America reacts to Osama’s death

Late Sunday night, President Barack Obama announced that Osama bin Laden had been killed by U.S. armed forces. He called the assassination the greatest achievement made thus far in the War on Terror.

“The world is safer. It is a better place because of the death of Osama bin Laden,” Obama said in his address to the nation.

Bin Laden’s death marks the end of a decade-long manhunt that began shortly after the September 11 attacks in 2001.

When it was announced in 2001 that bin Laden was dead, festivities began to spring up all over the country with national news showcasing major cities, specifically New York and Washington, D.C. Thousands showed up at ground zero to remember the lives lost during the tragic incident.

Oxford joined the rest of the country in celebration with reports that Kincannon Hall and Crosby Hall were host to several parties after hearing the news.

Sancreisha Morgan, a freshman political science major, said she witnessed some of the celebrations around Oxford.

“Last night I saw on Jackson Ave. a group of boys driving a truck with flags and everything,” Morgan said. “I think it boosted our patriotism.”

On the other hand, Lucinda Morgan, senior psychology major, said she believes that the celebrations may have been a bit excessive.

President Obama and his national security team watched the strike on bin Laden in real time. According to the Associated Press, members of the Navy SEAL team typically wear helmet cameras that transmit sound and video to their operation centers and that data can be fed live to the White House and Pentagon.

The White House counterterrorism adviser John Brennan said they would not release any information about the raid at this time.

The Associated Press announced that bin Laden was hunted down based on information first gleaned years ago from detainees at secret CIA prison sites in Eastern Europe, officials disclosed Monday.

U.S. officials said a DNA match proved his identity, and his body was taken for a burial at sea.

Although many believe he’s dead, some remain skeptical.

Amber Dickson, freshman criminal justice major, said she doesn’t believe he was assassinated.

“I don’t think he’s dead,” Dickson said. “He’s been dead once before, now he’s just in hiding. When they show me a body, I’ll believe it.”

In an AP article, U.S. officials addressed the skepticism that followed after announcing his death.

“We are going to do everything we can to make sure that nobody has any basis to try to deny that we got Osama bin Laden,” John Brennan, President Obama’s counterterrorism adviser, said Monday.

He also said the U.S. will “share what we can because we want to make sure that not only the American people, but the world understand exactly what happened.”

The next step is to deal with any possible of kind of retaliation.

“I’m glad he’s dead, but I’m scared about the U.S. now because they are going to retaliate,” Quadray Kohlhim, business marketing freshman, said. “They’re not going to stop until somebody’s dead. Similar to 9-11, only worse.”

According to an AP article, halfway around the world a prominent al-Qaida commentator vowed revenge for bin Laden’s death.

“Woe to his enemies. By God, we will avenge the killing of the Sheik of Islam,” he wrote under his online name Assad al-Jihad2. “Those who wish that jihad has ended or weakened, I tell them: Let us wait a little bit.”

The terrorists “almost certainly will attempt to avenge” bin Laden’s death, CIA Director Leon Panetta wrote in a memo. “Bin Laden is dead. Al-Qaida is not.”

After the announcement, the Department of Homeland Security warned that the death would likely be motivation for attacks.

“While there are no specific, bin Laden-related threats at this time, every logical and prudent step is being taken to mitigate any developing threats,” FBI spokesman Paul Bresson said in an AP article.