoyer. >> thank you very much. >> i mean the minority. >> madam, thank you very much.

yesterday was a day for which all freedom-loving people had wished cents 9/11/2001. yesterday was a day when one of the most in this mass murderers in our lifetime was brought to justice. yesterday was the day that is leader pelosi has pointed out, bill clinton, george w. bush, and president obama have worked diligently to accomplish. president obama, our intelligence community, the members of our armed forces have all work together to bring this day to reality. as the leader pointed out, however, this is one person.

this is a person who was diminished in his ability to carry out terror attacks on the united states, its people and its territories, but nevertheless remained a symbol for those who think that terrorism is a policy that is a useful and important to pursue. whether they be islamic jihadists radicals or others who want to buy terror -- by terror accomplish that which they cannot accomplish by peaceful means. we see people reaching for democracy, reaching for an opportunity to participate, reaching in peaceful ways, and bringing osama bin laden to justice was also important for

them. terror is not the way. peaceful demonstrations, discussions, actions are. so, yes, this was a date for which we all waited, but we do not delude ourselves that yesterday's solved our problems. that yesterday will mean that we do not have to worry. eternal vigilance continues to be the price of freedom. i congratulate president obama. all of the opportunity with leader pelosi and assisted leader clyburn, and mr. berman and others, to congratulate the president personally. he was courageous in authorizing this action. we know that its success was not guaranteed, but obviously the preparation of the courage, the

skills of those navy seals made it an extraordinarily successful enterprise in accomplishing the objectives for which we have all we did so many years. this is a good day for america and it is a good day for freedom-loving people throughout the world. i yield to mr. clyburn. >> thank you, mr. a lawyer. thank you, leader policy. i just want us to really keep in mind that yesterday's resolution does not end this fight anymore than 9/11 started it. i am very respectful of the families of 9/11 but last night and this morning i found myself thinking about the family's of

those men and women at the uss cole, one of whom was a constituent of mine from charleston, south carolina. i thought about anton, the regional director of an agency, his brother was on the uss cole. i thought about the family from the district -- no, nairobi. the embassy in nairobi. 1998, i believe. cole was 2000. these issues have been there for a long time. president clinton started this on this path. president bush kept us there. president obama has opened a new chapter in this fight. and i congratulate him for doing

it in such a way that it restores the faith and confidence of the people around the world and gives a tremendous surge of adrenaline to our citizens, to our men and women in uniform -- this is the surge we have been waiting for. >> thank you all. >> you're looking at a picture of osama bin laden's compound in abbottabad, pakistan. he was buried at sea. >> for over two decades, bin

laden has been al qaeda as 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 the nation's attentive to feet of cut it. >> watch reaction from capitol officials and around the world all in their entirety whenever you want online with the c-span video library. search, watch, click, and share -- is washington your way. you cannot access our program anytime with the c-span the radio iphone app. it is all commercial-free. you could look and -- listen to our signature interview programs each week, available wherever you are. download it free from the at store. >> a day after announcing u.s. commanders killed osama bin laden in the surgical rate,

president obama on monday awarded the medal of honor to to privates killed during the korean war. before passing out the award, the president spoke about the various u.s. and military leaders who helped find osama bin laden. this is about 30 minutes. ♪ >> ladies and gentlemen, the president of the united states and mrs. michelle obama. ["hill to the chief" playing]

>> please join me in prayer. almighty in loving god, we ask your blessings upon the ceremony. we gather to commemorate the noble lives and sacrifices of to of this nation's most precious sons. though stirred by the news of the past 24 hours, we pause in these moments to remember the heroic combat actions taken by these two soldiers on the korean peninsula some 60 years ago. but anthony and henry responded against an enemy onslaught and save the lives of their fellow soldiers. they lead from the front and loved beyond measure, portraying the ultimate act of selfless service. our nation has risen to true greatness on the shoulders of americans like anthony and henry. made this ceremony serve to reinforce our awareness as a nation that our country's way of

life and our freedom is a priceless inheritance, one for a commitment and sacrifice of those who have selflessly paid for our freedoms with their blood. may your blessings be upon the families of henry and anthony who give their loved ones to this nation and who have kept their memories alive for this ferry moment. by r. grace, may we never forget their sacrifice. in your holy name, amen. >> good morning, everybody. please be seated. on behalf of michelle and myself, welcome to the white house. to our many guests from hawaii, aloha. and thank you, chaplain carver, for that wonderful invocation. i think we can all agree this is a good day for america. our country has kept its commitment to see that justice

is done. the world is safer -- it is a better place because of the death of osama bin laden. today, we are reminded that, as a nation, there's nothing we can't do - when we put our shoulders to the wheel, when we work together, when we remember the sense of unity that defines us as americans. and we've seen that spirit - that patriotism - in the crowds that have gathered, here outside the white house, at ground zero in new york, and across the country -- people holding candles, waving the flag, singing the national anthem -- people proud to live in the united states of america. and we're reminded that we are fortunate to have americans who dedicate their lives to protecting ours. they volunteer. they train.

they endure separation from their families. they take extraordinary risks so that we can be safe. they get the job done. we may not always know their names. we may not always know their stories. but they are there, every day, on the front lines of freedom, and we are truly blessed. i do want to acknowledge before we begin the ceremony two individuals who have been critical as part of my team who are here today: first of all, i think somebody who will go down as one of the finest secretaries of defense in our history, secretary bob gates, who is here. [applause] and sitting beside him, someone who served with incredible valor on behalf of this country

and is now somebody who i think will go down as one of the greatest secretaries of veterans affairs in our history -- eric shinseki. [applause] now, i have to say that as commander-in-chief, i could not be prouder of our men and women in uniform. that is true now, in today's wars. it has been true in all of our wars. and it is why we are here today. long ago, a poet of the first world war wrote of the sacrifice of young soldiers in war -- they shall not grow old, as we

that are left grow old, age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. at the going down of the sun and in the morning we will remember them. today, we are joined by two american families who six decades ago gave our nation one of their own - private first class henry svehla and private first class anthony kaho'ohanohano. they did not grow old. these two soldiers made the ultimate sacrifice when they were just 19 and 21 years old. age did not weary them. in the hearts of their families, they remain forever young - loving sons, protective brothers, hometown kids who stood tall in america's hometown -- in america's

uniform. today, we remember them. and we honor them with the highest military decoration that our nation can bestow -- the medal of honor. in so doing we also honor their families, who remind us that it is our extraordinary military families who also bear the heavy burden of war. we are joined by members of congress who are here. we very grateful for you. we are also joined by leaders from the army and our armed forces, including chairman of the joint chiefs of staff admiral mike mullen and the vice chairman, general jim "hoss" cartwright. where -- there they are right there. [laughter] [applause] and this is not in the script,

but let me just acknowledge that without the leadership of bob gates, mike mullen, hoss cartwright, today and yesterday would not have happened. and their steadiness and leadership has been extraordinary. i could not be prouder of them, and i am so grateful that they have been part of our team. [applause] i especially want to welcome some of those who fought so bravely 60 years ago - our inspiring korean veterans -- korean war veterans who have made the trip here. and i also want to acknowledge those who are welcoming two more american heroes into their ranks -- members of the medal of honor society. thank you so much for your presence. [applause]

