Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is the latest Bush administration official to make a statement about the death of Osama Bin Laden at the order of President Obama. And as Rumsfeld sees it, the credit goes to two sources: the American military and the counterterror policies he helped put in place.
“All of this was made possible by the relentless, sustained pressure on al Qaeda that the Bush administration initiated after 9/11 and that the Obama administration has wisely chosen to continue,” Rumsfeld wrote on Facebook.
Rumsfeld said that the controversial military detention center in Guantanamo Bay he helped establish “may have played an essential role in this success.”
Tick-tocks of the operation that killed bin Laden show the intelligence that led to his death was obtained by American agents in 2007. Agents discovered bin Laden’s location nine months ago, and Obama gave the order to strike Sunday.
Rumsfeld wrote that American special forces deserve to take the victory lap today.
“Credit belongs to the courageous special operators who executed the mission,” he wrote. “As America awoke to celebration this morning, these professionals quietly went about their work, for they know as well as any that this fight is not over. ”
Read his full statement:
The man who once called the United States “a paper tiger” and issued a fatwa to “kill all Americans” believed that our nation would not strike back if provoked. Today that man, responsible for the deaths of 3,000 Americans on September 11th, Osama bin Laden, is dead. It is an achievement of which our country can be proud.
Credit belongs to the courageous special operators who executed the mission. As America awoke to celebration this morning, these professionals quietly went about their work, for they know as well as any that this fight is not over.
Recognition should also go to the intelligence professionals who have worked tirelessly over the past decade to collect information on al Qaeda. Initial reports indicate that intelligence efforts at Guantanamo Bay may have played an essential role in this success.
All of this was made possible by the relentless, sustained pressure on al Qaeda that the Bush administration initiated after 9/11 and that the Obama administration has wisely chosen to continue.
This is an important victory in the fight against Islamist terrorism, but the struggle will go on. We must not have any illusions that it ends today or that America can afford to let down its guard tomorrow.
