not end with the death of bin laden. indeed, we must take this opportunity to renew our resolve and redouble our efforts. >> the u.s. coordinated operation was carried out at a heavily fortified compound in abottabad, and this is a pakistani city north of the capitol of islamabad, and intelligence officials have been monitoring this compound since august following the trial of an al qaeda courier linked by detainees to osama bin laden, and the million dollar fortress was built five years ago to house a major terrorist figure with 18-foot walls and barbed wires around the complex. senior officials say that bin laden participated in the hour-long fight where he was shot in the head by an american bullet. his body was identified and his body taken into custody by u.s. military, and then his body dumpeded at sea. muslim tradition requires that

his body be buried within 24 hours of the death. only the white house knew of the attack and it was kept a secret of pakistani leaders. we are joined by correspondent miklaszewski. >> yes. it was top secret up to the very moment that the gunshots were heard, because those helicopters as they flew into the cokocompo north of the compound had to avoid detection of the pakistani military, because the last thing that the united states wanted to do was to inform the pakistanis in advance out of fear that somebody in the pakistani government would tip off osama bin laden and whoever else was in that compound and then by the time the u.s. commandos got there, everybody would have been gone. but it as it turned out, as the helicopters approached, there was a bit of a panic, when one

of them lost altitude and was forced to put down inside of the compound, itself. fortunately, nobody was hurt, but within minutes some two dozen navy s.e.a.l. commandos swarmed the compound and gun fire erupted, and there was a firefight, including an exchange of gun fire with osama bin laden who was shot at least once in the head and killed. now we are told by u.s. officials that there was an immediate identification made on the scene by up with of osama bin laden's wives. when the body was taken into custody and back to afghanistan briefly, there were comparisons made with photos, detailed photos of osama bin laden, himself, dna samles taken, and we expect to get the result sgs of those sometime later today. thomas? >> well, mick, how important is this for the administration, itself, from the defense standpoint especially as we talk specifically about leon panetta, and what this means for the cia transition?

>> well, what a way to go out of the cia job. he is set to take over on july 1st here in the pentagon for retiring secretary of state gates. i mean, this is a huge boost of morale for everybody in the intelligence community and special operations community and the u.s. military in general, particularly those 100,000 troops who are fighting on the ground there just across the border in afghanistan, but everybody we talked to warns that this is a temporary boost. there are still a multitude of very serious problems facing the u.s. in terms of the foreign policy, and military operations, not only in afghanistan, but the situation in pakistan, and looking even further to yemen where al qaeda operations are really centered right now as osama bin laden even before his death was somewhat marginalized and not really involved in the operational activities, though he was still an inspirational figurehead to al qaeda. >> if anyone had a flicker of

doubt how short the panetta confirmation is going to be, this seals the deal. >> yeah, that is a shoo-in. >> thank you so much, jim miklaszewski. i want to turn to white house correspondent mike viqueira. and we hear that the president was sitting in the situation room watching the operation go down. >> yes, an extraordinary report from our savannah guthrie this morning, in the situation room over the previous weeks, there were increasing meetings of the national security principles and when we talk about the principle, we are talking about the upper echelon of the apparatus from the president and the vice president and the secretary of state and the ci, a director on down to the homeland security director and so on and so forth, and culminating yesterday at 7:00 p.m. eastern time when the president was informed that the so-called hvt, the high valued target, they were after was indeed osama bin laden, and a positive

identification was made. then the public relations wheels started spinning and the choreography to get the camera crews back into the white house sunday night late so that the president could make an extraordinary and dare we say triumphant announcement of the death of osama bin laden and that mission that jim miklaszewski was describing for you. we will see the announcement at 11:55, thomas n t, in the same room, he will give posthumously awards for combat of courage and v valentry. and glad to have you here, and congresswoman, while it is a moment to respect the justice of what this news means, it also means the hard work is not over.

