Battle against al-Qaeda doesn’t end with Osama’s demise: Clinton

U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton has warned that the battle against Al Qaeda did not end with the assassination of Osama Bin Laden.

Let us not forget that the battle to stop al Qaeda and its affiliates does not end with one death,” she said at a joint press conference in Rome with Italy’s foreign minister, Franco Frattini.

“We have to renew our resolve, not just in Afghanistan and Pakistan but around the world. The US will track down and where necessary kill or capture those who are directing actions against our troops. Criminals who indiscriminately murder innocent people will be brought to justice.

Visiting European officials on her first foreign visit since US commandos killed Osama in a Pakistani military compound; Clinton said the former terror chief was the sworn enemy of the United States and a danger to all humanity… The crimes that he committed, from London to Madrid, Istanbul to Bali, left thousands of people dead and maimed.”

She emphasized that while the murder of Osama represented a significant blow to al Qaeda, she cautioned that our resolve is even stronger following bin Laden's death because we know it will have an impact on those who are on the battlefield in Afghanistan.

However, Clinton also assured that her government would continue its close ties with Pakistan, despite the questions and suspicions raised by the discovery of Osama in a military compound in that country.

It is not always an easy relationship [with Pakistan], you know that, she said. On the other hand it is a productive one for both our countries and we are going to continue to cooperate between our governments, our militaries, our law-enforcement agencies but most importantly between the American and Pakistani people.

Clinton also made comments about the ongoing revolutions in much of the Arab world and how little they had to do with Osama’s philosophy.

His ideology of hatred and violence is thankfully being rejected in what we see going on in the Middle East and [North] Africa,” she stated. “People are protesting for a better future for themselves and their children. His death will make our country and the world safer. We are builders not destroyers. But this is not the end.

Clinton refused to divulge any further details of the commando raid on Osama’s compound, nor would she answer a question on whether or not the US would launch a similar attack on Moammar Gaddafi, the leader of Libya.

Finally, referring to the now-famous photograph of White House officials watching a live video of US Navy SEALs storming Osama’s compound and killing him, Clinton described it the most intense 38 minutes of her life.