We also acknowledge the American men and women who
deployed for more than a decade—soldiers in the Army, Navy, Marines, and Air
Force, active, guard, and reserve, as well as civilians from the intelligence
community—and the obligation of free people to recognize their sacrifice.
In a daring act of bravery, planning, and resolve,
Osama bin Laden—former head of Al Qaeda and the mastermind behind 9/11—was
called to account for his terrorist acts and killed by U.S. Special Operations
forces in his Abbottabad compound last year. The raid on May 2, 2011, was not
an isolated event but rather the product of nearly 10 years of intelligence
work. It took the efforts of two presidents, two secretaries of defense, four
directors of central intelligence, countless intelligence officers, and the
brave soldiers of SEAL Team Six to find bin Laden and execute the mission to
remove him as a threat to the United States. Just as 9/11 affected Americans of
all races, religions, and political parties, bin Laden’s death last May reduced
the threat of another 9/11 for all Americans.
As we honor those we lost 11 years ago today, let us
return the legacy of 9/11—from the opening chapter at the World Trade Center
attacks, to the death of bin Laden, to the rise of the Freedom Tower at the tip
of Manhattan—back to its rightful place as a nonpartisan, nonpolitical day of
remembrance for our nation as a whole.
About the author: Ken Sofer is a Research Assistant
with the National Security and International Policy team at the Center forAmerican Progress.
This article was published by the Center for
American Progress.
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