>> that is true. we can all take heart and breathe a sigh of relief, but there is still much more that needs to be done, but today, we really applaud our nation's military and intelligence infrastructure. they deserve a great deal of credit. leon papanetta, and the first directive of president obama was to find bin laden and we have accomplished this today. i can tell you, thomas, in the last ten years, the most often asked question from my constituents is when are we going to find the terrorist? but the war against terror is not over. it is an end of a chapter, but still much more to do. >> do you think for the constituents and most americans around this country thought this would be a day we would not see, because we didn't know the whereabouts of bin laden, and we hadn't seen video of him in years and nobody knew if he was

dead or alive? >> well, in the intelligence briefings to congress, they believed he was alive and in pakistan and i would continually ask them, a they would say, we are working on it. well, today, the hard work paid off, and we are all in a better form than we were before. he did order the attacks against our great city, but there is still much more that needs to be done, and rebuilding and healing and taking care of the people that were hurt on 9/11. >> right. you talk passionately about the work that still needs to be done, and you were very early on a supporter of the 9/11 commission's proposed reforms to the nation's security policy, and what do you think that this means though given to the national terror threat system that was just changedless than t two weeks ago by secretary napolitano and what as a country should we realize that al qaeda will reassert themselves somewhere, some day. >> well, we are better off than

we were ten years ago in terms of the homeland security. t with ve pa we have passed a series of bills to make the nation safe, but we have to work everyday on it, and we are constantly under alert system number one in new york city, as we are today. we need to continue not only in the homeland security, but this is really, it is really has been a tumultuous decade with 9/11, and we are coming up to the tenth anniversary, but many terrorists and dictatorships in the middle east are falling, and democracy seems to be growing, and we are rebuilding, and america is rising. i am so proud of our president and the military and the intelligence system today for their bravery, persistence and intelligence and it paid off with this success. >> now, you can report to your constituents that the deal has been figured out. congresswoman maloney, thank you for coming on. we appreciate your time. >> thank you so much. >> absolutely. the first key tip came in 2004

when officials obtained the nickname of a courier that would lead directly to osama bin laden, and that was from an interrogation at guantanamo bay and how the military tracked down one of the most wanted terrorist, and here we have our military analyst barry mckak mccaffery, and sir, with all of the questions over the practices of gitmo, and this is a lead from the courier and how significant is that and how does it validate the work done at guantanamo bay, sir? >> well, thomas, i have been to guantanamo bay and wrote a report at mccaffery.com, and it is one of the best-run correction facilities anywhere on the face of the earth and part of it is a counterintelligence service, that while respecting the rights of the accused, they don't go into their lawyer's writings, et cetera, and still a lot of intelligence comes out of it.

perhaps a third of those people are global terrorists of some danger. so, i was glad to see again it paid off, but a lot of the intel that we get at guantanamo does directly pay off in making america safer. >> sir, the military officials say that the order was to kill bin laden and not to capture him. is the obvious question here why? >> well, thank god. we would have gone through all sorts of gyrations. the trial would have gone on for years. we would have tried to protect our intelligence sources, as we did so, and there would have been terrorist incidents trying to affect the trial, and this is the right income to kill this mass murderer. >> the compound, though, where osama bin laden was found was not far from a pakistani military academy. in your military opinion, are you surprised that a fortified structure like this one did not raise red flags earlier? >> well, you know, that city, 35

miles from the center of islamabad, there are three pakistani regimens living in that little population center, and their military academy is there and hundreds of retired pakistani military leaders and a police force, so it is hard to know that this secretive presence was not known to some pakistani authorities. maybe they were paid off, but it is possible that one would assume that it was known at the highest levels of the intelligence service at the minimum. >> and more details to come from that front for sure. general barry mccaffery, thank you, sir, for joining us today. >> good to be with you. following the word of osama bin laden's death, jubilant crowds cheering and streaming out on the streets. and we are joined live by mara

