Thread: 9/11 Memorial Thread

Ben Kennedy
New York Firefighters Remember 9/11

Posted: Sep 11, 2008 04:51 AM PDT

Updated: Sep 11, 2008 05:16 AM PDT

Almost seven years after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Plattsburgh Firefighters still remember.

"Once we got to Ground Zero and saw what they call the pit, it was nothing that you had ever seen before," Chris Mitchell said.

"You could see on the faces and expressions of the locals there that everybody in New York City was just totally shell shocked," Lt. Todd Aley said.

Lt. Todd Aley was one of many Plattsburgh Firefighters who went to New York City to help after the 9/11 attacks.

He says on the drive down, no one knew what to expect.

"It was really somber, quiet and peaceful," Lt Aley said.

"The smell, the smoke still rising from this huge pit of rubble," Mitchell said.

They were assigned to help provide Emergency Medical Services for crews working in the disaster area.

After hours of work, firefighters waited in long lines for buses to take them back to their stations and Plattsburgh crews stepped in to help.

They loaded dozens of firefighters in ambulances, taking them back to their stations.

"They got back sooner and they were appreciative of that. It was something that we could do that we saw a need for," Lt. Aley said.

Now a piece of the Trade Center from the rubble hangs in the fire station a gift from New York City.

"The New York City firefighters we really gained a real true respect for because they were working night and day, they didn't lay down," Lt. Aley said.

A plaque was also put outside the station, honoring those who lost their life seven years ago.

"It changed my whole outlook on the world when that happened, makes me more proud to be a fireman right now," Lt. Aley said.

Thursday the Plattsburgh Fire Department will have a moment of silence, honoring and remembering everyone involved in the 9/11 attacks.

http://www.fox44.net/Global/story.asp?S=8990146

September 11, 2008
At War with No Single Enemy
By Trudy Rubin

On the seventh anniversary of Sept. 11, we will once again mourn; politicians will intone about fighting the war on terrorism. Some will even talk about World War IV.

But, in a series of interviews with top terrorism experts, I found surprising accord on the need to redefine the problem. ''The jargon is that it is a global war on terrorism,'' says Richard A. Clarke, former counterterrorism czar to Presidents Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush. ``That is very misleading. If you do not understand what the problem is, then your solution is not going to work.''

Clarke and others argue that the conflict with jihadi terrorists ''is not global,'' but exists largely within the Islamic world and part of Europe. ''It is not a war, with a few exceptions,'' he continues. ``And it is really not on terrorism. Terrorism is a tactic.''

The constant repetition of the mantra ''war on terrorism'' implies that we are fighting a single enemy, like the Soviets, in a struggle that can be won on the field of battle. Not so. Clark defines the struggle as one against ''a small, deviant minority strain in Islam'' that wants to replace existing governments in Muslim countries with fundamentalist regimes. We are fighting not against states but against ``nonstate actors.''

Islamist jihadis must be confronted in different ways, depending on where they are located. The situation differs greatly in, say, the Philippines, than in Pakistan or Europe.

We must be wary of letting the war analogy blind us to the essentials. The battle we're fighting depends more on winning a battle of ideas than a war fought with guns.

Yes, guns are needed to stop the Taliban from retaking Afghanistan and prevent jihadis from reemerging in Iraq. But Iraq went sour because of misguided U.S. policies that created fertile ground for jihadis; military action often worsened the problem. The key to reviving Iraq was not U.S. guns.

The Iraq situation shifted because Sunnis turned against militant forces they once supported. Al Qaeda's viciousness turned off the Sunni population and undercut the ideas they propagated. Gen. David Petraeus took advantage of the jihadis' errors; he helped Iraqi Sunnis help themselves by driving al Qaeda out of their turf.

Similarly, in Afghanistan, the fight against jihadis will depend on whether the local population rejects them. NATO troops can help, but only if local fighters take the lead. In Pakistan, where the population rejects American involvement, open use of U.S. troops is bound to boomerang.

