Hillary Clinton’s Remarks on bin Laden’s Death

[AnOhioan]

Source: Wall Street Journal

Well, good morning. As President Obama said last night, Usama bin Ladin is dead, and justice has been done. And today, I want to say a few words about what this means for our efforts going forward.

First, I want to offer my thoughts and prayers to the thousands of families whose loved ones were killed in Usama bin Ladin’s campaign of terror and violence, from the embassy bombings in Africa, to the strike on the U.S.S. Cole, to the attacks of September 11, 2001, and so many more. These were not just attacks against Americans, although we suffered grievous losses; these were attacks against the whole world. In London and Madrid, Bali, Istanbul, and many other places, innocent people – most of them Muslims – were targeted in markets and mosques, in subway stations, and on airplanes, each attack motivated by a violent ideology that holds no value for human life or regard for human dignity. I know that nothing can make up for the loss of the victims or fill the voids they left, but I hope their families can now find some comfort in the fact that justice has been served.

Second, I want to join the President in honoring the courage and commitment of the brave men and women who serve our country and have worked tirelessly and relentlessly for more than a decade to track down and bring Usama bin Ladin, this terrorist, to justice. From our troops and our intelligence experts, to our diplomats and our law enforcement officials, this has been a broad, deep, very impressive effort.

Here at the State Department, we have worked to forge a worldwide anti-terror network. We have drawn together the effort and energy of friends, partners, and allies on every continent. Our partnerships, including our close cooperation with Pakistan, have helped put unprecedented pressure on al-Qaida and its leadership. Continued cooperation will be just as important in the days ahead, because even as we mark this milestone, we should not forget that the battle to stop al-Qaida and its syndicate of terror will not end with the death of bin Ladin. Indeed, we must take this opportunity to renew our resolve and redouble our efforts.

Read more: http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2011/05/02/hillary-clintons-remarks-on-bin-ladens-death/

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Redoubling our efforts.....guess the troops will not be coming home after all.

[gratuitous]

1. She kept using the word "justice"

I don't think that word means what she thinks it means.

[Roland99]

2. inconceivable that she wouldn't

;)

[Beacool]

5. Hillary was a NY senator at the time of 9/11.

She knows very well what happened, what it did to the city and the toll it took on its people. NY, but also NJ, PA and CT lost many people that day. Some I knew, like the husband of a coworker. I had seen them the previous Saturday morning, 3 days later he was dead. Tommy was 31 and worked at Cantor Fitzgerald. His last email to a friend who urged him to get out of the bldg. was that it looked bad. He never made it out, he died along with every one of his coworkers who made it to work that day.

I was there too, but I was fortunate enough to be able to leave the North Tower. I was in the next to the last PATH train that arrived to the WTC from NJ. I saw people jump from windows and I was across the street from the South Tower when the United plane hit it and debris flew in every direction. I was very lucky again, as none hit me or the people around me, but I think that most of us thought that we were going to die that morning.

Bin Laden died a quick death, far quicker than the people who were trapped and either jumped to their deaths or went down with the buildings. So yes, justice has been served. Even if it won't bring back the dead nor restore the NYC skyline. There's not a day that passes by that my heart wont cringe every time that I look up and see the empty space in the sky where the WTC towers used to be. That's bin Laden's gift to the city.

:-(

[gratuitous]

7. And when revenge is exacted for the murder of bin Laden

Will you feel that justice has again been served? Or will extra-legal murder be unacceptable because of who the victims will be next time? In which case, another round of "justice" will have to be paid for; this last one cost nearly a decade, billions of dollars and thousands if not millions of lives. I don't know if I can afford the extravagance.

[Beacool]

9. I said last night that I had mixed feeling about Osama's death.

He deserved his fate, but I fear that the retaliation will take many innocent lives. I wish that there had been a more subdued celebration and less chants of USA and flag waving. Those images will probably be used as a recruiting tool for the terrorists.

[intaglio]

14. And what is your solution?

What should have been done given the circumstances that Pres. Obama inherited?

