President Obama Lays Wreath at Pentagon in 9-11 Observance
VOA News 11 September 2010
U.S. President Barack Obama has laid a wreath at the Pentagon, outside Washington, DC, in remembrance of those killed there in a terrorist attack by a hijacked plane on September 11, 2001.
In an address to people attending the Pentagon ceremony Saturday, Mr. Obama said those who attacked the United States that day attacked not just buildings but the very idea of America itself. He said the highest honor Americans can pay those who died is to live their lives as Americans.
The president also noted that the U.S. is not at war with Islam, saying "a religion did not attack us." We were attacked, he said, by what he called "a sorry band of men who perverted religion."
First lady Michelle Obama joined former first lady Laura Bush near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. That is where, on September 11, 2001, the passengers of Flight 93 are said to have overpowered hijackers, forcing the plane to crash in a rural field.
That area is to become a national memorial, and Mrs. Obama told those gathered that she believes it will become a site of inspiration, reflection and remembrance for generations to come.
Earlier in the day, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, other dignitaries and private citizens are gathered in New York City for a memorial service at Ground Zero, the site where the twin towers of the World Trade Center fell on that September 11.
Those gathered observed a moment of silence at 8:46 a.m. to mark the time that a first plane hijacked by terrorists struck the north tower of the World Trade Center. There was a second moment of silence 17 minutes later to mark when the second tower was struck by another hijacked aircraft. Two additional moments of silence were scheduled to mark the fall of each tower.
During the somber ceremony, the names of the 2,752 people who died in the attacks were read out loud by family members. Many of those gathered for the ceremony held posters bearing the pictures and names of those killed.
Earlier, in his weekly address, President Obama designated Saturday a National Day of Service and Remembrance to honor the nearly 3,000 people who lost their lives.
Mr. Obama said that if there is any lesson to be drawn from the anniversary, it is that the United States is one nation and one people united by common ideals. He also said that by serving people in need, Americans reaffirm their ideals in defiance of those who would harm the United States. .
In the weekly Republican address, Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona said it is important to differentiate between militant Islamist ideology and the Muslim faith practiced by more than one billion people around the world.
President Obama said the search for Osama bin Laden, the al-Qaida leader considered the mastermind of the attacks, remains a high priority, as well as locating al-Qaida's second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahiri. He said the United States has been successful in increasing pressure on both men, forcing them to go farther underground.
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