Indeed, the ''war on terrorism'' mantra plays into the jihadi strategy. The Taliban and al Qaeda want to lure America into acts that turn local people against them, like bombing civilians. They want to suck America into ''bleeding wars,'' says South Asia expert Bruce Reidel, like the Afghan mujaheddin did to the Soviet Union in the 1980s.

Avoiding this trap, say the experts, will involve a strategy far more complex than seeking military ''victory.'' It will require training local forces and using U.S. military assets sparingly to avoid harming civilians. It will involve economic aid distributed at local levels to dissuade youths from hiring out to militant groups.

And the struggle will involve a war of ideas -- including a major effort to publicize al Qaeda atrocities. Al Qaeda runs a massive Internet operation trumpeting its triumphs against the infidels; we need as big an operation, in many languages, laying out the group's hideous crimes against Muslims.

What's most essential is for Americans to understand that the surge of jihadi terrorists is a historical phenomenon; born of the alienation created by globalization. Yes, the elimination of Osama bin Laden would be a huge psychological blow. Yet the phenomenon may take years to abate.

In the meantime, better intelligence and close international cooperation may be as essential as troops. So will coordination between U.S., European and Russian officials on thwarting the sale of fissile material or nuclear weapons to terrorists.

Al Qaeda expert Peter Bergen believes that the terrorist threat to Western countries will come from Europe. Alienated young educated Muslims in Europe were behind the 9/11 attacks and subsequent bombings in Europe. Other planned attacks in Europe have been foiled since, along with efforts to sell stolen fissile material that could be used for terrorist bombs.

So forget the World War IV mantra with its false aura of tank battles. This fight requires smart long-term strategy, not mass mobilization. Americans face a long slog at many levels before the jihadi phenomenon fades.

trubin@phillynews.com
Page Printed from: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articl ... enemy.html at September 11, 2008 - 05:51:48 AM PDT

Pence Remembers 9/11
Contact: Matt Lloyd, U.S. Congressman Mike Pence, press office, 202-226-4379

WASHINGTON, Sept. 11 /Standard Newswire/ -- U.S. Congressman Mike Pence released the following statement on the anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001:

"Everyone remembers where they were on this day seven years ago.

"A stay-at-home mom tended to her little ones as she planned out her day.

"A coal miner just finished the dreaded third shift and was getting ready to go to sleep.

"A farmer had already been up for three hours doing the morning chores.

"And just like everyone else, I too was going through my 'normal' workday routine at the Capitol when I learned of the attacks in New York City and the Pentagon.

"I vividly remember the Capitol complex being evacuated. I was whisked away by the Capitol Police to the top floor of their headquarters where I met up with House and Senate leaders.

"The moment I arrived, an officer informed us that an inbound airplane was '12 minutes out.' The Congressional leaders in the room began to discuss options and capabilities as I stood by and watched the Capitol Dome out the window.

"We waited.

"That was the longest 12 minutes of my life.

"Fortunately for the American people, and thanks to the leadership of President George W. Bush, those 12 minutes have turned into seven years.

"Immediately after that dreadful day, President Bush told the country that we were fighting a 'different kind of war.' This was an enemy the United States had never seen the likes of before.

"The president also told us that because of this new war, the American people may not even see many of the victories.

"As we remember those lives lost in the tragedy of September 11th, the biggest victory for the President and this country is that there has not been a successful attack since we were told that the airplane was '12 minutes out.'

"This should give all Americans reason to hope.

"In the weeks after the attack, the United States formed a broad coalition and destroyed terrorist training camps in Afghanistan. Thanks to these efforts, women there no longer have to live in fear and children are attending school.

"In addition, two-thirds of al Qaeda's known leaders have been captured or killed and we have uncovered sleeper cells in the United States.

"We also acted in Iraq, where the former regime ruled with brutal tactics, sponsored terror, possessed and used weapons of mass destruction and for 12 years ignored the demands of the UN Security Council.

"Before September 11th, terrorists feared nothing. There was no threat of sustained response when innocent people were attacked or killed. They thought we were weak.

"They were wrong.

