intelligence community to complete their mission of protecting America
from terrorism.
Speaking at a closed memorial ceremony at CIA headquarters in Langley, Va., Obama praised the seven who died
Relatives and more than 1,000 CIA officers attended, including agency chief
according to the White House. The event was closed to the media for
national security reasons, according to the pool report.
“There, at the remote outpost, they were bound by a
common spirit,” Obama told the group, according to the White House.
“They heard their country’s call and answered it. They served in the
shadows and took pride in it. They were doing their job and they loved
it. They saw the danger and accepted it. They knew that the price of
freedom is high and, in an awful instant, they paid that price.
“There are no words that can ease the ache in your
hearts. But to their colleagues and all who served with them — those
here today, those still recovering, those watching around the world — I
say: Let their sacrifice be a summons. To carry on their work. To
complete this mission. To win this war, and to keep our country safe,”
Obama said.
The president also praised the intelligence community for its efforts against al-Qaida and other fundamentalist terrorists.
“The record of their service — and of this
generation of intelligence professionals — is written all around us.
It’s written in the extremists who no longer threaten our country —
because you eliminated them. It’s written in the attacks that never
occurred — because you thwarted them. And it’s written in the
Americans, across this country and around the world, who are alive
today — because you saved them,” Obama said.
—
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