this past november, i paid a visit to south korea -- a visit that coincided with the 60th anniversary of the start of the korean war, as well as november 11, veterans day. and i was privileged to spend part of the day with our troops and with dozens of veterans of the korean war -- members of a generation who, in the words of their memorial here in washington, fought for "a country they never knew and a people they never met." it was a generation that included private first class anthony kaho'ohanohano. tony grew up in hawaii, in maui. he learned early that we have a duty to others -- from his father, a dedicated police officer, and his mother, who devoted herself to their nine children. tony was a tall guy. he loved hawaii, swimming in the ocean, playing basketball -

sounds like my kind of guy. [laughter] his siblings remember him as the big brother -- quiet but strong -- who took care of them, stood up for them in the neighborhood, and who would treat them to ice cream. tony's loyalty to family was matched by his love of country -- even though hawaii wasn't even a state yet. by september 1951, the korean war had been raging for more than a year, and tony was part of the 17th infantry regiment, 7th infantry division, which had been fighting for strategic hills that could shape the course of the war. his squad was near a village called chupa-ri when they came under a ferocious attack. with the enemy advancing, with his men outnumbered, tony made a decision.

he ordered his squad to fall back and seek cover. and then tony did something else. he stayed behind. machine gun in hand, he laid down fire so his men could get to safety. he was one american soldier, alone, against an approaching army. when tony was wounded in the shoulder, he fought on. he threw grenade after grenade. when his weapon ran out of ammunition, he grabbed another. and when he ran out of ammo, he reached for the only thing left -- a shovel. that's when the enemy overran his position. and in those final moments, the combat was hand to hand. it was that bravery -- that courage -- of a single soldier that inspired his men to regroup, to rally and to drive the enemy back. and when they finally reached tony's position, the measure of his valor became clear. after firing so many bullets,

the barrel of his machine gun was literally bent. but tony had stood his ground. he had saved the lives of his men. after his death, tony was awarded the army's second highest award for valor -- the distinguished service cross. but his family felt he deserved more. and so did senator -- and world war ii vet -- danny akaka. we're honored that senator akaka has joined us, as well as mazie hirono. and obviously we are extraordinarily grateful that we're joined by another senator and a medal of honor recipient, dan inouye. thank you so much for your presence. [applause] now, hawaii is a small state,

but the kaho'ohanohanos are a very big family. in fact, i went to high school with one of their cousins, whitey. tell whitey i said, "how's it?" [laughter] this is a remarkable family. service defines them. tony's father and all six sons served in the military. another member of the family has served in afghanistan. nearly 30 members of the family have traveled from hawaii to be here, including tony's sister elaine and brother eugene. for the sacrifice that your family endured, for the service that your family has rendered -- thank you so much. mahalo nui loa. i would ask that you all join me in welcoming tony's nephew george, who worked for many

years to get his uncle the honor that he deserved. george. [applause] >> the president of the united states of america, authorized by act of congress, march 3, 1863, has awarded, in the name of congress, the medal of honor to private first class anthony t. kaho'ohanohano, united states army, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. private first class anthony t. kaho'ohanohano, company h, 17th infantry regiment, 7th infantry division, distinguished himself

by extraordinary heroism in action against the enemy in the vicinity of chupa-ri, korea, on one september 1951. on that date, private first class kaho'ohanohano was in charge of machine-gun squads supporting the defense positioning of company f when a numerically superior enemy force launched a fierce attack. because of the enemy's overwhelming numbers, friendly troops were forced to execute a limited withdrawal. as the men fell back, private first class kaho'ohanohano ordered his squad to take up more defensible positions and provide covering fire for the withdrawing friendly force. although having been wounded in the soldier during the initial enemy assault, private first class kaho'ohanohano gathered a supply of grenades and ammunition and returned to his original position to face the enemy alone. as the hostile troops concentrated their strength against his emplacement and in an effort to overrun it, private first class

kaho'ohanohano fought fiercely and courageously, delivering deadly accurate fire into the ranks of the onrushing enemy. when his ammunition was depleted, he engaged the enemy in hand-to-hand combat until he was killed. private first class kaho'ohanohano's heroic stand so inspired his comrades that they launched a counter-attack that completely repulsed the enemy. upon reaching private first class kaho'ohanohano's emplacement, friendly troops discovered 11 enemy soldiers lying dead in front of the emplacement, and two inside it, killed in hand-to-hand combat. private first class kaho'ohanohano's extraordinary heroism and selfish devotion to duty are in keeping with the finest traditions of military service, and reflect great credit upon himself, the 7th infantry division and the united states army.

[applause] >> about the time that tony was inspiring his men, another young soldier was joining up with the 7th infantry division in korea -- private first class henry svehla. he grew up in new jersey. he loved fishing on the jersey shore. he was one of six kids and the youngest son, but the one who

seemed to take care of everybody else. his sister dorothy remembers how their mom would be in the kitchen, at the end of a long day, trying to cook dinner for six kids. henry -- a teenager -- would walk in, grab his mother's hand and dance her around the kitchen. "if anybody needed him," said dorothy, "henry was there." and he was there for america, in korea, as the war neared its third and final year. henry knew the dangers. and in one of his last letters home, he wrote, "i may not return." that june of 1952, the heat was unbearable. the monsoon rains and mosquitoes were relentless. but the 7th infantry division pushed on -- probing enemy lines, fighting bunker by bunker, hill by hill. and as henry and his company neared the top of one hill, the rocky slopes seemed to explode

with enemy fire. his unit started to falter, and that's when henry made his move. he stood up. he looked ahead. and he charged forward into a hail of bullets. those who were there describe how he kept firing his weapon, kept hurling grenades, and how -- even after being wounded in the face -- he refused medical attention and kept leading the charge. that's when an enemy grenade landed among his men. every human instinct, every impulse, would tell a person to turn away. but at that critical moment, henry svehla did the opposite. he threw himself on that grenade. and with his sacrifice, he saved the lives of his fellow soldiers. henry svehla's body has never been recovered. that's a wound in the heart of his family that has never been

fully healed. it's also a reminder that, as a nation, we must never forget those who didn't come home, are missing in action, who were taken prisoner of war -- and we must never stop trying to bring them back to their families. henry was awarded the distinguished service cross, but his family believed that he had earned this nation's highest military honor. they contacted their congressman and his staff, who made it their mission, and we thank representative bill pascrell for making this day possible. henry's parents and brothers did not live to see this day, but two of his sisters -- dorothy and sylvia -- are with us. dorothy, sylvia, you remind us that behind every american who wears our nation's uniform stands a family who serves with them. and behind every american who lays down their life for our

country is a family who mourns them, and honors them, for the rest of their lives. every day, for nearly 60 years, you have lived the poet's words: at the going down of the sun and in the morning we will remember them. and so i want to conclude today by inviting everyone to join me in welcoming henry's sister dorothy to the stage for the presentation of the medal. >> the president of the united [applause] >> the president of the united states, authorized by act of congress, march 3, 1863, has awarded, in the name of

congress, the medal of honor to private first class henry svehla, united states army, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity and the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. private first class henry svehla distinguished himself by acts of gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a rifleman with f company, 32nd infantry regiment, 7th infantry division, in connection with combat operations against an armed enemy in pyongony, korea, on 12 june, 1952. that afternoon, while private first class svehla and his platoon were patrolling a strategic hill to determine enemy strength and positions, they were subjected to intense enemy automatic weapons and small arms fire at the top of the hill. coming under heavy fire, the platoon's attack began to falter. realizing the success of mission and the safety of the remaining troops were in peril, private first class svehla leapt to his feet and charged the enemy positions, firing his weapon and throwing grenades as he advanced.