campos live in new york. and we were here until 4:00 a.m. and the crowds were swelling throughout the evening. so describe what it is like there today? >> well, the crowds carried on until 4:00 a.m. and this morning you are not seeing the jubilant crowds, but you are seeing fresh flowers and flags to mark the event they have been waiting for so long. and ground zero was a solemn place, and the place where the twin towers stood, it is a solemn place where crowds gathered for memorial services, but for the first time in almost ten years since those terrorist attacks this became a place for celebration and joy, and hundreds of people came for impromptu celebrations and came waving the american flag and singing the national anthem and climbing up lamp posting saying that obama got osama and usa, usa, and this is a celebration ten years in the making. this is is where president bush

on september 14th, three days after the terror attacks famously stood on top of a mound of rubble with a bull horn and said whoever is responsible for knocking down the twin towers would have to pay for it, and now people are celebrating the fact that this day has come and for the families who lost loved ones on 9/11, this sig n ones on 9/11, this sig ifies some measure of comfort for them. >> and the fbi's most wanted list has been updated. but this death does not end the threat of terrorism around the world. much more on that coming up. [ female announcer ] mini, meet berries. introducing new kellogg's frosted mini-wheats with a touch of fruit in the middle. helloooooo fruit in the middle.

welcome back, everybody. since this news broke, european leaders are praising the killing of osama bin laden, but they are also weary of retaliation.

>> of course, it does not mark the end of the threat that we face from extremist terror. indeed, we will have to be particularly vigilant in the weeks ahead, but it is, i believe, a massive step forward. >> nbc's martin fletcher is following the global reaction and doing so from london. martin, celebrations across the united states, but i want to find out what the reaction is from europe especially being that this kind of capped a weekend of a lot of activity in europe, and one being the royal wedding friday and the beatfication of pope john paul ii in rome. >> well, it is changing the mood, thomas. congratulations to america pouring in from london, and especially countries suffering from terrorism, and not just britain, but africa and the middle east. nato called the assassination, quote, a significant success, but others played it down. russia's ambassador said that bin laden was only a symbol who had long-since retired and been replaced by younger commanders,

but they are also warning en to extra care everywhere. thomas. >> martin, the arab world though, how are they responding to the news as it continues to be absorbed around the globe? >> well, among the muslim countries, it is a bit of a mixed bag. congratulations from some who suffered, because more than half of his victims were follow muslims, but also calls for revenge only the islamic web with sites. and in afghanistan, government leaders burst into ap a plauz when president karzai gave them the news. karzai said that bin laden received the due punishment and his hands were quote dipped in the bloodf of thousands and thousands of youths and children and elders of afghanistan. with much of the arab world in turmoil, the killing of osama bin laden will be a destabilizing influence, and bin laden also influenced areas like

saudi arabia and jordan. >> thank you, martin fletcher. we want to get more reaction from mike taibbi in europe. and when we heard that the president was going to be doing the 10:30 p.m. press conference on sunday night, and a lot of people harkened back to the news that there was a nato air strike that harkened in libya that killed one of moammar gadhafi's sons, and people thought it had to do with moammar gadhafi, and people were floored it had to do with osama bin laden. so how is the reaction playing out there in libya? >> well, it thomas, it is interesting to hear the reaction, because we just returned from saif al arab who was reportedly killed in the nato air raid, at his funeral. of course, there were calling for revenge, and i was getting translations of the remarks of

osama bin laden lives on and on, and i spoke to a businessman about 30 years old and he made a speech to me that while he is not defending gadhafi necessarily and it is wrong for a sovereign nation to send people into another country, excuse me, and assassinate anybody, and let him have the say. i asked him what he thought about the killing of osama bin laden. he didn't know about it. he asked about the details, and he didn't know about it. i told him, and he said, that's good. when i talked to a spokesman at the hotel about that conversation he was not surprised at all. he went on the say blank bin laden. and he said, we didn't like it and we didn't want him here recruiting the terrorists and setting up a terrorist base. so some of to reactions at least from tripoli. >> mike taibbi for us from libya. mike, thank you so much. we want to give you a look at what is happening at home,

