— Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Monday the killing of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden is not the end of the war on terrorism and warned the network’s members that the United States would be relentless in its pursuit of them.
Clinton said bin Laden’s death at the hands of U.S. forces in Pakistan nearly a decade after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks proved the United States was committed to tracking down the perpetrators of extremist violence and bringing them to justice.
“Even as we mark this milestone, we should not forget that the battle to stop al-Qaida and its syndicate of terror will not end with the death of bin Laden,” she said.
Turning to deliver a direct message to bin Laden’s followers, she vowed: “You cannot wait us out. You cannot defeat us but you can make the choice to abandon al-Qaida and participate in a peaceful political process.”
Clinton’s message comes as the U.S. and its partners in Afghanistan are trying to convince Taliban militants to renounce ties with al-Qaida and join Afghan society as part of Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s reconciliation program.