in the face of this courage and determination, the platoon rallied to attack with renewed vigor. private first class svehla, utterly disregarding his own safety, destroyed enemy positions and inflicted heavy casualties, when suddenly, fragments from a mortar round exploding nearby seriously wounded him in the face. despite his wounds, private first class svehla refused medical treatment and continued to lead the attack. when an enemy grenade landed among a group of his comrades, private first class svehla, without hesitation and undoubtedly aware of extreme danger, threw himself upon the grenade. during this action, private first class svehla was mortally wounded. private first class svehla's extraordinary heroism and selflessness at the cost of his own life, above and beyond the call of duty, are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit and the united states army.

[applause] >> let's give both families a big round of applause for anthony and for henry.

>> please join me in prayer. gracious god, you've stirred our hearts once again today as we've heard the accounts of two great american soldiers, who valued the lives of those under their care more than their very own. you've told us in the holy scripture that there's no greater love than this. and so, would you etch this eternal truth in our own hearts as we carry out our responsibilities to you, our families and our great nation. bless the young men and women of our armed services, who walk in the footsteps of both anthony and henry, protecting and defending our lives in freedom's cost. and, lord, continue to bless, empower and give great wisdom to our president, barack obama, as he leads our nation in these challenging times. and god bless america. in your holy name, we pray. amen. >> thank you so much, everyone.

please enjoy the reception. and again, to the families, we could not be prouder of anthony and henry. we are grateful for their sacrifice. we are grateful for your sacrifice. you have made this country safer. tony and henry stand as a model of courage and patriotism. god bless you. and god bless the united states of america. thank you, everyone. ♪

[piano playing "got bless bless america"]

♪

>> good afternoon, everybody, and thanks for being here. senator collins and i wanted to come here today, most of all, to say thank-you to the men and women of the american intelligence, military, and homeland security communities for what they did for all of us yesterday. the fact is that today the world is a safer and better place because of the brave the and brilliant american patriots who work together yesterday to kill osama bin laden, a mass murderer. for a lot of the last decade, the homeland security committee of the u.s. senate, which

senator collins and i have been privileged to be leaders of together, has concentrated on doing everything we possibly could to make sure that the lack of coordination within the united states government that facilitated the attacks against america on 9/11 was ended. what happened yesterday was in some sense the exact opposite of the mistakes and the failure to cooperate that led to the 9/11 attacks against the united states. from everything that we can determine, every element of our government -- military, intelligence, homeland security -- worked together and the result was the end of the life of osama bin laden.

i want to thank all of them and also particularly express my gratitude to president obama for his leadership as commander- in-chief. and in speaking with one of the members of our national security team this morning, and i want to point out that this was not of political appointee, he said to me that president obama throughout this preparation and deliberation and decision-making, that preceded the successful attack on bin laden yesterday, that president obama was cool and decisive and that the decisions that were made were not easy ones. so i want to express my personal gratitude to president obama for the leadership he gave this great team of hours. notwithstanding how well the team performed yesterday, i simply want to say briefly that our senate committee on homeland security will continue to monitor and investigate

every element of what our government is doing to protect homeland security of the american people, because the enemy is out there and the enemy will continue to try to attack the american people here at home, where we live and work. and in that regard, let me make this point. there is some much commentary on the fact that there now may be a heightened level of danger for a limited period of time as individuals or groups seek revenge for the murder of osama bin laden. first, i want to reassure everyone that all of our homeland security and intelligence agencies are alert to those dangers, and using every tool that they have to detect and if necessary prevent such an attack. my phone great concern in the days ahead is that a so-called

loan wolfe, a single individual, who has been radicalized will now mobilize himself or herself to take action here at home against the american people. of course, as we know on our committee, having spent a lot of time investigating the murder of 13 americans at fort hood by hasan, these are the most difficult cases to see and stop. and so my appeal to the american people is, please be alert. this is a classic "if you see something, say something" moment. if you see suspicious behavior, call the police immediately. and that includes if you see suspicious behavior by someone who is a friend or a family member.

final point i want to make is this. i want to put the death of osama bin laden in the broader context of the peaceful democratic uprisings that are occurring now in the arab world. for the war that we were drawn into on 9/11 against islamist extremism and terrorism, it will not end with the death of one man. even that one man who was visibly propagated this political ideology that is a corruption of the great religion. stis war against islami extremism and terrorism will end when the ideas bin laden propagated, which i called islamism, lie abandoned by its

-- alongside its twins, fascism and communism. in this respect, it is fitting that bin laden was killed just as democracies are being born in the arab world. the peaceful, youth-driven revolutions now taking place in tunisia come in egypt, and syria are the true repudiation of bin ladenism. his extreme ideology is the weak horse, and democracy is the strong horse after all. to rid our world not only of bin laden but bin ladenism, it is critical that we together to do everything in our power to help the democratic forces in

the middle east succeed, for it will be at the hands of his fellow arabs and ferro -- fellow muslims that bin laden is finally and firmly consigned to the ash heap of history. senator collins. >> thank you. let me just add to senator lieberman's comments by starting with my tremendous gratitude to everyone who was involved in this critical mission, from the president's and his national security team to the extraordinary and courageous navy seals and intelligence operatives who executed this very dangerous operation flawlessly and with such great courage.

