Sen. Kerry: Bin Laden's Dead, But Afghan Fight Is 'Not Over'

Sen. John Kerry says Osama bin Laden may be dead but the fight continues, raising the stakes for the United States in the war in Afghanistan.

Kerry, who is the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the response to the killing of bin Laden is likely to be, "Why don't we pack up and leave Afghanistan?" He said the U.S. can't do that and the critical question should be how will peace be achieved.

"So bin Laden is dead, but the fight against the violence and the hatred that he fomented is not over," Kerry said at a committee hearing Tuesday.

In two weeks Kerry said he will travel to Afghanistan.

The U.S. has more than 100,000 troops in Afghanistan and will be drawing down some troops in July, with President Obama to decide on how many.

With reporting from The Associated Press and the WBUR Newsroom