Osama bin Laden Dead!

Osama bin Laden dead! Those are words some thought wouldn't be reported for many years, maybe never.

Since the attack on the United States on September 11, 2011, Osama bin Laden has been Public Enemy No. 1. U.S. military and intelligence personnel have determinedly pursued the capture or death of this man since 9/11.

U.S. Special Operations forces, in a ground attack, have killed Osama bin Laden in a mansion where he had been living in Abbottabad, Pakistan, northeast of the capital of Islamabad, and east of Peshawar.

No Americans were harmed in the attack, and great care was taken to minimize the number of civilian casualties, according to President Obama in a news conference on the evening of Sunday, May 1, 2011.

The U.S. is in possession of bin Laden's body, and his identity was confirmed with the aid of DNA matching with his sister, who recently died in the U.S.

Initial reports that bin Laden was living in this location were received in August 2010. Since that time, intelligence leads were developed, and the compound kept under surveillance, and last week, President Obama decided that sufficient intelligence had been received to authorize a ground strike on the compound where bin Laden was believed to be living.

The news of the death of Osama bin Laden brings some semblance of closure for the families of those who lost loved ones in the attacks of 9/11 and in the two wars waged since.

Bin Laden first announced that he was waging war on the United States in 1996, and was responsible for numerous attacks against U.S. interests since that time - Khobar Towers, U.S. embassies in Africa, USS Cole, World Trade Center (the first attack), and the attacks of 9/11, among others.

Many questions remain to be answered in upcoming days, including how bin Laden could have safely remained in this location for at least eight months without support or at least complicity from the Pakistani government. But those are questions for another day.

For now, share your thoughts about the victory of our military and intelligence communities that resulted in our headline - Osama bin Laden Dead!