i could not help but think last night when i received the call from the director of the national counter-terrorism center is that that center did not even exist prior to march 2004 intelligence reform and terrorism prevention act, when michael wider calls me to tell me that osama bin laden has been killed, he talked about the extraordinary efforts and cooperation. and prior to 9/11/2001, just the opposite existed. there was not cooperation. information was not shared. the silos prevented people from acting together. in this operation, we saw exactly the opposite. we saw our intelligence officials working with our

special forces, working with our homeland security officials -- everybody working together to undertake and successfully carry out this extraordinary mission. i also agree with senator lieberman that while this is an extraordinarily significant development, the architect of the attacks against our country and the inspiration for so many islamic jihadist around the world now being killed, it is not the end of our fight against islamic extremism. we must continue to not let down our guard. we must continue to be vigilant. and i agree that one of the

concerns that i must have is that i homegrown terrorists we choose this moment to strike in an attempt to retaliate for osama bin laden's death. and that is why i was particularly pleased that at midnight last night the department of homeland security, in conjunction with the fbi, put out a situational awareness all art which went to state and local law enforcement, homeland security officials across this country, giving them some intelligence information, telling them that they should be prepared for an increase in attacks, perhaps expediting of plots that are now under way. and that they should be on the

alert for that to happen. well, not too long ago, there would been no communication between washington and state and local law enforcement, much less a system that when not in a very timely way to provide this kind of information. so i think it shows how far we have come in the past decade, but we must not rest, because the threat is still with us despite this tremendous intelligence triumph. >> thanks very much, senator collins. >> information about where bin laden was. all this change the protocol with the investigations, particularly the so-called

interrogations' from guantanamo to detainees. >> listen, my position has been clear. over the years when you capture someone in the war and terrorism, they should not be held as a prisoner of war. one of the reasons you do that is because as you've done in every war we have been involved in, prisoners of war or detainees are sources of very valuable intelligence. in this case, as you know, some of the original intelligence that led to the suspicion about this individual about courier's came from somebody we have had at guantanamo. i think it encourages us to treat the people that we -- they are not prisoners of war, they are not common criminals. they could help save american lives. they help us save lives all over the world. >> what should you tell the

american people about the war in afghanistan? now that the symbol of the war is dead? >> the biggest symbol -- let's put it this way. the man who was the inspirational leader of the forces that attacked us from afghanistan, osama bin laden, is now dead. but the war in afghanistan goes on. i have already heard a few calls that we quickly withdraw from afghanistan because the war is over, because the bin laden is dead. i wish that we could do that, but if we did, we would make a mistake that we may once before, when we pulled out of that region after the soviets did. that in bided ultimately the taliban and al qaeda into afghanistan, and from afghanistan they attacked us on 9/11. i think any decision about afghanistan has to be made about the facts on the ground in

afghanistan. i'll tell you this. i think the killing of bin laden gives us an increase momentum in the war in afghanistan. if i were a leader of the taliban, if i were ramallah -- mullah omar, i would be frightened right now. the mission yesterday, a difficult mission against the very tough target, and this compound was built to house and protect osama bin laden, but they carried it out. so what ever mullah omar and whatever anti-american extremist group, they should be worried. >> i want to comment on the second part of your question that had to do with pakistan. it seems to me that this

incident shows that pakistan remains a critical but uncertain ally and in the fight against terrorism. it is very difficult for me to understand how this huge compound could be built in the city just an hour north of the capital pakistan, in a city that contain military installations, including the pakistani military academy, and it did not arouse tremendous suspicion, especially since there was no internet and telephone connections, and there was barbwire all around the top of the compound.

for all. mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: mr. president, today americans and all who long for justice woke to good news. nearly ten years after the united states set out to kill or capture osama bin laden, justice has indeed been done. the man who orchestrated the 9/11 attacks and who reveled in the horror of that day is dead. and those who followed his twisted vision are again on notice: america is in pursuit. this is a long time coming. for two decades osama bin laden and the al qaeda network he

created sustained and led had been at war with the united states. the path of terror extended from the first world trade center bombing to the bombing of the khobar towers and the u.s. embassies in kenya and tanzania to the bombing of the u.s.s. cole to the horrors of 9/11 and through two long and difficult wars that followed. 9/11 may have been the day that this pattern of violence became suddenly and undeniably clear. bin laden's destructive path was already long by then. and for the past ten years america has been determined to bring this monster to justice. from the beginning of this fight, the mission has been clear, to deny al qaeda and any of its affiliates around the world a sanctuary from which they could plan, prepare or launch another attack on u.s. soil. and the effort to prevent that long feared attack has been an

undeniable success under two administrations in the ongoing war on terror. a few short years after 9/11, al qaeda gained enough strength to once again pose a serious threat to the united states. meanwhile the taliban had reestablished its headquarters in pakistan and gained enough strength to return to afghanistan and to risk the success of our mission there. as the years went by, osama bin laden's ability to elude capture had become a greater source of frustration to us and a source of propaganda to his followers. over the years americans had become all too familiar with bin laden's dark pronouncements from his declaration three years ago before 9/11 that it was the obligation of every muslim to kill and fight americans and their allies, whether civilian or military in any country, to his declaration after 9/11 that he had calculated the number of innocents he could kill that

morning and that he was the most optimistic planner of them all. last night those pronouncements ended at the barrel of a gun. the last thing osama bin laden saw on this earth was a small team of americans who shot him. so americans can be proud of the efforts of our military and intelligence communities and the focused efforts of two administrations in fighting al qaeda and now in capturing its self-appointed leader. this is indeed a signaled achievement, a huge victory in the war against terrorism, a day of great pride for our country. the president made the right call, and we thank him for it. we could never bring back those who died on 9/11 or those who have given their lives in this long and difficult war, but all americans can say with renewed confidence today that we have kept our pledge and that this is a war we will win.

some will recall that osama bin laden launched this war many years ago on the false assumption that america didn't have the stomach for the fight. and while it may have taken longer than we hoped, last night he and his followers learned just how wrong he was. we take great satisfaction in knowing that osama bin laden will no longer be able to carry out his evil plans that he has made his last video, and that whatever -- and that whenever someone suggests that the u.s. has grown weary and complacent in this war, we have shown how determined we are to fight it to the end. history is full of fallen despots and madmen who underestimated the resolve of the united states. last night we added one more to their ranks. but we don't rest because we know al qaeda's determination to attack the united states didn't

end on september 11, 2001, and it didn't end last night. we continue the fight knowing that al qaeda remains committed to attacking our homeland and our allies. we were reminded of this last week when police in germany arrested three men associated with al qaeda who were planning an attack there. since the beginning of operation enduring freedom, we have matched the terrorist threat with the valor of our armed services and counterterrorism professionals. the men and women of the central intelligence agency's counterterrorism center have unselfishly devoted themselves to preventing attacks themselves and hunting down bin laden. last night their efforts met with success, and we're deeply, deeply grateful for their efforts. as for the broader war, the death of bin laden may create the opportunity to renew our efforts to bring

fresh pressure on al qaeda's leadership. president obama noted that it is essential that pakistan joins us in this fight. in the coming weeks and months these same counterterrorism professionals will focus on determining what bin laden's death mean for the death posed for al qaeda affiliates in the remainder of al qaeda's senior leadership. but today the world knows, once again, that wherever al qaeda lurks, wherever they lurk, we will find them. it may not be days from now. it may not be months, but those who plot harm to innocent americans and our allies will be captured or killed. for them justice will be done. anyone who lived through the

horror of 9/11 remembers exactly where they were on that terrible september day. now they will remember where they were when they first heard the news that the man behind it had been killed by brave american forces inside pakistan. we'll remember where we were when, after year of effort, we finally got our man. america didn't seek this fight. it came to us. but ever since 9/11 we've been determined to fight al qaeda to the end. we knew from the start it would require patience and great sacrifice. and that effort has paid off. thanks to the skill and perseverence of many brave men and women we have done what we said. america has not wavered, it has not lost sight of the mission, and we will prevail.

