The bin Laden operation is the perfect vindication of the war on terror.

The greatest threat to American security today is from Al Qaeda and other Islamic terrorist organizations. Seeing the war as over will not help this nation to keep vigilant as it must to stay secure.

Those sincerely concerned with America’s security should reject the notion that bin Laden’s death will allow us to declare “mission accomplished” and withdraw from the Middle East, and the world.

America's war with al Qaeda will not stop with the death of its leader, Osama bin Laden, Hillary Clinton has warned, telling the terrorist network: "You cannot wait us out; you cannot defeat us."

Al Qaeda was founded by bin Laden in the late 1980’s after the Soviet retreat from Afghanistan to continue the “holy war” against the West and install fundamentalist Islamic regimes across the world. Since then, the group has committed numerous acts of terrorism in Africa, the Middle East, Europe, Southern Asia, and the United States.

What the death of the movement’s figurehead means for al Qaeda, Pakistan, Afghanistan—and the West.

Al Qaeda is likely to survive bin Laden’s killing for one simple reason: the group had already largely passed him by.

On September 14, 2001, Congress authorized the President to “use all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored such organizations or persons….” This report provides a legislative history of this statute, the “Authorization for Use of Military Force” (AUMF).

The House on Thursday approved the fiscal 2012 defense authorization bill 322-96 after Republicans successfully fought off Democrats' attempts to strip divisive language on detainees and the use of military force.

Two presidents from opposing parties have made it clear that the United States would not stand idly by when other countries are unwilling or unable to ferret out the terrorists among them. The presidents were bolstered in their conclusions by the original Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) and by international law, which recognizes a country’s inherent right to self-defense.

As President Obama prepares to announce his policy for drawing down U.S. forces in Afghanistan, the percentage of Americans who favor removing the troops as soon as possible has reached an all-time high according to Pew Research Center surveys.

Failure to adequately deal with the terrorist threat in Pakistan will not only prolong this struggle, but it will severely undermine on-going U.S. efforts in Afghanistan, risk the further destabilization of a nuclear Pakistan, and ultimately threaten the U.S. homeland.

Even with bin Laden out of the picture there is still a strong and dangerous contingent of terrorist networks in Pakistan. The worst thing we could do now would be to take bin Laden's death or the progress made in Afghanistan as an excuse to withdraw forces prematurely, thereby easing the pressure on militant Islamist groups in Afghanistan and Pakistan.