JOHN HOWARD APPLAUDS DEATH OF OSAMA BIN LADEN

Sydney Daily Telegraph 3^rd May 2011: NEWS!

Former Prime Minister John Howard said yesterday the death of Osama bin Laden had delivered justice for those who died in terror attacks in the US and Bali.

Mr Howard said the death ‘removes from the world’ a man who stood for ‘unspeakable evil,’ delivering justice to his victims.

The top evil man has been taken out...and that is very good news, Mr Howard said.

Mr Howard, who was in Washington the day of the September 11 attacks, said the US should be congratulated on the operation that led to bin Laden’s death.

But he warned there would still be a ‘long fight’ ahead in the war against terror.

We have to be vigilant lest there be some kind of retaliatory attack, he said. That is the nature of the animal.

But, he said, it was ‘reminder that justice can be delivered,’ even if it takes almost a decade.

At least we can say to them, and the memory of those who died, ‘well we got the person who is the mastermind,’ Mr Howard said.

Meanwhile, former US president George W Bush congratulated President Barack Obama after learning of bin Laden’s death.

Mr Bush said he received a telephone call from Mr Obama who informed him of the successful operation.

This momentous achievement marks a victory for America, for people who seek peace around the world, and for all those who lost loved ones on September 11, 2001.

He said the US ‘has sent an unmistakable message. No matter how long it takes, justice will be done’

For Barack Obama, battered by high fuel prices, sinking poll numbers and even questions about the legitimacy of his presidency, the killing of Osama bin Laden reverberates as a singular moment in his tenure and his quest for a second term.

As Mr Obama proclaimed yesterday, ‘the most significant achievement to date’ in the war against al-Qaeda was a triumph for the US military and intelligence personnel who hunted down and killed the architect of the September 11, 2001 attacks.

It also was a milestone for Mr Obama, a foreign policy novice when he took office, who can now claim a national security victory that eluded his predecessor for eight years.

The development is ‘great boost for him, as it would be for any president,’ US pollster Andrew Kohut said.

This is the most symbolic victory he could have. It’s not the end of the war on terror, but it is likely to be seen as a great achievement for the US.

But more details are likely to emerge in coming days that could alter public attitudes toward the stunning event. And the unexpected news that ‘justice had been done’ after almost a decade-long hunt, may not be the turning point many Obama supporters would like it to be.

Similar developments over the years, such as the successful Persian Gulf war of the early 1990s or the apprehension of Saddam Hussein in 2003, did not prove to have lasting impact.

But the immediate result will almost certainly be a boost to Mr Obama’s sagging popularity, which had hit the lowest levels of his presidency.

As of late last night, Mr Obama could claim a military achievement of a magnitude unmatched by recent Democratic presidents. The calibre of his leadership, often the target of withering attacks by the Republican opposition, has now been bolstered in a very tangible way.

Another Democratic president, Jimmy Carter, had to break the sad news to the nation that a rescue attempt to free the US hostages in Iran had not only failed but had resulted in the loss of American lives. By contrast, Mr Obama could report no Americans were harmed in the operation to kill bin Laden.

And in his speech to America, he made clear he had been in the driver’s seat.

Tracing the roots of the mission back almost a year, Mr Obama strengthened and validated his oft-criticised reputation for caution. Bin Laden’s death will remind Americans and the world, of the might of the US military, and Mr Obama’s resolve.