>> yesterday was a day that, as leader pelosi pointed out, bill clinton, george w. bush and

president obama worked diligently to accomplish. present of all, our intelligence -- president obama, our intelligence community, the members of our armed forces have worked together to bring this day to reality. as the leaders pointed out, however, this is one person. this is a person who was diminished in his ability to carry out terror attacks on the united states, its people and its territory, but who nevertheless remained a symbol for those who think that terrorism is a policy that is useful and important to pursue. whether they be islamic jihadists radicals who want to accomplish the terror that they

cannot accomplish through peaceful means. throughout the world today, we see people -- for democracy, -- reaching for democracy, reaching for an opportunity to participate, reaching in peaceful ways, bringing osama bin laden to justice was also important for them. terror is not the way. peaceful demonstrations, discussions, actions are. so, yes, this was a day for which we all waited but we do not delude ourselves that yesterday solved our problem, that yesterday will mean we do not have to worry. eternal vigilance continues to be the price of freedom. i congratulate president obama. i will have the opportunity with leader pelosi and assistant leader, i was going to

call him whip, clyburn and chairman larson and mr. berman to congratulate the president personally. he was courageous in authorizing this action. we know its success was not guaranteed, but obviously, the preparation, the courage, the skill, of those and 80 steals -- those navy seals made it and its strategic those -- made it successful. so this is a good day for america, but it is a good day for freedom loving people throughout the world. i yield to mr. clyburn. >> thank you, mr. hoyer. thank you, leader pelosi.

i just want us to really keep in mind that yesterday's resolution does not end this fight any more than 9/11 started it. i am very respect all of the -- respectful of the families of 9/11, but last night, and this morning, i found myself thinking about the families of those men and women of the u.s.s. cole, one of whom was a constituent of mine from south carolina. i thought about the brother of anton gunn, the regional director of hhs, his brother was on the u.s.s. cole. i thought about the families, some of them from your district, on the embassy in nairobi in 1998.

cole was 2000. these issues have been there for a long, long time. president clinton started us on this path, president bush kept us there, and president obama has opened a new chapter in this fight. and i congratulate him for doing it in a way that it restores the faith and confidence of the people around the world. adrenalinesurge of o to our citizens, to our men and women in uniform. this is the surge we have been waiting for . thank you. >> thank you, all. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national

cable satellite corp. 2011] >> you are looking at a picture of osama bin laden's compound in pakistan . he was killed during a gunbattle with cia paramilitary forces. the al qaeda leader was buried at sea. >> for over two decades, bin laden has continued to applaud attacks against our country and friends and advisers. the death of bin laden marks the most significant achievement in our nation's efforts to defeat al qaeda. >> wash reaction from cabinet officials and around the world in their entirety, whenever you want with this c-span library. search, what, clip and share.

it is washington your way. today, a house homeland security hearing on u.s. threats coming from pakistan. also looking at the impact on the killing of osama bin laden on counter-terrorism policy. watch live coverage at 2:00 p.m. eastern on c-span 3. a day after announcing u.s. commanders killed osama bin laden in a surgical right, president obama on monday awarded the medal of honor to two army private who were killed during the korean war. before passing out the awards, the president spoke about the various u.s. intelligence and military leaders who helped find osama bin laden. this is about 30 minutes. [hail to the chief playing]

>> ladies and gentlemen, the president of the united states and this is michelle obama. -- and mrs. michelle obama. ♪ >> please join me in prayer. loving god, we ask your blessings upon this is their money as we gather to commemorate the sacrifices of to do all of our nation's sons. private first class anthony kaho'ohanohano and henry svehla. those stirred by news of the past 24 hours, we pause in these

moments to remember the heroic combat actions taken by these two soldiers of the korean peninsula 60 years ago. both entity and henry responded against an enemy onslaught and saved the lives of their fellow soldiers. they led from the front end loved beyond measure, portraying the ultimate act of selfless service. remind us again today that our nation has risen to virtue greatness of the soldiers of americans like anthony and henry. they this ceremony served to reinforce our awareness as a nation that our countries way of life and our freedom is a priceless inheritance, one to the commitment and sacrifice of those who have selflessly pay for our freedom with their blood. may your blessings be upon the families of henry and anthony, who ever given their loved ones to this nation and have kept their members a lot for this moment. by your grace, we may never forget their sacrifice. in your holy name, amen.

>> amen. >> good morning, everybody. please be seated. on behalf of michelle and myself, welcome to the white house. to our many guests from hawaii, aloha. and thank you, chaplain carver, for that wonderful invocation. i think we can all agree this is a good day for america. our country has kept its commitment to see that justice is done. the world is safer. it is a better place because of the death of osama bin laden. today, we are reminded that as a nation, there is nothing we can not do. when we put our shoulders to the wheel, when we work together, when we remember the sense of

unity that defines us as americans. and we have seen net patriotism in the crowds that have gathered here outside the white house, at ground zero, and across the country -- people holding candles, awaiting the flag, singing the national anthem. people proud to live in the united states of america. and we are reminded we are fortunate to have americans who dedicate their lives to protecting ours. they volunteer. they train. they endure separation from their families, they take extraordinary risks so that we can be safe. they get the job done. we may not always know their names. we may not always know their stories. but they are there every day on the frontlines of freedom, and

we are truly blessed. i do want to acknowledge it before we begin the ceremony two individuals who have been critical as part of my team who are here today. first of all, i think somebody who will go down as one of the finest secretary defense in our history, secretary bob gates who is here. [applause] sod sitting beside him, when he served with incredible valor on behalf of this country and is now somebody who i think will go down as one of the greatest secretaries of the veterans affairs in our history, eric shinseki. [applause]

now, i have to say that as commander in chief, i could not be proper of our men and women in uniform. that is true now in today's wars. it has been true in all our wars. and it is why we are here today. long ago, a poet of the first world war wrote of the sacrifice of young soldiers. "they shall not grow old as we that are left grow old. age shall not weary them. at the going down of the sun in the morning, we will remember. today, we are joined by two american families who six

decades ago gave our nation one of their own. private first-class henry svehla and private first class anthony kaho'ohanohano. they did not grow old. these two soldiers made the ultimate sacrifice when they were just 19 and 21 years old. age did not weary them. int h the hearts of their families, there remain forever young, look and sons, protected brothers, hometown kids who stood tall in america's hometown. in america's uniform. today, we remember them. and we honor them with the highest military decoration that our nation can bestow, the medal of honor. in doing so, we honor their families. who remind us that it is our extraordinary military families who also bear the heavy burden of war. we are joined by members of

congress who are here. we are very grateful for you. we're also joined by leaders from the army and armed forces, including chairman of the joint chiefs of staff admiral mike mullen and the vice chairman, general and jim cartwright. there they are, right there. [applause] and this is not in the script, but let me acknowledge that without the leadership of bob gates, like mullen, -- mike mullen, jim cartwright, today and yesterday would not happen. their leadership has an extraordinary. i could not be prouder of them and i am grateful they are part of our team. [applause]

i especially want to welcome some of those who fought so bravely 60 years ago. our inspiring korean veterans. korean war veterans who have made the trip here, and i also want to acknowledge those who are welcoming two more american heroes into our ranks, members of the national medal of honor society. thank you so much. [applause] this past november, i paid a visit to south korea, a visit that coincided with the 60th anniversary of the start of the korean war as well as the number 11, a veteran state. and i was privileged to spend part of the day with our troops and with dozens of veterans of the korean war.

