US celebrations bin Laden's death

US celebrations bin Laden's death

As the news of bin Laden's death spread, crowds gathered outside the White House in Washington DC to celebrate. 

Former US president George Bush called his death a "momentous achievement".

"The fight against terror goes on, but tonight America has sent an unmistakable message: No matter how long it takes, justice will be done," Bush said in a statement.

The operation had been in the making for the last nine or 10 months.inside Pakistan, there have been suggestions that Pakistani intelligence may have been protecting them

US authorities got intelligence last September and were able to track bin Laden down through his couriers. They followed them to his compound which is reported to be worth over a million dollars.

Bin Laden's was considered by many as a hero, but not to the extent that people would come out on the streets. The reaction so far not likely to be strong on the streets, perhaps a protest here or there by the religious parties

Afghan officials described bin Laden's killing as a "symbolic victory", since he was no longer directly connected to the group's field operations.

Mark Kimmit, a US military analyst, said bin Laden's death "was not the end of terrorism, but an end of a chapter."

Capturing or killing bin Laden has more iconic value. It will have symbolic value, because it has been a number of years since bin Laden has exercised day to day control over operations. We still have an al-Qaeda threat out there and that will be there for a number of years.

But (al-Qaeda) is more than bin Laden, it may be symbolised by bin Laden, but it definitely is more than bin Laden

It is, however, a major accomplishment for Obama and his national security team. Obama's predecessor, George Bush, had repeatedly vowed to bring to justice the mastermind of the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington, but never did before leaving office in early 2009.

He had been the subject of a search since he eluded US soldiers and Afghan militia forces in a large-scale assault on the Tora Bora mountains in 2001. The trail quickly went cold after he disappeared and many intelligence officials believed he had been hiding in Pakistan.

While in hiding, bin Laden had taunted the West and advocated his views in videotapes spirited from his hideaway.

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