Obama: ‘I could not be prouder’
President Obama pauses in the East Room of the White House in Washington on Monday, May 2, 2011, before awarding the Medal of Honor posthumously to Pfc. Anthony T. Kaho'ohanohano and to Pfc. Henry Svehla, who died in the Korean War. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) 
In this Oct. 7, 2011 file photo, Osama bin Laden is seen at an undisclosed location in this television image. A person familiar with developments said Sunday, May 1, 2011 that bin Laden is dead and the U.S. has the body. (AP Photo/Al Jazeera, File)
President Barack Obama walks down the Cross Hall on the way to the East Room to make a televised statement on the death of Osama bin Laden from the White House in Washington, Sunday, May 1, 2011. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
U.S. President Barack Obama speaks after making a televised statement at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Monday, May 1, 2011. Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has been killed in a U.S. operation, Obama said. Photographer: Brendan Smialowski/Pool via Bloomberg
Crowds celebrate on Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House in Washington, early Monday, May 2, 2011, after President Barack Obama announced that Osama bin Laden had been killed. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
A large, jubilant crowd reacts to the news of Osama Bin Laden's death at the corner of Church and Vesey Streets, adjacent to ground zero, during the early morning hours of Tuesday, May 2, 2011 in New York. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)
An Afghan youth walks past by a television announces the death of Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden at a television selling market in Kabul, Afghanistan on Monday, May 2, 2011. Bin Laden, the glowering mastermind behind the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks that killed thousands of people, was slain in his hideout in Pakistan early Monday in a firefight with U.S. forces, ending a manhunt that spanned a frustrating decade.(AP Photo/Musadeq Sadeq)
In this Aug. 15, 1998 file photo, a United States Marine talks with an FBI investigator in front of the damaged U.S. Embassy in the capital Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Osama bin Laden, leader of the al-Qaida organization behind the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks against the United States and blamed for the 1998 embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania, is dead, a person familiar with the situation said late Sunday. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley, File)
In this Sept. 11, 2001 file photo, a jet airliner is lined up on one of the World Trade Center towers in New York. A person familiar with developments said Sunday, May 1, 2011 that Osama bin Laden is dead and the U.S. has the body. (AP Photo/Carmen Taylor, File)
Dionne Layne, facing camera, hugs Mary Power as they react to the news of the death of Osama bin Laden, Monday, May 2, 2011 in New York. At left is the rising tower, 1 World Trade Center, also known as the Freedom Tower. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
A large, jubilant crowd reacts to the news of Osama Bin Laden's death at the corner of Church and Vesey Streets, adjacent to ground zero, during the early morning hours of Tuesday, May 2, 2011 in New York. President Barack Obama announced Sunday night, May 1, 2011, that Osama bin Laden was killed in an operation led by the United States. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)
University of Georgia students wave flags as they celebrate the death of Osama bin Laden in front of a Civil War Memorial on the morning of Monday May 2, 2011 in Athens, Ga. (AP Photo/Athens Banner-Herald, David Manning) 
Melissa LaCour, left, Brittany McGarry, second from left, Bryan Murray, second from right, and Dennis Vincent celebrate outside the ABC studio in New York's Times Square as news of Osama bin Laden's death is announced on the ticker, Monday, May 2, 2011. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
Afghan President Hamid Karzai speaks during a district assembly gathering at the presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan Monday, May 2, 2011. Afghanistan's president lauded Osama bin Laden's death as a serious blow to terrorism Monday and argued that the strike in Pakistan proves the real fight against terrorists is outside his country's borders. (AP Photo/Hossein Fatemi)
Crowds gathers outside the White House in Washington early Monday, May 2, 2011, to celebrate after President Barack Obama announced the death of Osama bin Laden. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Dionne Layne, facing camera, hugs Mary Power as they react to the news of the death of Osama bin Laden, Monday, May 2, 2011 in New York. At left is the under construction 1 World Trade Center, also known as the Freedom Tower. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
In this undated still from video released Sept. 10, 2003, Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, left, and his top deputy Ayman al-Zawahri appear. A person familiar with developments on Sunday, May 1, 2011 says bin Laden is dead and the U.S. has the body. (AP Photo/Al Jazeera via APTN)
In this file image provided by Intel Center, Al-Qaida's No. 2, Ayman al-Zawahri, speaks during a new 106-minute long video released Sept. 22, 2009 predicting President Barack Obama's downfall at the hands of the Muslim world. Officials also said they believe the death of Osama bin Laden puts al-Qaida on a path of decline that will be difficult to reverse, but there was no word on the whereabouts of al-Zawahri, bin Laden's second-in-command. (AP Photo/IntelCenter, File)
Douglas Sidialo, who lost his sight in the 1998 bombing of the U.S. embassy in Nairobi pray at the memorial remembering the victims in Nairobi, Kenya, Monday, May 2. 2011. Bin Laden, the glowering mastermind behind the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks that killed thousands of people, was slain in his hideout in Pakistan early Monday in a firefight with U.S. forces, ending a manhunt that spanned a frustrating decade. (AP Photo/Khalil Senosi)
A Jordanian man reacts as he watch a TV news report about the killing of Osama bin Laden at a coffeshop in Amman, Jordan, Monday, May 2, 2011. Bin Laden, the glowering mastermind behind the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks that killed thousands of people was slain in his luxury hideout in Pakistan early Monday in a firefight with U.S. forces, ending a manhunt that spanned a frustrating decade. Arabic writing in screen bottom reads " Counter-terrorism unit in US Army killed Bin Laden after one hour operation". (AP Photo/ Nader Daoud)
A man who said he was dressed as "Captain America," cheers early Monday, May 2, 20111, across the street from the White House in Washington, as people gather to cheer the United States after it was announced that Osama bin Laden has been killed. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
A large, jubilant crowd reacts to the news of Osama Bin Laden's death at the corner of Church and Vesey Streets, adjacent to ground zero, during the early morning hours of Tuesday, May 2, 2011 in New York. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)
By Kara Rowland, Eli Lake and Stephen Dinan
With the killing of Osama bin Laden, the United States has “kept its commitment to see that justice is done,” President Obama said Monday.
“The world is safer — it is a better place because of the death of Osama bin Laden,” Mr. Obama said at an event conferring the Medal of Honor on two soldiers who died in the Korean War.
“Today we are reminded that, as a nation, there’s nothing we can’t do when we put our shoulders to the wheel, when we work together. And we remember the sense of unity that defines us as Americans.”
He said that sense of unity is reflected in the enthusiasm of people who gathered outside the White House and at Ground Zero in New York to celebrate the death of the al Qaeda leader.
“People are proud to live in the United States of America,” he said.
The successful raid on a compound in Pakistan that killed bin Laden on Sunday “would not have happened” without the efforts of Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates; Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and Marine Corps Gen. James E. Cartwright, Joint Chiefs vice chairman, Mr. Obama said, praising all members of the nation’s armed forces.
“As commander-in-chief, I could not be prouder of our men and women in uniform,” he said.
The president awarded the medals to the families of Army Pfcs. Anthony T. Kaho’ohanohano and Henry Svehla, both of whom sacrificied themselves to save other soldiers during the Korean war.
Bin Laden’s body was buried at sea after he was killed by U.S. forces in a surprise attack Sunday on the compound where he had been living in Pakistan, U.S. officials said as new details emerged about the dramatic operation that brings to an end a decade-long manhunt for the world’s top terrorist.
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