members of a generation who in words of their moral in washington fought for a country they never knew, a people they never met. it was a generation that included private first class anthony kaho'ohanohano. tony grew up in maui. he learned early that we have a duty to others, from his father, a dedicated police officer and his mother, who devoted herself to their nine children. tony was tall. he loved hawaii. swimming in the ocean, playing basketball, sounds like my kind of gun. y. [laughter] his siblings remember him as the big brother, quiet but strong, who took care of them, stood up for them in the neighborhood and would treat them to ice-cream. tony's loyalty to family was

matched by his love of country. even though hawaii was not even a state yet, by september, 1951, the korean war had been raging for more than a year. and tony was part of the seventh infantry division which had been fighting for strategic hills that could shape the course of the war. his squad was near a village when they came under ferocious attack. with the enemy advancing come up with his men outnumbered, tony made a decision. he ordered his squad to fall back and seek cover. and then tony did something else. he stayed behind. machine gun in hand he laid down fires of his men to get to safety. he was one american soldier alone against approaching army. whent ony was wounded in his

shoulder, he fought on. he drew up -- you grenade after a grenade. what is up and ran out of ammunition, he grabbed another. and when he ran out of an addition, he reached for the only thing left -- a shovel. that is when the enemy overran his position. in those final moments, the combat was hand-in-hand. it was that great free, that courage of a single soldier, that inspired his men to regroup and to drive the enemy back. and when they finally reached his position, the measure of his valor became clear. after firing seven bullets at the barrel of his machine gun was literally bent. but tony had stood his ground. he had saved the lives of his men. after his death, he was awarded the army's second-highest award for valor, the distinguished service cross. but his family felt he deserved more. and so did senator and world war

ii veteran danny akaka. we are honored that senator. akaka has joined us. we are extraordinarily grateful we are joined by another senator and a medal of honor recipient danny iohe. thank you so much for your presence-- danny inohe. [applause] now, hawaii is a small state. but the anthony kaho'ohanohano's are a big family. in fact, i went to high school with one of their cousins. tell him i said -- [speaking hawaiian]

this is a remarkable family. service defines them. tony's father and all six sons served in the military. another member served in afghanistan. nearly 30 members of the family had traveled from hawaii to be here, including tony's sister elaine and brother eugene perry for the sacrifice your family indoors, for the service that your family rendered, thank you so much. [speaking hawaiian] i would ask that you all join me in welcoming tony's nephew george who worked for so many years to give his uncle the honor deserved. george? [applause]

>> the president of the united states of america authorized by an act of congress march 3, 1863, has awarded in the name of congress the medal of honor to a private first class anthony kaho'ohanohano. the united states army, for conspicuous gallantry at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. private first class anthony theo'ohanohano company h, seventh infantry division, distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in action against the enemy in the vicinity of chupa ri, korea on 1 september, 1951. on that date, he was in charge of machine-gun squad supporting the defensive positioning of company f when a numerically superior and you're forced --

and the force launched an attack. because of overwhelming numbers, a friendly troops were forced to execute a limited withdrawal. as and then fell back, private first class anthony kaho'ohanohano ordered his squad to take up more defensible positions and provide covering fire for the withdrawn and before spurred although having been wounded in the shoulder, private first class anthony kaho'ohanohano, gathered a supply of grenades and ammunition and returned to his original position to face the enemy alone. as the hostile troops concentrated their strength against his replacement in an effort to overrun it, private first class anthony kaho'ohanohano fought fiercely and courageously, delivering deadly accurate fire into the ranks of the onrushing enemy. when is ammunition was depleted, he engaged the enemy in hand-to- hand combat until he was killed. private first class anthony kaho'ohanohano's her rocks stand so inspired his comrades that

they lost a counterattack that complete the repulsed the enemy. upon reaching private first class anthony kaho'ohanohano's emplacement friendly troops discovered 11 enemy soldiers lying dead in front of the emplacement and two inside it, killed in hand-to-hand combat. private first class anthony kaho'ohanohano's extraordinary heroism and selfless devotion to duty are in keeping with the finest traditions of military service and reflect credit upon himself, the seventh infantry division, and the u.s. army. [applause]

>> about the time that tony was inspiring his men, another young soldier was the joining up with the seventh infantry division in korea. private first class henry svehla. he grew up in new jersey. he loved fishing on the jersey shore. he was one of six kids, and the youngest son, but the one who seemed to take care of everybody else. his sister dorothy remembers how their mother would be in the kitchen at the end of a long day trying to cook dinner for six kids, and henry, a teenager, would walk in, grab his mother's hand and dance around the kitchen. if anybody needed him, said

dorothy, henry was there. and she was there for america. in korea, as the war neared its third and final year. henry knew the dangers. and what this last letters he wrote, i may not return. that june, 1952, the heat was unbearable. the monsoon rains and mosquitoes were relentless, but the seventh infantry division pushed bond, probing enemy lines, fighting bunker by bunker, hill by hill. as henry and his company neared the top of one hill, the rocky slopes seemed to explode with enemy fire. his unit started to falter, and that is when henry made his move. he stood up. he looked ahead. and he charged forward into a hail of bullets. those were their described how he kept firing his weapon it, throwing grenades, and how even

after being wounded in the face, he refused medical attention and kept leading the charge. when an enemy grenade landed among his men, every human instinct, every impulse would tell person to turn away, but at that critical moment, henry svehla did the opposite. thatrew himself ont ha grenade. henry's body has never been recovered. that is a wound in the heart of his family that has never been fully healed. it is a reminder that as a nation we must never forget those who did not come home or are missing in action, or are taken prisoner of war. and we must never stop trying to bring them back to their families. henry was awarded the distinguished service cross, but his family believed he had

earned to this nation's highest military honor. they contacted their congressman and his staff who made it their mission. and we thank representative build a scrawled for making this day possible. henry's parents and brother did not live to see this day, but two of his sisters, dorothy and sylvia, are with us. dorothy, sylvia, you remind us that behind every american who ears our nation's uniform stands a family that serves with them. and behind every american who laid down their life for our country is a family mourns them and honors them for the rest of their lives, every day for nearly 60 years you have lived the poet's words -- at the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them. i want to conclude today by inviting everyone to join me in

in welcoming henry's sister dorothy for the presentation of the metal. dal. [applause] >> the president of the united states authorized by an act of congress on march 3, 1863, has awarded in the name of congress the medal of honor to private first class henry svehla, united states army, for conspicuous gallantry at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. private first class henry svehla distinguished himself by acts of gallantry above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a riflemen with f company, 32nd infantry, seventh