"Similarly, before World War II, the United States was perceived as weak and we were attacked. However, all it did was make us stronger as Americans rallied around President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

"The tragedy of seven years ago has turned into this generation's calling. We have risen to the task of fighting terrorism at home and abroad.

"The steel of American resolve has given us victories and reason for hope.

"But we must not stop here. We must keep our eyes on the future.

"My three young children often visit me in my Capitol Hill office. Oftentimes I take them with me to vote on the House floor.

"As we walk across Independence Avenue to the Capitol building I can't help but think of that dreadful day seven years ago when the plane was '12 minutes out' and how close our Capitol came to being destroyed.

"I look at my children and wonder what their generation will face. The only certainty is that only God knows what lies in the path ahead.

"We must have confidence knowing that He brought us together in this fight and He has truly protected America the past seven years.

"I have often told my colleagues that God blesses those nations that acknowledge Him. My hope for the next generation is that they will acknowledge our sovereign God and have faith in Him.

"I pray that God will continue to bless America as we find our calling and duty in protecting the freedom and human dignity that comes with it."

http://www.earnedmedia.org/pence0911.htm

sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/sfl-editaf911sbsep11,0,3711609.story

South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com
Remembering 9-11.
September 11, 2008

It was just seven years ago, but somehow it seems much longer than that.

This morning, Americans of all walks will dutifully gather to observe another anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. It was a day like few others in American history, and we all vowed never to forget it.

In a way, however, we have.

For weeks and months after the attacks, Americans proudly wore flag lapel pins and flew Old Glory on their cars. They sang God Bless America proudly and looked on public safety officers as heroes.

With time, it was expected that the emotionally-charged patriotism of those days would ebb somewhat. It always does, much as it did after post-World War II victory celebrations were dampened by the dawn of the Cold War.

Nonetheless, it's still dismaying and saddening the depth to which the post-Sept. 11 consensus and unity has crumbled. Seven years after that terrible morning, our nation stands bitterly divided.

There's no more telling proof of this than the way people today react to the phrase "war on terror."

What that term now elicits are angry reactions against Bush administration homeland defense plans, Guantanamo trials and airport security measures. That phrase too often is not equated with either Osama bin Laden, or the war in Afghanistan, but with Saddam Hussein and Iraq instead. Not the war we originally sought to fight, but the one we've been mired in for more than five years.

In a presidential election year, it's fair to question the administration's policies. It's our duty to dissent when we feel the nation has diverted from our goals, ideals and standards. That type of debate is healthy.

What is destructive, however, is the tone that such discourse degenerates into. We're too eager to call each other "warmongers" or "appeasers." Americans are divided only because we have allowed it. We've succumbed to partisanship.

That's not the spirit of Sept. 11. The spirit of Sept. 11 is rooted in the understanding that we were attacked as one nation, and those brave souls able to fight back did so as people of one country.

Let's remember that today. Let's remember that when the first bell tolls at 8:48 a.m.

BOTTOM LINE: Debate healthy. Vitriol is not.

Copyright © 2008, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinio ... 1609.story

Alipacers where were you on 9/11?

Alipacers where were you on 9/11?

I was still asleep in CA when my beautiful daughter called me with enormous alarm and told me to turn on the TV!--that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center! As I watched throughout that day and the days following it became a terror that was unfathomable. This terrible tragedy marked the worst single attack in the history of the United States.

My loving daughter passed away a few years later from complications of cancer so 9/11 will forever be the day she reached out to me and we shared this profound disaster. Whenever I think of 9/11 I think of her and how much I miss her.

God Bless all the families and survivors of September 11 and the innocent people that were brutally killed by evil monsters of humanity. Only now am I able to face the terrible pain of that day.

Nation marks 7th anniversary of 9/11 attacks

(photo) Mark Wilson / Getty Images
First responders stand atop the Pentagon during the Pentagon Memorial dedication ceremony on the seventh anniversary of the 9-11 terrorist attacks today in Arlington, Virginia.

(photo) At the Pentagon, the names of the 184 victims are read as a bell rings out for each. In New York, Mayor Bloomberg leads a remembrance.

