Local reaction to Bin Laden�s death

“When 9-11 happened I was a complete zombie,” said Vincent Fiordilino, owner and general manager of Brooklyn Boys restaurant.

At the time, Fiordilino owned a restaurant in Brooklyn and said the attacks on the twin towers affected him so much, he decided to close his business, pack up his family and move here to Arizona in 2002. “I walked around numb for a long time. I moved here to try to forget about it, but it wasn’t something I could get over.”

As the world knows, on Sunday night President Obama officially announced the death of Osama Bin Laden, as a direct result of a covert U.S. military operation.

“I would like to congratulate all members of the U.S. Military and CIA both past and present who participated in this mission,” said Chief of Police Kirk Fitch. “As you know the mission of capturing or killing this nation's most dangerous fugitive has been going on for nearly 10 years.”

“As a veteran, I applaud the efforts of our men in women in uniform or covertly fighting for America's security. As a law enforcement official, I must remind everyone that although this is a major accomplishment for our nation as a whole, we must be ever vigilant against those who still wish us harm,” Fitch said. “The men and women of the Maricopa Police Department hold our oath sacred; when we swore to support the constitution of the United States and the constitution and laws of the State of Arizona, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same and defend them against all enemies, foreign and domestic."

Serving Arizona’s 7th District, U.S. Congressional Representative Raul Grijalva stated, “Thanks to a great deal of hard work and perseverance by our intelligence and military services, the world’s most notorious terrorist has met the same fate he dealt to generations of innocent civilians. While we will never calculate the homes destroyed, the lives ruined and the families broken on his account, we know that he will never again direct an attack or plan an operation. I extend my sincere thanks to President Obama and the many brave men and women involved in the operation, who have so diligently sought the final outcome that eluded us for the past decade. This is not the end of our fight against terrorists who wish us harm, but it does close a decade-long chapter in that fight. Hopefully we can begin now to look at how we bring our soldiers home from Afghanistan and Iraq. To the man who claimed that he would never face American justice, we can now say that we have defeated him and are ready to move forward together as a stronger nation.”

“I also applaud the effectiveness of our government and especially our military to destroy those that sponsor terror,” said Mayor Anthony Smith. “To protect our freedoms, we have no other choice but to win the war against terror on all fronts, both foreign and domestic.”

Alterra subdivision resident, Jeff Anthony, served in the military from 1997 through 2001, “I was there under the Clinton administration when we first started the hunt for Bin Laden in Afghanistan, and Sept. 11 is always in the back of my mind. It happened as I ended my service, and I feel this gives closure to a lot of people who have been involved and affected by the war on terror.”

“I tell you when I heard about it and then saw those people celebrating in New York and Washington—I know exactly how they feel.” said Fiorilino. “I would have been out there with them. I’ve waited a long time to hear this.”    
    
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