“For me, the main lesson of September 11, 2001 is that, when we are most vulnerable, in the tug-of-war that makes us human, in the battle for the soul of the United States, unity is our greatest strength.” In a video to the nation, US President Joe Biden has returned to appeal to the unity of the country and to leave fear behind. Biden, on the anniversary of the most dramatic day in American history, will attend commemoration ceremonies in the three locations where the attacks occurred two decades ago – New York, Shanksville (Pennsylvania) and the Pentagon – but has decided not to release any further statements. .
Along with the White House number one, former presidents Obama and Bush will also be present at the commemorations at the sites where the 19 Al-Qaeda hijackers crashed into full airliners hitting the cultural, financial and political heart of the United States and changing the world forever. At Ground Zero in New York, relatives will read the names of the nearly 3,000 people killed. Six moments of silence will be observed, corresponding to the moments when the two towers of the World Trade Center were hit, and the moments when the Pentagon was attacked and Flight 93 crashed.
Boris Johnson: “The terrorists failed to shake our certainties”
“The terrorists responsible for the September 11 attacks failed to shake our certainties about freedom and democracy.” This was declared in a message for the twentieth anniversary of the attacks by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. “If the terrorist threat persists – he added – people refuse to live in permanent fear. The fact that today we come together, in pain but also in trust and determination, demonstrates the failure of terrorism ». Recent events in Afghanistan, continued the premier, “have only strengthened people’s certainties about freedom and democracy”.