By Johanna and Neuman, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
7:54 AM PDT, September 11, 2008

WASHINGTON -- At 8:46 a.m., seven years to the moment after the first hijacked airplane crashed into the first tower at the World Trade Center in an act of terrorism that stunned the nation, there was silence.

At the White House, President Bush stood with Vice President Dick Cheney and their wives in solemn remembrance of the event that redefined his presidency and sent the U.S. troops into Afghanistan and Iraq.

Photos: 9/11: The seventh... Thomas HeidenbergerAs church bells pealed at New York's ground zero, a massive flag was unfurled while Mayor Michael Bloomberg recalled "a tragic memory" that unites Americans and citizens of 95 nations represented by the victims. Then he led the crowd in a moment of silence that actually came a minute early. A moment of silence also was observed at the New York Stock Exchange.

And at the Pentagon, the names of all 184 victims were read for the first time as a bell rang out for each and the first major 9/11 memorial was dedicated. Bush, his voice cracking, talked about how "there has not been another attack on our soil in 2,557 days" and how he hopes future generations of Americans with "no living memory" of 9/11 will conclude that "we did not tire, we did not falter and we did not fail."

Built with private funds, many from corporations and private donors, the Pentagon Memorial is a two-acre park featuring 184 cantilevered and lighted stainless steel benches inscribed with the names of the victims. The benches are organized according to the victims' ages -- from 3-year-old Dana Falkenberg to 71-year-old John Hamnicky. The benches commemorating the 59 passengers aboard American Airlines Flight 77 face in one direction, the 125 military and civilian personnel who perished inside the Pentagon in the other.

"Today as we dedicate this memorial, we also dedicate ourselves to never forget what happened here, and we make a solemn pledge to never again let this happen in America," said Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England, before the reading of the names. "God bless the fallen, their families and all who sacrifice for freedom and liberty."

Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain suspended presidential campaigning to mark the anniversary. The two plan to appear together at ground zero in New York later today. They also pulled the plug on television advertising for the day and both will participate in a presidential forum on service at Columbia University this evening. Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden will meet with first responders in Parma, Ohio, at the American Legion Post.

At the Pentagon, former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, who helped people flee the Pentagon that day, spoke at the dedication, fighting off tears as he talked about how "a great building became a battlefield."

With House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) and other members of the Washington establishment looking on, Rumsfeld mourned the Pentagon employees who "one morning kissed their loved ones goodbye, went off to work and never came home" and the airline passengers "who in the last moments made phone calls to loved ones and prayed to the Almighty before their journey ended not far from where it began."

"It was here that their fates were truly merged forever," Rumsfeld said. "They fell side by side as Americans. And make no mistake, it was because they were Americans that they were killed here in this place."

Without mentioning his role in taking the nation to war after the attacks, Rumsfeld honored the memory of the 3,000 who fell on 9/11 in New York, Washington and a field in Shanksville, Pa., as well as the more than 4,700 who have perished in "the long struggle that followed" in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, praising Rumsfeld for his "valor" in the Pentagon that day, said that "from this time forward, the Pentagon will be more than a symbol of government" or military power but a remembrance of "the moment that came and went and changed us forever."

johanna.neuman@latimes.com

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld ... 8913.story

Boston airport remembers 9-11 attacks

By Associated Press | Thursday, September 11, 2008 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Local Coverage
BOSTON - Logan International Airport has paused for a moment to pay tribute to those killed seven years ago in the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

Security officials suspended their operations and barefoot passengers who were being screened stood quietly. A hush fell over the terminals as passengers awaiting outbound flights watched television screens showing a simultaneous tribute at Ground Zero in New York City.

Terrorists boarded two planes in Boston and flew them into the World Trade Center towers.

The moment of silence was one of many events planned in Massachusetts on Thursday, including a public ceremony officiated by Gov. Deval Patrick on the Statehouse lawn. That ceremony will include readings of the names of victims with Massachusetts connections

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/region ... id=1118396

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On 9/11 my sister woke me up to the news about a plane crashing into the World Trade Center.

We all must remember this day, and say "Never Again".