division, in connection with combat operations against an armed enemy on 12 june, 1952. that afternoon while his platoon was patrolling the strategic hills a determined enemy position, they were subjected to intense enemy automatic weapons and small arms fire at the top of the help. coming under heavy fire, the platoon's attack began to falter. realizing the success of the mission and safety of the remaining troops were in peril, private first class henry svehla lept to his feet and charged enemy positions, firing his weapon and throwing grenades. in the face of this courage and determination, the platoon rally to attack with renewed vigor. private firms class henry svehla destroyed enemy positions and inflicted heavy casualties. when fragments exploded nearby seriously wounded him in the face, despite his wounds, private first class henry svehla refused medical treatment

and continued to lead the attack. when an enemy grenade landed among a group of his comrades, private first class henry svehla, without hesitation and undoubtedly aware of extreme danger, threw himself upon the grenade. during this action, private first class henry svehla was morally wounded. private first class henry svehla, extraordinary heroism and suffixes at the cost of his life above and beyond the call of the duties are in keeping with the highest calling of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself and the u.s. army. [applause]

>> let's skip both families a big round of applause. -- let's give both families a big round of applause. for anthony and for henry. [applause] >> please join me in prayer. gracious god, u.s. during our hearts as we heard the accounts of two great american soldiers to value the lives of those under their care more than their own. you have told us and holy

scripture there is no greater love than this. and so, would you etched this eternal truth in our hearts as we carry out our responsibilities to you, our families, and our nation? bless the young men and women of our armed services to walk in the footsteps of anthony and henry, protecting and defending our lives. lord, continue to bless and give great wisdom to our president barack obama as he beats our nation in these challenging times. god bless america. in nearly knee we pray, -- in your holy name we pray, amen. >> thank you so much, everyone. to the families, we could not be prouder of anthony and henry. we are grateful for their sacrifice and your sacrifice. u.s.-made this country safer, tony and henry stand as a model of courage and patriotism. god bless you and god bless the

united states of america. thank you, everyone. [applause] ♪ ing "ameridcca the beautiful"]

>> good afternoon, everybody and thanks for being here. senator collins and i wanted to come here today most of all to say thank you to the men and women of the american intelligence, military, and

homeland security community's for what they did for all of us yesterday. the fact is that today the world is a safer and better place because of the brave and brilliant american patriots who worked together yesterday to kill osama bin laden, a mass murderer. for a lot of the last decade, the homeland security committee of the u.s. senate, which senator collins and i have been privileged to be leaders of together, has concentrated on doing everything we possibly could to make sure that the lack of coordination with in the united states government that facilitated the attacks against america on the 9/11 was ended. what happened yesterday was in some sense the exact opposite of

the mistakes and failure to cooperate that led to the 9/11 attacks against the united states. because, from everything we can determine, every element of our government -- military, intelligence, homeland security -- worked together as a team, and the result was the end of the life of osama bin laden. and i want to thank all of them, and also particularly express my gratitude to president obama for his leadership as commander in chief. and speaking with one of the members of our national security team it this morning, i want to put up that this was not a political appointee. he said to me that president obama throughout the preparations and deliberations and decision making that preceded the successful attack on bin laden yesterday, that

president obama was cool and decisive. and that the decisions that were made were not easy ones. so i want to express my personal gratitude to president obama for the leadership he gave this great team of ours. notwithstanding how well the team performed yesterday, i simply want to say briefly that our senate committee on homeland security will continue to monitor and investigate every element of what our government is doing to protect the homeland security of the american people because the enemy is out there. and the enemy will continue to try to attack the american people here at home, where we live and work. in that regard, let me make this point. there has been much commentary on the fact that there may now be a heightened level of danger for a limited period of time, as or individuals or groups seek

revenge for the murder of osama bin laden. first, i want to reassure everyone that all of our homeland security and intelligence agencies are alert to those dangers. and using every tool that they have to detect and if necessary to prevent such an attack. my own great concern in the days ahead is that a so-called loan walls, a single individual, who has radicalized -- been radicalize it will mobilize himself or herself to take action here at home against the american people. and of course we know on our committee, having spent time investigating the murder of 13 americans at fort hood by hassan, these are the most difficult cases to see and stop.

and so my appeal to the american people is please be alert. this is a classic -- if you see something, say something moment. if you see suspicious behavior, call the police immediately. and that includes if you see suspicious behavior by somebody who is a friend or a family member. final point i want to make is this. i would like to put the death of osama bin laden in the broader context of the peaceful, democratic uprisings that are occurring now in the arab world. for the war that we were drawn into on 9/11 against islamic extremism and terrorism will not end with the death of one man.

even that one man who most visibly propagated this political ideology that is a corruption of a greek religion. this war -- a great religion. this war will end when the ideas bin laden propagated, which i call islamism, lie discredited and abandoned alongside its totalitarian twins fascism and communism. in this respect, it is fitting that bin laden was killed just as democracies are being born in the arab world. the peaceful democratic revolution is taking place in tunisia, egypt, libya, and syria

are the true repudiation of bin ladeniwsm. contrary to what bin laden prophesied, his extreme ideology is the weak horse and democracy is the strong horse. to rid our world of bin ladenism, it is critical that we, together, now do everything in our power to help the democratic forces in the middle east succeed. for it will be enhanced of his fellow arabs and muslims that bin laden is firmly consigned to the ash heap of history. senator collins. >> thank you. let me just echo senator lieberman's comments by starting with my tremendous gratitude to

everyone who was involved in this critical mission, from the president and his national security team, to the extraordinarily courageous and 80 steals and intelligence operatives -- navy seals who executed this dangerous operation flawlessly and with great courage. i could not help but think last night when i received the call from the director of the national counter-terrorism center that that center had not even existed prior to our 2004 intelligence reform and terrorism prevention act. when michael leider called me to tell me that osama bin laden had been killed, he talked about the extraordinary effort and

cooperation and prior to 9/11 of 2001, just the opposite existed. there was not cooperation. information was not shared. the silos prevented people from acting together. in this operation we saw at exactly the opposite. we saw our intelligence officials working with special forces, working with our homeland security officials, everybody working together to undertake and successfully carried out this extraordinary mission. i also agree with senator lieberman that, while this is an extraordinarily significant development with the mastermind of al qaeda, the architect of the attacks against our country

and the inspiration for so many islamic jihadists around the world now being killed, it is not the end of our fight against islamic extremism. we must continue to not let down our guard. we must be -- continue to be vigilant. and i agree that one of the concerns that i must have is that a homegrown terrorists will choose this moment to strike in an attempt to retaliate for osama bin laden's death. and that is why i was particularly pleased that at midnight last night, the department of homeland security in conjunction with the fbi, put out a situational awareness alert which went to state and