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welcome back and good morning, everyone, as we continue to discuss the news of osama bin laden's death, and we want to find out what this means to the war on terror and how the ongoing war on terror will be affected by this. i am joined by white house form counterterrorism official walter kr kressey. >> thank you. >> what kind of impact does the

killing of osama bin laden have today? >> well, it doesn't have much on the al qaeda arabian peninsula. it was not al qaeda central, but it was the affiliate in yemen, so the loss of bin laden from the ideological and leadership perspective is significant for the movement, but the franchises, if you will, will move forward. i think that the issue, thomas, is whether or not al qaeda central can continue to be a viable entity post bin laden, and how does it affect the command and control and operational facilities. we celebrate the death of bin laden, but we have to be concerned with the central al qaeda. >> and the spirit of jihadists, how does that impact it in terms of setback or immediately retaliate. i know in the coverage last night we talked about the fact that al qaeda is not quick moving in the strikes, but when nay do strike, you feel it? >> well, it is a serious

setback. they have lost the spiritual leader and the guiding force and the one that many pledged to in what they wanted islamic world to look like, so that is a setback, but for the franchises and the individuals it means that they may continue to move forward. i believe that al qaeda, the threat that is coming forward is not one where al qaeda has contingency plans on the shelf to launch attacks, because we have been pounding them for so long that the operational capability is seriously impacted, but you will see an attempt in the middle and the long-term to put together a plot that they could then launch and say, this is in response to bin laden's death, and also, thomas, if they have any successful attack, regardless of where it is, they will say it is part and parcel of the response to bin laden's death. >> well, it certainly sends a serious message of not a matter of the but when we will get you. roger, thank you. >> you bet. >> and you know, it was the

worst terrort attack on u.s. soil almost ten years ago, and today, reactions on the news today from the news of osama bin laden's death. >> it was a good feeling, because a lot of people lost their lives because of this guy. i am happy they got him. pantene... olay... venus & gillette... and secret. the four most awarded brands. keeping you your most beautiful from head to toe.

i cannot believe this is happening in my lifetime. i never thought i would see america like this. you have wall street going through the roof and main street paying all of the bills. it is getting harder for them on education. harder for them on health care, and the meanwhile, all of the tax breaks are flowing to the top, and they want to know why america is upset. i need two shows.

welcome back, everybody. we are continuing to follow the global impact of the death of osama bin laden after a u.s. operation at a compound just north of islamabad in pakistan and throughout this morning we have been hearing from the top leaders on the hill praising the president and our armed forces for a successful operation and what it means for the country going forward. >> i think it is more than just a wake-up call. i think that in a certain sense, it is a turning point. the war on terror was not over, but maybe this is the saratoga or the gettysburg where things turned. >> this was a great success for the cia and also for the navy s.e.a.l.s. this is a signal victory. it is not the end of the war by a long time, but they are to be

congratulated. >> for more now from capitol hill, itself, response on what is being said there, we want to turn to msnbc's luke russert. luke, we were up late last night talking about this and the news has been observed all morning long and what are you hearing at the hill? >> wellwell, it is quite interesting, thomas. rarely an event for universal praise for president obama up on capitol hill, and that is what you have seen here. although, there is one distinction between the democratic and republican releases. the republican releases also commend president bush for starting the war on terror and commending him with the process that ultimately led to the capture of osama bin laden. a lot of praise for president obama, and a lot of congratulations to president bush as well. but there are tons of hearings up on capitol hill of how well the intelligence community was work ing working in the middle east, whether or not they should continue to put money forward

there, and lot of the questions are silenced up on capitol hill, and a lot of support for not only the u.s. intelligence community and the funds for it. we will hear around 1:00 p.m. from the house chairman who will talk about the program developed in order to capture bin laden and how long it has been around and the steps going forward to get him. one thing, thomas, this week is supposed to be about ceiling, but tonight, president obama is going to host a joint leadership meeting, and this thursday, the issue will be a bipartisan working committee on the debt commission, and that is with joe lieberman, and there is always an issue up on the hill. >> luke russert, appreciate it. >> pleasure. and today is a somber day for remembering the family members and the tragedy that

