WASHINGTON – US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Monday the battle against al Qaida didn’t end with
Osama bin Laden’s death and vowed that America would stay committed to fighting terror around the globe.
“The
fight continues and we will never waver,” Clinton declared at the State
Department Monday morning. “We must take this opportunity to renew our
resolve and redouble our efforts.”
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World leaders breathe sighs of relief over bin Laden hitIn particular, she stressed, “In Afghanistan we will continue taking the fight to al Qaida and their Taliban allies.”
But
she said that the demise of bin Laden had strengthened America’s hand
and its message to groups such as the Taliban to lay down their arms.
“Our
message to the Taliban remains the same, but today it may have greater
resonance: You cannot wait us out. You cannot defeat us. But you can
make the choice to abandon al Qaida and participate in a peaceful
political process.”
Clinton also pointed out that bin Laden’s elimination comes at a time
when citizens throughout the Middle East have been calling for greater
freedom and representative government.
“History will record that bin Laden’s death came at time of great
movements towards freedom and democracy, at a time when the people
across the Middle East and North Africa are rejecting the extremist
narrative,” she said. “There is no better rebuke to al Qaida and its
heinous ideology.”
In her short address, Clinton spent considerable time emphasizing the
importance of the American relationship with Pakistan, calling the
country in which bin Laden was found a partner of the US.
The United States has had an uneasy relationship with Islamabad, with
many intelligence figures long charging that the government was
harboring extremists and complicating American efforts to stamp out al
Qaida while at the same time acknowledging its significant strides and
key importance as an American ally.
Both Clinton and US President Barack Obama when he spoke Sunday night have tried to use conciliatory tones.
“In recent years, the cooperation between our governments, militaries
and law enforcement agencies increased pressure on al Qaida and the
Taliban,” Clinton said of Pakistan. “This progress must continue, and we
are committed to our partnership.”
Clinton noted that Pakistanis as well as other Muslims were victims of
al Qaida and branded bin Laden an enemy of all those who support peace
and coexistence.
“These were attacks against the whole world,” she said.
Nothing can be done to replace those whose lives were lost, she noted,
but she added, “I hope their families can now find some comfort in the
fact that justice has been served.”
DNA
tests on the body of Osama bin Laden showed a virtual 100 percent match
to relatives, and a woman believed to be his wife also identified him by
name, a senior US intelligence official told reporters on Monday.
The
United States was now reviewing a large cache of materials seized at
the compound in Pakistan where US forces killed bin Laden, the official
said, speaking on condition of anonymity to reporters.
"Those
materials are currently being exploited and analyzed and a task force is
being set up at CIA ... given the volume of materials collected at the
raid site," the official said.Reuters contributed to this report.