911 Remembered!
New York/Washington, Sep 11 (EFE).–
New York commemorated the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on Friday, honoring the nearly 3,000 victims at Ground Zero in New York, in an event marked by the presence of all living former presidents, except for President Donald Trump, who attended a ceremony at the Pentagon.
Early in the morning, family members gathered around the two fountains where the Twin Towers once stood to read the names of those who died in the attacks.
The moments of silence were set for the time when the planes struck the towers and the Pentagon, the buildings collapsed, and Flight 93 crashed in Pennsylvania. Also, for the first time, the ceremony honored those who died throughout the last 25 years from 9/11-related illnesses.
The ceremony was attended by former presidents Joe Biden (2021-2025), Barack Obama (2009-2017), George W. Bush (2001-2009), Bill Clinton (1993-2001), Vice President JD Vance, and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
Also in attendance were former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton; former First Lady Michelle Obama; New York Governor Kathy Hochul; US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz; and New York State Attorney General Letitia James.
However, President Donald Trump did not travel to New York and instead commemorated the anniversary at the Pentagon headquarters in Virginia, where a third plane crashed on 9/11, killing 184 people.
The fourth plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania after a passenger revolt prevented it from reaching Washington; it was believed to have been targeting the White House or the Capitol.
The US president used his speech at the Pentagon to try to link the memory of the attacks to the war the United States is currently waging against Iran.
“We will never, ever forget. That’s why we fight today,” he said in his speech, before arguing that Washington must prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
Allegations Against Saudi Arabia
In New York, where politicians did not speak, the victims’ families took center stage.
Terry Strada, the widow of one of the victims, deviated from the script during the reading of names to hold Saudi Arabia accountable for its alleged role in the attacks and to criticize the actions of successive US administrations regarding that country.
Her accusations are part of a long legal battle waged by family members and survivors, who have filed a lawsuit against Saudi Arabia for its alleged complicity in the attacks. The case has not yet gone to trial and is pending a federal appeals court decision.
This year’s ceremony was also marred by controversy over Mamdani’s presence, which was criticized by figures such as Rudy Giuliani, who was NYC mayor at the time of the attacks, who said, “it offends me that he’s coming,” claiming that the young Democrat “does not agree that 9/11 was an Islamic terrorist attack against America.”
Mamdani, who is Muslim, has defended his attendance as NYC mayor to honor the victims.
“I’m proud to be the mayor of this city. I love this city. I love this country,(…) What I want this week to be a focus on is the families whose loved ones were stolen from them 25 years ago in the horrific act of terror of September 11, and a focus also on the first responders who did everything they could.”
Furthermore, he announced the release of thousands of documents revealing that city authorities at the time concealed the fact that the air at Ground Zero was “toxic.”
In a statement on Friday, former President Clinton (1993–2001) called for support for those who continue to suffer the consequences of the attacks, including those who have fallen ill due to exposure to toxic materials, urging the remembrance events be kept alive.
25 years later, the passage of time was evident among the family members: some of those who read the names were barely children when they lost their parents and have no memories of them, while others paid tribute to grandparents they never got to know.
According to the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, some 100 million Americans were born after the attacks and are too young to remember them.
The day’s events will continue throughout the day in the vicinity of the World Trade Center, with the natural light columns of the Oculus, and will culminate at night with the two beams of light marking the site of the Twin Towers. EFE