Give flowers to a man who cheerfully sought, planned and paid for the death of so many? Have him submit to a show trial and then imprison him whilst his followers kidnap, behead, bomb and disfigure many more to obtain that nauseating Svengali's release. Yes, the lunatic extremists of Islam will seek revenge but they are doing that anyway.

[gratuitous]

16. If they're going to seek revenge anyway

Why not remain true to our own principles, rather than lowering ourselves to the same eye-for-an-eye game our enemies want to play? What more eloquent testimony could we give the world about the superiority of our system than to trust it to enact the justice we claim it's supposed to be able to render? If Osama bin Laden "cheerfully sought, planned and paid for the death of so many," the evidence could and should be brought out in a public forum for all to see, with every opportunity to be examined, challenged, and refuted. A conviction under those circumstances would hardly be a "show" trial, except to show the durability of the American system, and our confidence in it, even at the risk of setting bin Laden free.

But there would be no chance of that, would there?

[primavera]

17. No, no flowers

At this stage, this was probably the best outcome one could hope for. Killing ObL gives Obama a bunch of political capital and the fact that the operation was conducted surgically, with careful planning and limited collateral damage, is also helpful. But the operative clause here is "at this stage"; in other words, we could have handled this better and avoided reaching this stage in the first place. It would be nice if we learned from our past mistakes and tried to avoid repeating them. Our arrogance and mistaking vengeance for justice is a lot of what got us to the stage at which this sorry outcome was the best we could hope for. Here's hoping we do better in the future.

[iwishiwas]

11. I know

Hillary put a lot of time and effort with the families of 9/11. She was the Senator of NY and it is different-more personal in that respect. I did not know you were there. Whow. I hope you can begin to put some closure on that ordeal with the death of bin Ladin.

[Beacool]

19. Thank you.

Bin Laden's death brought back many memories. I don't like to be around on 9/11. I usually try to travel, the farther the better, but this year I think that I'll be here. It's the 10th anniversary. I can't believe that 10 years have gone by. I remember that day vividly, the images, the sounds and the burning smell that lasted for many days and could be smelled from my home across the Hudson river in NJ. The buildings smoldered for weeks.

Bin Laden is dead and good riddance, but there are many more like him in the world. That's the real problem.

:-(

[No Elephants]

12. Bin Laden said, when he saw children's blood running in the streets of Beirut,

he resolved to retaliate against us.

And so it goes.

[gratuitous]

18. I have seen reports he said that, as well

But I still would like to see evidence. It's a really childish fixation I have, and I'm striving to overcome it, but simply taking someone else's word for something in a matter of this gravity just isn't sufficient. If you tell me that a local restaurant is really good and I should try it, I'm willing to credit your word. If you tell me that someone is guilty of mass murder, as trustworthy as you might have been about the restaurant, I'm still going to be looking for a little more than just someone's word. And if it turns out that the restaurant recommendation was horrible, I'm going to be even more skeptical.

Considering how badly abused the public trust has been by our government in the last several years, I don't think it's out of bounds to insist that bin Laden's guilt be proved in a court of law beyond a reasonable doubt. That is, if we really believe in our system of government, in particular our court system.

[primavera]

15. Yeah, that makes me feel a little ill every time I hear it

When you've killed a million innocent people in the name of going after a tiny handful of criminals, I don't think "justice" is a word that fits very well anymore.

[L. Coyote]

3. The word FACT: "families can now find some comfort in the fact that justice has been served"

Is this also fact?

Clinton said ... the battle to stop al-Qaida and its "syndicate of terror" will not end with the death of bin Ladin

[Beacool]

4. Around here in the NY/NJ area people are jubilant, but they're are also concerned.

We all realize that Al Qaeda will retaliate and we've been down this road before. How many more innocents will die the next time around?

;(

[freshwest]

6. A lot of people have forgotten those events. That was a sobering reminder.

[krabigirl]

8. redoubling our efforts. Spoken like a true neocon.

[center rising]

10. What. we're just supposed to sit back and let us be attacked??

Just because Bin Laden is dead, doesn't mean we should let up in our efforts to further decay Al-Qaeda, or find other terrorists around the world.

[forty6]

13. Hillary's comment ROCK.....she's the right woman in the right job!

My opinion only!