Fairbanks Daily News - Miner: Alaska congressional delegation applauds military role in bin Laden's death
FAIRBANKS - Alaska’s congressional delegation late Sunday applauded the killing of Osama bin Laden by the U.S. military.
"This has been a long time coming,” said Republican U.S. Rep. Don Young. “Terror mastermind bin Laden and his followers have been terrorizing nations for years and hiding like the cowards they are. Too many lives have been sacrificed in this search.”
The news comes amid the deployment of thousands of soldiers from Fort Wainwright to Afghanistan, attacked by the United States following the Sept. 11, 2001 terror strikes against the United States that were masterminded by bin Laden. Dozens of Alaska-based soldiers have been killed in wars in Afghanistan and Iraq following the 2001 attacks.
The current deployment out of Fort Wainwright is the third year-long assignment of the post’s mainstay unit since 2001. Its first deployment was actually longer, extended to 16 months in Iraq. Its second deployment was also to Iraq.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a Republican who is a member of the defense and homeland security subcommittees of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said the killing of bin Laden “casts a well-deserved spotlight on our men and women who fight in the shadows."?
She added that the killing sends a message: “If a fight is brought to the American people, we will finish it. But it's crucial that the world recognize while the man is gone, the mindlessly-violent al-Qaida movement he led and the hatred he represented are still very much alive."
Sen. Mark Begich noted the duration of the pursuit of bin Laden while also praising the military.
“Since the unforgettable tragedy of Sept. 11 nearly a decade ago, Americans have waited for justice to be served,” said Begich, a Democrat who is a member of the Armed Services and Veterans Affairs Committees and the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
“It was a decade-long commitment by two presidents and thousands of American service members that I hope brings some sense of relief for the families of 9/11 victims and will help break the al-Qaida network worldwide.”
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Source: By: Rod Boyce. Originially Published on May 1, 2011
