President Obama Has Made It Clear That

As A Matter Of International Law, The United States Is In An Armed Conflict With Al-qaida, The Taliban, And Associated Forces, In Response To The 9/11 Attacks, And We May Also Use Force Consistent With Our Inherent Right Of National Self-defense.

Al-qa'ida Does Not Follow A Traditional Command Structure, Wear Uniforms, Carry Its Arms Openly, Or Mass Its Troops At The Borders Of The Nations It Attacks. Nonetheless, It Possesses The Demonstrated Capability To Strike With Little Notice And Cause Significant Civilian Or Military Casualties.

Our Democratic Values Also Include - And Our National Security Demands - Open And Transparent Government. Some Information Obviously Needs To Be Protected. And Since His First Days In Office, President Obama Has Worked To Strike The Proper Balance Between The Security The American People Deserve And The Openness Our Democratic Society Expects.

I Want To Be Very Clear - Whenever It Is Possible To Capture A Suspected Terrorist, It Is The Unqualified Preference Of The Administration To Take Custody Of That Individual So We Can Obtain Information That Is Vital To The Safety And Security Of The American People.

We Know From The Material That Was Recovered From The Bin Laden Compound That Bin Laden Was Looking At The 10th Anniversary Of 9/11 As An Opportunity To Strike Yet Again At The U.s. Homeland.