Justice: Check -- Osama bin Laden's death a step forward for war on terror

As most of us watched with tears in our eyes on Sept. 11, 2001, rescue workers, then-President George W. Bush and thousands of service members all over the world vowed that the deaths of more than 3,000 people in New York and Washington -- and the heroism of brave Americans on a flight that crashed to the ground in Pennsylvania -- would not go unavenged.

We told the world that there would be repercussions for the horrors we saw that day -- and promised the families of those we lost that we would never forget.

And today, once again, we can honestly say that promise to remember -- and to act -- has been kept.

Osama bin Laden has successfully hidden from U.S. forces for most of the decade since that fateful day in 2001 -- and it is a testament to the intelligence community and our men and women in uniform that he has been brought to justice today.

It took a while, but they got their man.

Will bin Laden's death end the need for the war on terror? Unlikely. But today, we can mark a milestone achieved -- and hope for more like them in the future.

There will be people who will use this death to spur on further violence against America and its allies. And we have to be prepared for that -- and be ready to respond if it occurs.

But today we can pause to think not only about those who died on Sept. 11, but about those who have given their lives to win this battle against evil.

Hopefully this is a first step -- a big first step -- toward bringing U.S. troops home.

At the very least, it is as President Barack Obama said, "justice."

Published in Editorials on May 2, 2011 10:55 AM