local law enforcement, homeland security officials across this country, giving them some intelligence information, telling them that they should be prepared for an increase in attacks, perhaps expediting of talks that are now underway. and that they should be on the alert for that to happen. well, not too long ago, there would have been no communication between washington and state and local law enforcement. much less a system that went out in a very timely way to provide this kind of information. so i think it show how far we have come in the past decade,

but we must not rest because the threat is still with us, despite this tremendous intelligence triumph. >> questions? >> in light of how the information came about, where bin laden was, how will this change the protocol with interrogation, for the guantanamo detainees? >> listen, in my position, has been clear over the years. when you capture somebody in the war on terrorism, they should be held as a prisoner of war. one of the reasons you do that is because, as we have done in every war we have been involved in, prisoners of war or detainee's are open sources of valuable intelligence. in this case, as you know, some of the original intelligence that led to the suspicion about this individual or the couriers

came from somebody we had in guantanamo. i think it encourages us to treat people we capture in the war as what they are -- prisoners of war. they are not common criminals of the united states. they can help us save american lives. >> what should you tell the american public about the war in afghanistan? after 10 years of war? the biggest symbol of that war is dead. >> the biggest symbol -- let's put it this way. the menu was the inspirational leader of the forces -- the man who was the inspirational leader of the forces in afghanistan, osama bin laden, is now dead. but the war in afghanistan goes on. i have already heard a few calls that we would quickly withdraw from afghanistan because the war is over, because bin laden is dead.

if we did that come out we would repeat the mistake we made once before when we pulled out of afghanistan and that region after the soviets did, and that invited ultimately the taliban and al qaeda into afghanistan, and from afghanistan, they attacked us on 9/11. so i think any decisions made about afghanistan have to be made based on the facts on the ground in afghanistan. i will tell you this. i think the killing of bin laden gives us an increased momentum in the war in afghanistan. and if i were a leader of the taliban, i'd be frightened right now, because the capacity of the u.s. intelligence, military -- particularly special operations command showed leading up to yesterday and the mission yesterday -- a difficult mission against a very tough target. this compound was built to house and protect osama bin laden.

but they carried it out. so wherever mullah omar is and any other leader of anti american groups is right now, they have reason to worry. >> i just to comment on the second part of your question that had to do with pakistan. it seems to me that this incident shows that pakistan remains a critical but uncertain ally in the fight against terrorism. it's very difficult for me to understand how this huge compound could be built in a city just an hour north of the capital of pakistan in a city that contained military installations, including the

pakistani military academy, and that it did not arouse tremendous suspicion, especially since there were no internet or telephone connections. the waste was incinerated and there was a barbed wire around the compound. so i think this tells us once again that unfortunately, pakistan at time is playing a double game. and that is very troubling to me. >> senator, is there anything that congress can do to change the way pakistan has dealt with in dealing with the al qaeda presence in the country? conditions on funding or anything in the upcoming war bill? >> we clearly need to keep the pressure on pakistan. one way to do that is to put more strings attached to the

tremendous amount of military ai dthat wd that we give the count. i do understand that the pakistani government is under tremendous pressure internally, but the fact is that it has been pakistan's own interests to work with us to defeat the terrorist threat. essentially, that terrorist threat is going to turned towards pakistan itself. it has at times already. >> i would just add that in response to your question, there will be a lot of questions raised in congress about what people in the pakistani intelligence agency particularly knew or should have known about the presence of bin laden in pakistan itself. for years, pakistani officials have said was, he is not in pakistan.

he is in the mountains between pakistan and afghanistan. my own experience with pakistanis is that this is one of the most complicated, the most complicated security- intelligence relationship we have with any nation. on the one hand, the fact that they do give us a very helpful here intelligence assistance and military assistance. on the other hand, we have a lot of reason to believe that elements of their intelligence community continue to be a very closely in touch with and perhaps supportive of terrorist groups that are fighting us and the afghans in afghanistan. so this is going to be a time of a real pressure on the afghans to basically prove to us that they did not know that bin laden was there. >> reuters reported that americans had orders to kill not

capture osama bin laden. why was that the case? is there any concern that we lost a valuable intelligence by not taking him alive? >> i do not know the answer. the description we heard from officials of the administration at that there -- is that there was an initial attempt to capture him and he resisted. i do not know the exact description of how he resisted, but the navy seals and special operations command forces felt consistent with their orders that they had to kill him. and a dead. >> do you think there were pictures taken of the killings. do you think it serves any purpose to release those pictures to the public? >> that is a very difficult decision. i will leave it open to the administration, the president. there is a problem here, though, that unless there is an acknowledgement by people in al qaeda that bin laden is dead,

that it may be necessary to release the pictures, as gruesome as they undoubtedly will become law because he has been shot in the head, to quell any doubt that this is a ruse that the american government has carried out. i will respect whatever decision the president makes. i will tell you this. based on information that i have received, i am absolutely convinced the man that was killed yesterday was osama bin laden. >> what was that information? >> dna tests, for example. that is conclusive. i share senator lieberman's views that this is a difficult issue. i, too, have no doubt that osama bin laden was killed yesterday.

but i recognize that there will be those who will try to generate this myth that he's alive and that we missed him somehow. and in order to put that to rest, it may be necessary to release some of the pictures or video or the dna tests to prevent that from happening. >> the other thing to say briefly on this is that we have in navy seals there. to put it mildly, i trust the navy seals. i believe they brought back information that from my printer of the few convinces me that this was definitely osama bin laden. -- from mike point of view. one of the difficult decisions the president had to make supported by our national security team was whether the evidence was sufficient that this was osama bin laden, for

him as commander in chief to authorize the rate to go for it. there was a lot leaning in that direction. >> you have any indication gl eaned from the compound itself the that there may be information that could prevent future attacks? >> i don't know anything in that regard. >> thank you very much. >> thank you, all. >> mr. president, today, americans and all along for justice quote to good news. united states set out to kill or capture osama bin laden, justice has indeed been done.

the man who orchestrated the 9/11 attacks and who reveled in the horror of that day is dead. and those who followed his twisted vision are again on notice: america is in pursuit. this is a long time coming. for two decades osama bin laden and the al qaeda network he created sustained and led had been at war with the united states. the path of terror extended from the first world trade center bombing to the bombing of the khobar towers and the u.s. embassies in kenya and tanzania to the bombing of the u.s.s. cole to the horrors of 9/11 and through two long and difficult wars that followed. 9/11 may have been the day that this pattern of violence became suddenly and undeniably clear. bin laden's destructive path was already long by then. and for the past ten years america has been determined to

bring this monster to justice. from the beginning of this fight, the mission has been clear, to deny al qaeda and any of its affiliates around the world a sanctuary from which they could plan, prepare or launch another attack on u.s. soil. and the effort to prevent that long feared attack has been an undeniable success under two administrations in the ongoing war on terror. a few short years after 9/11, al qaeda gained enough strength to once again pose a serious threat to the united states. meanwhile the taliban had reestablished its headquarters in pakistan and gained enough strength to return to afghanistan and to risk the success of our mission there. as the years went by, osama bin laden's ability to elude capture had become a greater source of frustration to us and a source of propaganda to his followers. over the