Sound Off On bin Laden's Death

If it has not been made clear at your home, school, or place of work this morning, the news of Osama Bin Laden's death at the hands of the U.S. military has swept the national and international community since Sunday evening's announcement by President Barack Obama.

However, this conversation is also an intensely local one with Johnston residents talking about how out troops should now come home.

How does this announcement affect you? Has this brought a significant degree of closure to our nation's efforts to combat terrorism in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks?  

JohnstonPatch is as much your site as it is ours. We welcome your (tasteful) comments in our homepage comment stream, as an addendum to this article below. If you have been thinking all night of a response, feel free to send your longer comments to Joseph.Hutnak@patch.com and we will feature them as guest columns as well.

A Quick Breakdown Of the Facts from SUMOskinny

Our partner Stacey Laesca, Editor in Chief at SUMOskinny has compiled a rundown of the facts for us.

The American government has been following one of Osama Bin Laden's trusted couriers for about four years. They tracked the man to a lavish residence in Pakistan.

According to the Associated Press: “'Intelligence analysis concluded that this compound was custom built in 2005 to hide someone of significance,' with walls as high as 18 feet and topped by barbed wire, according to one official. Despite the compound's estimated $1 million cost and two security gates, it had no phone or Internet running into the house.”

President Obama reportedly wanted swift action, and on Friday set the go-ahead in motion.

The Navy SEALS were in and out of the residence in 40 minutes.

The United States has now set out a global travel warning for Americans.

While those are the facts, here are the feelings, best said by former President George W. Bush: "The fight against terror goes on, but tonight America has sent an unmistakable message: No matter how long it takes, justice will be done."

A full write-up of President Barack Obama's announcement and the historic news of Bin Laden's death can also be found here on the Huffington Post.