took their lives. joining me is jackie who is join joining us, and she lost her husband in new york. and at the phillies and the mets game, the crowd cheered that the news was real, and a man said he turned to his friend and said he was feeling bad for feeling so good. what is your reaction to this news? >> well, when i first found out last night i was excited and good news and put some closure to it, and then i woke up this morning to see all of the celebrations taking place in new york city, and i saw a clip of the baseball game. it's been overwhelming, you know, even though there may be a sense of closure, however, i still feel that my children and a lot of the children still wake up without their parents, whether it is the mother or the father. >> your children have been raised in a world where they have not known anything but the war on terror. i understand that you had twins that were 2 at the time and also

pregnant. >> yes. >> when this happened. so how -- let's talk about how you told your children, the news of this. what was their reaction? >> well, it is funny that you should ask, because last night i could not wait to tell my children and i told them this morning and my daughter was shocked. she was stunned when she first found out the news. the boys were happy. last year, this is pretty relevant, i was on my way to taking my son conor to a little league baseball game, and he had just found out about who bin laden was and i explained to him, because he had asked me maybe three months prior, and we were on the way, and he asked me if bin laden was still alive. i thought that the timing of the question was relevant and i asked him why he was asking me, and he said, because i wish that dad was here to watch the baseball game. so i was pretty happy when i was able to tell them the news that they captured the man who killed their father. >> do you think that justice has been done? >> well, it's -- i think it is a work in progress, and even

though we caught bin laden, we still need to keep our guard up, and there might still be other groups out there forming. >> i know that a lot of people would ask about the term closure. is there ever a closure to get to this? >> no, not full closure. i have three children that constantly, you know, surprise me with their questions and i don't think that for a lot of families there will be full closure. you know, hearing you talk brings up emotion for me, so how do you compartmentalize this of thinking how it has affected your life and how this day changes your life, changes your children's questions that they have may not ask you now anymore about osama bin laden. how does that make you feel? >> well, my children were still young. they were 2 and not even born. this is all they know. really, and even though my twins had met their father, all my children know is being raise

bade single parent, and they know how their father died and they have friends who have shared the same experience, and they go to a camp. i think that, it's just never going to settle in. you know, it gets easier as the years go by. but, i think that it will always be something that's a part of their lives forever. >> send your kids our best. tell conor to knock them dead at the next little league game, and jackie, appreciate your coming in. >> you're welcome. >> today is an emotional day as we have been talking about and especially 9/11 first responders. 343 firefighters and 23 police officers lo their lives on september 11th. john timoney is the first deputy commissioner of the new york fire department and security director of andrews international, so it has been ten years and i was just asking jackie her feelings of justice,

and do you feel that justice has been served? >> well, i lost quite a few friends at 9/11, and yeah, it is partial joustice, but it is not closure. and this is not the end. not the end of terrorism, and while it is good that we celebrate this, we can't let our guard down, because i can almost guarantee that there will be some kind of reaction. i don't think spectacular event, but maybe a lone wolf or somebody that idolizes osama bin laden and i will guarantee you that commissioner kelly and the troops are fully on alert regarding some kind of blowback. >> yeah, i wanted to ask you about that, because the port authority last night said they were strengthening their forces. in the two cities where you work, new york and philly, the police did announce they were ramping up the security today. explain to all of us what that actual entails. >> well, on the most obvious level, you will see a greater uniformed presence around iconic

buildings or signature buildings that would be the likely target of a terrorist bomber. additionally, you will have more plain clothes officers in and around the crowds and then of course the main is good intelligence and a greater working relationship with the fbi and our counterparts in law enforcement. so it is a combination of intelligence of uniform presence and a whole host of things like that. >> yeah, it is definitely a game-changer for sure. john timoney, thank you for joining us this morning. appreciate it. >> thank you. we want to get more analysis on the politics of the major military accomplishment from ed schultz who is the host of the "ed schultz show" here on msnbc. we have heard all of the details and the commentary from the different politicians, and what do you think this will do to the voters the independent voters and especially coming out of the week we had last week with the

