Emotional commemoration in New York
20 years after 9/11: Biden, Clinton and Obama commemorate the victims
Saturday, September 11th, 2021 | 17:21
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Two decades after the first plane flew into the World Trade Center, a chime begins the minute’s silence at Ground Zero in New York. Four ex-presidents, families and survivors remember the victims of the attack that changed the world.
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The United States of America commemorated the victims in moving memorial services marking the 20th anniversary of the devastating September 11 attacks. At 8:46 a.m. (local time) in the presence of US President Joe Biden, the sound of a bell initiated a minute’s silence at the Ground Zero attack site in southern Manhattan in New York – exactly at the time when Islamist terrorists launched the first of 20 years ago four hijacked planes crashed into one of the twin towers of the World Trade Center. After the minute of silence, relatives read the names of the almost 3,000 dead, sometimes in tears.
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On September 11, four planes were hijacked
On September 11, 2001, the terrorists hijacked four planes. After they crashed American Airlines Flight 11 into the North Tower of the World Trade Center, a short time later another plane flew into the South Tower. American Airlines Flight 77 steered the attackers into the Department of Defense in Washington. A fourth plane crashed in Pennsylvania after people on board resisted the hijackers.
The mastermind behind the attacks, Osama bin Laden, was killed in a US military operation in 2011 after a long search. Mourning events were also held at the Pentagon and the Shanksville crash site on Saturday. George W. Bush, who was US President on 9/11, also attended in Pennsylvania.
Ex-President Bush: Dismayed by “boldness of evil”
He has described the day of the September 11 attacks as a day of extremely mixed emotions. There was horror “at the scale of the destruction” and “the audacity of the evil,” while at the same time there was “gratitude” and “awe” at the heroism of the emergency services, the military, and the sudden solidarity and mutual aid among Americans, Bush said . “We were proud of our wounded country.”
Biden, Obama and Clinton among the mourners
In addition to President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden, numerous relatives of the victims and survivors attended the funeral service at today’s memorial in New York. Former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton were also present with their wives.
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“Normal people” should be considered, said Mike Low, whose daughter Sara worked as a flight attendant and died in one of the hijacked machines on September 11th. “Over the past 20 years, my family has experienced incredible heartache at the thought of lives that could no longer be lived,” he said. After that, musician Bruce Springsteen sang his song “I’ll See You In My Dreams”. A speech by Biden was not planned.
Days after 9/11: “true sense of national unity”
National unity is the greatest strength of the United States, Biden had already said in a video message on the occasion of the commemoration. In the days after the attacks, heroic action, resilience and “a true sense of national unity” were demonstrated.
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Ex-President Obama expressed his condolences to the families of the victims and commemorated the emergency services and the US military at the time. The courage of the military over the past 20 years also helped bring down Bin Laden. Obama was president when a special military unit killed the then al Qaeda chief in Pakistan.
Consequences of 9/11: fear of terrorism and war against Taliban and al-Qaeda
After the shock waves that September 11 sent out into the world, Article 5 was activated for the first and only time in the history of the NATO alliance, according to which an armed attack on a NATO member is considered an attack on all members. This led to Germany and numerous other NATO countries taking part in the war against the Taliban and the Al Qaeda terrorist organization in Afghanistan.
This mission ended a few days ago after a chaotic withdrawal of troops, which was criticized as hasty – the Taliban recaptured the country within a short time and are once again the de facto rulers of Afghanistan.
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No event in recent history has shaped the United States and its society more than that fateful Tuesday 20 years ago, when the terrorist network Al Qaeda and its then boss Bin Laden were still comparatively unknown. After 9/11, counter-terrorism was fundamentally expanded, and the state apparatus was massively restructured. As a result, the United States changed significantly, with many describing the times when the fear of terrorism still persisted as growing paranoia at the expense of earlier ease.
After the attacks, the “war on terror” erupted
Civil rights were severely curtailed by the “Patriot Act”, the highly controversial prison camp in Guantanamo on Cuba was set up and new authorities and units were established. Some changes are clearly visible in the country, such as the controls at the airports or the presence of the police on the streets. Much, however, happens in secret, such as expanded surveillance and intensive control of data.
After the attacks, the USA went into the “war on terror”. The invasion of Afghanistan was followed by the war in Iraq in 2003, the effects of which ultimately favored the establishment of the terrorist militia Islamic State (IS). Coordinated attacks like that of 9/11 probably also thwarted the extensive security measures in the USA. Nevertheless, there were fatal attacks by lone gunmen in the United States, especially in 2015 and 2016.
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At the site where the towers of the World Trade Center stood, waterfalls ripple today in memory of the victims of September 11 – the surrounding area has been rebuilt and a new skyscraper, the “One World Trade Center”, is enthroned as the highest New York buildings over the city. But the memory stays alive in New York – also because people who were there at the time, especially rescue workers, are still dying of complications from pollutants in the air.
Scholz, Baerbock, Guterres: Voices on the day of remembrance
A number of other personalities made statements about 9/11. “Today we commemorate a dark day that has burned itself into the minds of millions of people around the world,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson stressed that the attacks had failed in their aim of undermining belief in freedom and democracy.
While SPD top candidate Olaf Scholz announced that terror should have no place in the world, Green party leader Annalena Baerbock warned that a critical look at the development of the fight against terror was needed again and again.
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Laschet attacks Scholz: “It only works so well because Angela Merkel took care of him!”
pzk/with material from the dpa
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