WASHINGTON - White House spokesman Jay Carney said on Monday that the United States would not apologize for its unilateral action in Pakistan last week that killed al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

The spokesman said that President Barack Obama, while on his presidential campaign, had said that if there was an opportunity to bring bin Laden to justice and bin Laden was on Pakistani soil, he would take the chance and do it.

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"And he did, it's simply beyond a doubt in his mind that he had the right and the imperative to do this," Carney told reporters at the White House.

Bin Laden was killed on May 1 by US special forces in his compound in Abbottabad on the outskirts of Islamabad. The assault has strained an already frayed US-Pakistani relationship. Obama requested that Pakistan investigate the support network that enabled bin Laden to elude capture for so many years just outside its capital city.

The United States has also demanded access to bin Laden's three wives, now in Pakistani custody, who lived with him for several years and who US officials believe may have information as to whether Pakistan abetted the al-Qaeda leader.

Carney also said that US relationship with Pakistan "remains very important to us" and "our need for cooperation remains very important."

"We will work with the prime minister and the president and other government leaders in Pakistan to work through our differences and continue the cooperation that we've had in the past that has led to so many successes in the fight against terrorism and terrorists," he added.