HR0333 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0333 LRB097 11837 GRL 55158 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, On the evening of May 1, 2011, members of the elite United States Navy SEALS, under direct orders from President Barack Obama, conducted a daring raid of a guarded compound in the city of Abbottabad, Pakistan, where it was believed that a high value target in the U.S. War on Terror was hiding; and

WHEREAS, The purpose of the mission was to capture or kill Osama bin Laden, the leader of the international terrorist organization known throughout the world as al-Qaeda; and

WHEREAS, The Navy SEALS conducted their mission with bravery, precision, and skill, finding and eliminating Osama bin Laden while limiting civilian casualties; and

WHEREAS, The terrorist Osama bin Laden is widely credited with being the mastermind of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and United Airlines Flight 93, where more than 3,000 men, women, and children were murdered in a series of deadly suicide attacks; and

WHEREAS, Under bin Laden's leadership, al-Qaeda conducted several other bombings and similar attacks in the United States and other nations, resulting in the deaths of countless civilians of all races, religions, and ethnicities; and

WHEREAS, More than any other terrorist organization, al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden have been the central target in the War on Terror, a general term used to describe the efforts of the U.S. military and its allies to bring to justice those responsible for murdering civilians in the name of religious extremism; and

WHEREAS, The effort to bring the terrorist bin Laden to justice was the direct result of the efforts of President Barack Obama and his predecessor, President George W. Bush, who both focused the nation's intelligence resources on finding leaders of al-Qaeda, extracting valuable information, and using that information to ultimately find and kill Osama bin Laden; and

WHEREAS, President Obama made a risky and daring decision to send in special forces, rather than bomb the facility in question, to ensure that American citizens would know for sure that the terrorist bin Laden had been eliminated and justice had been done; and

WHEREAS, The brave men and women of the U.S. armed forces and military intelligence institutions, in particular the members of the Central Intelligence Agency, National Security Agency, Navy SEALS, and their commanders, deserve the majority of the praise and credit for years of hard work in tracking, locating and ultimately eliminating the most wanted criminal in American history; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush, as well as the military and civilian leadership under them, who worked tirelessly to bring justice to the man most responsible for the senseless murder of thousands of innocent people and continue to work day and night to disrupt and eliminate the al-Qaeda terrorist network and all similar groups that fight against the ideals of our nation; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies be presented to Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush as a symbol of our gratitude and respect.