Biden says with death of Al Qaeda's Ayman al-Zawahiri, 'justice has been delivered'

President Biden.
(Image credit: Jim Watson/AFP/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

President Biden confirmed on Monday evening that he authorized the weekend drone strike that killed Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leader of Al Qaeda.

Al-Zawahiri, 71, was "deeply involved" in the planning of the Sept. 11 attacks, Biden said, and was the "mastermind" of the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole, which killed 17 American sailors. With al-Zawahiri's death, "justice has been delivered," Biden said, and this is proof that "no matter how long it takes, no matter where you hide, if you are a threat to our people, the United States will find you and take you out."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.