Watch President Obama Address Nation About Osama Bin Laden Death

Watch President Obama Address Nation About Osama Bin Laden Death

Published: May 01, 2011 @ 8:30 pm
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By John Sellers

9:16 a.m. ET update: An archive of President Obama's live speech is embedded below, followed by the complete transcript of his remarks.

12:01 a.m. ET update: President Obama's live speech has concluded. We'll update this post with a permanent archive of the speech when it becomes available.

Earlier: President Barack Obama will address the nation from the East Room of the White House late Sunday night to confirm the report that Osama bin Laden has died.

Also read: Osama Bin Laden Dead; Obama: 'Justice Has Been Done'

The White House live feed will carry the president's historic speech, as will the major news networks, but you can also watch below.

 

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

Remarks by the President on Osama Bin Laden East Room

11:35 P.M. EDT

     THE PRESIDENT:  Good evening.  Tonight, I can report to the American people and to the world that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al Qaeda, and a terrorist who’s responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent men, women, and children.

It was nearly 10 years ago that a bright September day was darkened by the worst attack on the American people in our history.  The images of 9/11 are seared into our national memory -- hijacked planes cutting through a cloudless September sky; the Twin Towers collapsing to the ground; black smoke billowing up from the Pentagon; the wreckage of Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where the actions of heroic citizens saved even more heartbreak and destruction.

And yet we know that the worst images are those that were unseen to the world.  The empty seat at the dinner table.  Children who were forced to grow up without their mother or their father.  Parents who would never know the feeling of their child’s embrace.  Nearly 3,000 citizens taken from us, leaving a gaping hole in our hearts.

On September 11, 2001, in our time of grief, the American people came together.  We offered our neighbors a hand, and we offered the wounded our blood.  We reaffirmed our ties to each other, and our love of community and country.  On that day, no matter where we came from, what God we prayed to, or what race or ethnicity we were, we were united as one American family.

We were also united in our resolve to protect our nation and to bring those who committed this vicious attack to justice.  We quickly learned that the 9/11 attacks were carried out by al Qaeda -- an organization headed by Osama bin Laden, which had openly declared war on the United States and was committed to killing innocents in our country and around the globe. 

Tags: Barack Obama, Osama Bin Laden, President Obama, Television
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