Former Bucks Congressman Reacts to bin Laden's Death

James Greenwood watched the second plane hit the Twin Towers, turned to his staffers gathered around the television and said, “This is the work of Osama bin Laden.”

On Sept. 11, 2001, Greenwood was the congressman representing Bucks County and a small part of Montgomery County.

On Sunday night, he learned along with the rest of the world that the man believed to be responsible for those attacks was dead at the hands of U.S. special forces.

Monday, he reflected on what the death of bin Laden might mean.

“The hunt for this murderer that took nearly 10 years is finally over,” Greenwood said. “More importantly, though, this brings a sense of national pride, that when we say we’re going to do something, we do it, no matter how long it takes and no matter how dear the price.”

Today, Greenwood is head of the Biotechnology Industry Organization, a position he recently agreed in a new contract to hold for another three years, he said Monday.

But 10 years ago, he was Bucks County’s congressman.

On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, Greenwood was at a meeting of the Pew Oceans Commission, because he was chair of the congressional oceans caucus, when a colleague at the meeting whispered into his ear, “an airplane hit the World Trade Center; you might want to go back to your office.”

At his office in the Rayburn congressional office building, Greenwood and his staffers gathered around the television and watched as the second hijacked plane struck the World Trade Center.

After commenting that he thought bin Laden was behind the strike, Greenwood sent his staffers home. He and chief of staff Pete Krause waited to hear from Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, then headed out themselves.

“As we were pulling out of the Rayburn drive, a car went by with a Secret Service agent yelling out the window, ‘A plane is going to hit the Capitol any minute,’” Greenwood remembered Monday. “People just took off running in all directions. It was like a scene from Godzilla or something.”

Nearly 10 years later, the man responsible for instigating that chaos and so much more has been brought to justice, the former congressman said Monday, praising the skills and courage of the Navy SEAL team that took bin Laden down.

On Sunday night, Greenwood was watching the Phillies game with his wife, Tina, when he got an email from a colleague that President Obama would be making a late night announcement. They watched the news that night, and continued watching the developments Monday.

"I thought it was so brilliant of the Navy to respect his customs and give him a quick burial at sea - otherwise known as feeding him to the sharks," Greenwood said.

On a more serious note, while pleased that bin Laden has been removed, Greenwood said he recognizes the United States' struggles against terrorism are far from over.

“This movement that we’re fighting is a lot bigger than any one individual,” he said. “This struggle will probably go on for decades more, fought at all kinds of levels. But to win, we have to win the war of ideas, in the long run.”