US Senate honors troops in Osama mission

Updated at: 0627 PST, Wednesday, May 04, 2011
WASHINGTON: The US Senate Tuesday paid tribute to the intelligence services and commandos involved in the mission targeting al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, as one key lawmaker said it created "a time for national unity and celebration."

The Senate voted 97-0 for a resolution "honoring the members of the military and intelligence community who carried out the mission that killed Osama bin Laden."

The resolution said bin Laden "was the leader of the al Qaeda terrorist organization, the most significant terrorism threat to the United States and the international community" and "the architect" of attacks which killed nearly 3,000 civilians on September 11, 2001.

Republican Senator John McCain during a discussion of the resolution, "This is a time for national unity and celebration. It is a time to finally close a painful chapter in the history of our nation, even as our larger fight continues."

Senate majority leader Harry Reid called bin Laden "the most wanted and most hunted man in the world," and added that "his was the face of our enemy and the face of evil."

Speaking of the mission that killed bin Laden, Reid said, "This is the newest proud page in the long story of the American hero -- the unknown soldiers, the unsung saviors who sacrifice for our country's flag and their countrymen's freedom. They don't ask for recognition and they don't ask questions. They just answer their nation when it calls."