president obama and the birther controversy coming to an end? >> well, it is interesting, thomas. in the one week he has delivered a birth certificate and death certificate of osama bin laden. this president has been criticized by the left wing for not having a footing on the war on terror when all along in the midst of the ancillary store is are of the birth and the documentation and how smart he is, he was knee-deep in all of this and calling the shots and not wanting to bomb the facility, wanting to get the proof, making the risky call to send the troops in to get this done, to show the world that we are serious about fighting the terrorists who took us down on 9/11, and if i were moammar gadhafi i would be nervous, because eventually the united states is going to get him, too. >> this is a point overnot a matter of the but when. and when we talk about that famous phrase by ronald reagan, trust but verify. here we have the end of a

three-year con trotroversy overt birth certificate, and now does the united states have to reveal something to offer proof of the death of osama bin laden? >> well, there is nothing wrong with full disclosure. they didn't gem this up. his network has been dismantled quite a bit by the obama administration with the strategy, and he has supported the military all along to get the intelligence agencies where they need to be to be in position. you know what we have seen? a tremendous amount of detail, and a tremendous amount of discipline and patience. there's many people in our intelligence community that's been chasing this guy for 14 years. and mission has been accomplished, and yet the war doesn't stop. and so, politically, i think that this takes the national security issue off of the table. this president who allegedly wasn't capable to take a 3:00 a.m. call, and this president who didn't have the quote

executive experience to run the war on terrorism, and i do say that there is a smidgeon of hope that maybe we can come together as a country, because the former vice president dick cheney who was so critical of president obama puts out a statement saying i also want to congratulate president obama and the members of his national security team. this is probably the biggest olive branch coming from the right wing when it comes to the war on terror, because we were told if we didn't vote for them again we would be hit and they were the only ones who could secure the country, so it is a great moment for america and it is an opportunity for us to puts a side the bicker, but also understand where we came from to get here. this president has shown a tremendous amount of leadership. >> well, it is reminiscent of the unification of the post 9/11 days, and we will see how long it last, because it won't last for long. we will see you tonight at 10:00 and a whole bunch more coming up for us, ed. appreciate it. stay with us right here on msnbc. we are back right after this. [ robin ] my name is robin.

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kitsching up with the big keeping up with the big or the strif of story of the day. we go to abottabad, pakistan, where osama bin laden has been hiding out. omar, tell us about how they tracked osama bin laden, and this is about 30 miles north of islamabad, and considered to be an affluent neighborhood, and explain to us the compound and what you are seeing. >> well, this is 30-mile distance and is slightly mislead, because it does take a three-hour drive, because you have to actually snake through and up through the hills. this is a -- it is a quiet

garrison town located between the pashtun areas of the frontier and the penjab province, and it is quite magnificent in many ways. the neighborhood, itself, where osama bin laden was staying is called belal town. and it is a quiet middle-class affluent neighborhood. unremarkable in many ways according to the residents here. the army has placed a strict cordon around it, but some reporters have pierced it. many reporter made it there were arrested and had the equipment confiscated, but as we have said, many people have gotten footage out. the house in which he was staying, a neighbor of that particular family tells me that

it is about the size of the land is about an acre. there are 10 to 12-foot high walls in there and it was a bungalow in there. one man who was a construction worker said he had suspicions about the house but he had never seen osama bin laden or any, or any recognizable person going into that property at all. but he said that he belongs to a pashtun man called akbar and there is no way of verifying this independently, but this is what he said. so, in many ways, it is a quiet place in a very, very quiet town. >> omar waraich from "time" magazine joining us from abottabad, pakistan. thank you for your report. continuing with discussion of exactly how the operation was carried out, we want to bring in

msnbc news terrorism analyst. michael has held key positions at the state department and new york police department, and michael, i want to pass on this wire that a senior u.s. official is saying that osama bin laden was buried at sea from the deck of the "uss carl vincent" aircraft carrier in the arabian sea. s as we talked about before, we want to see pictures and ronald reagan's famous line, trust and verify. do we have to see a body? >> well, i trust the government and if they say we got them, we can be sure we do, but the general public will be hungry to get this information and good to get some photos and independent verification of the dna to put to bed the conspiracy theorists as much as possible, but they will be out there anyway. >> and what does this say about the constant u.s. approach to

