WASHINGTON — Nearly 10 years after the 9/11 attacks, Americans seemed to have given up hope on ever capturing or killing the ever-elusive Osama bin Laden, the man who had become the devil incarnate to many in the world.
But Sunday night that all changed.
President Obama late Sunday night announced that bin Laden had been killed in Pakistan by U.S. forces in a firefight. He said U.S. forces then took custody of his body.
He had become a figure of evil, but also a punchline for talk shows.
After the U.S. attacked Afghanistan after 9/11, it was long believed that bin Laden was hiding out in the tribal areas of Pakistan.
President George W. Bush got some grief for not killing or capturing him during his two-terms. And many assumed the trail by now had gone cold and the master of elusiveness would die of natural causes.
Of course, authorities don’t expect for al Qaeda to vanish. However, the death is, if anything, a symbolic victory for the U.S. Others believe it could have an impact on al Qaeda operations.
