WASHINGTON, May 14 (UPI) -- National security adviser Tom Donilon says the death of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden shows U.S. "friends and adversaries … we do what we say we will do."
Speaking Friday at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Donilon described the plan to find and kill bin Laden, praising President Barack Obama for what he called a "quintessentially presidential decision."
"The quiet and determined pursuit of bin Laden is not the only example of how President Obama matches his words with action," Donilon said.
"(O)ur action sent a powerful message for America's friends and adversaries: We do what we say we will do. It is a message of persistence, determination, and dedication."
Donilon said U.S. determination to do "what it says it is going to do" cuts across "presidencies and parties."
In praising Obama's handling of the bin Laden operation, Donilon called the president's decision-making process "intensely rigorous -- he challenged assumptions and pushed on the analysis and the intelligence to make sure we actually knew what we thought we knew."
He also praised the military personnel who carried out the operation and called it "one of the great achievements in the history of the intelligence community."
"It was a success that was years in the making -- across three U.S. administrations -- which is why the president's first two phone calls once our helicopters were out of harm's way were to Presidents (George W.) Bush and (Bill) Clinton.
Donilon said Obama's propensity for matching words with action will also be "the case with respect to Iran."
"From his first days in office, he has made clear to Iran that it has a choice: it can act to restore the confidence of the international community in the purposes of its nuclear program by fully complying with the (International Atomic Energy Agency) and U.N. Security Council resolutions, or it can continue to shirk its international obligations, which will only increase its isolation and the consequences for the regime. There is no escaping or evading that choice."