terrorism? >> well, thomas, it is the same as when bin laden and his people moveded into pakistan. it is an excellence operation with hits and special operations forces and a classic operation and local law enforcement or once in a while a predator and reaffirms that this is the central aspect of counterterrorism. >> when we talk about the death of osama bin laden, and a long time coming in many estimations, what does this mean for retaliation, michael, and secondly, what does it mean for a secondary power figure the rise? >> well, retaliation, certainly, if al qaeda has a operation in the hopper, they will try to get the momentum back after this terrible blow to the organization, but it is going to be difficult to do it. they have no need for motivation to attack us, so it is going to be hard to attack us, but the other concern is a lone wolf. to replace bin laden is impossible. that organization was created by him. he was the leader of the organization and maybe not as operational in the past, but fo.

this is an important blow to the organization. >> a tip that led ultimately to the courier that led to this compound itself where osama bin laden was hiding out. what does this say about our relevant and courage policy toward detainees? >> intelligence is the key to counterterrorism. and detainees and other captured combatants often have pieces of the intelligence that can lead to the big operation like this. we have to stay focused on detainees, on interrogating people and make sure we get it right. doesn't mean we go back to any methods of torture, we have to stay very focused on that, because that could have that little piece of information that can really help bring down the organization from within. >> a lot of people would wonder what relevant information could these detainees have now? if at all? >> well, you never know. somebody might remember somebody, know a name, a piece of an address, some sort of piece of information that could lead to another dot to another dot, that leads us to somebody that brings you to a house.

you never know what that information is. i can tell you those people in the guantanamo and other facilities around the world are interrogating people for every piece and detail they may have that could lead to an operation like this. >> right. this certainly validates what is a huge success internationally. michael, thanks so much. we are expecting to hear from president obama in a few minutes at a white house event. awarding a medal of honor. there is secretary gates right there. we're going to be back with much more of our coverage right here on msnbc. you could get arrested for that you know. it's not what you think. look. there was a time when a company like that would envy us. little outfit. it's almost quaint. all these years we had something they could never have. something only the biggest operations could ever afford. it was our strategic advantage. now they have it. what exactly is "it" that they have? logistics. a level playing field. it's not fair.

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welcome back. we're keeping our sharp focus on the death of osama bin laden, specifically the day the u.s. forces successfully eliminated the al qaeda leader. may 1st has recent significant

in connection to the war in afghanistan and past military efforts as well. eight years ago today that former president george w. bush spoke on the "uss abraham lincoln" with the mission accomplished banner hanging from the carrier above. a moment that the president later said that he regretted. and we had this note from nbc's luke russert about adolf hitler. his death also first announced and confirmed on may 1st in 1945. 66 years apart. but linked now forever with dates throughout history. that's going to do it for me today. i'm thomas roberts. i'll see you back here 11:00 a.m. eastern tomorrow. contessa brewer will pick things up, live coverage of the president and the first lady giving out the medal of honor. it is posthumously to two korean war veterans taking place at the white house. the first public appearance from the president since his statement last night confirming that osama bin laden was killed by u.s. special operations forces. back with much more after this. ♪

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good monday, everyone. i'm contessa brewer covering the big news coast to coast. the picture you're seeing right now, live from the white house, we're expecting the medal of honor ceremony shortly to begin. and the president is expected to come on and briefly talk about the killing of osama bin laden. he is handing out the nation's highest honor to u.s. military veterans. and today two awards posthumously awarded to soldiers who were involved in the korean war action back in 1951 and 1952. but, again, a big day for the president on this because, of course, he announced late last night the killing of osama bin laden. you're seeing secretary gates talking to some of the folks there at the white house ahead of this. when we switch gears a little bit and talk about the president's announcement that osama bin laden was killed outside of islamabad, pakistan, it has been