U.S. Commemorates 21st Anniversary Of 9/11 Attacks

Topline

More than two decades after the September 11 terrorist attacks killed nearly 3,000 people, scores of Americans gathered Sunday in Pennsylvania, New York and Virginia to mourn the attack’s victims.

Key Facts

President Joe Biden participated in a wreath-laying ceremony outside the Pentagon, where hijacked American Airlines Flight 77 crashed on September 11, 2001, saying it was a day “not only to remember, but a day of renewal and resolve for each and every American and our devotion to this country.”

At the 9/11 Memorial in Lower Manhattan, where some 2,750 people were killed after two planes were flown into the twin towers of the World Trade Center, members of the New York Fire Department raised a flag as people gathered to read aloud the names of the victims.

First Lady Jill Biden visited Shanksville, Pennsylvania—where a fourth hijacked plane, United Airlines Flight 93, crashed after passengers overtook the cockpit—and said Sunday marked a “record of our collective grief and a monument to the memories that live on each day.”

Crucial Quote

Biden on Sunday quoted the late Queen Elizabeth II in his speech at the Pentagon memorial site, saying “Grief is the price we pay for love.” He added that he hoped “we’ll remember that amidst those dark days, we dug deep, we cared for each other, and we came together.”

Tangent

The 21st anniversary comes a month after Biden authorized a drone strike in the Afghan capital of Kabul that killed al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, an Egyptian eye surgeon who was the group’s second-in-command at the time of the September 11 attacks. Al-Zawahiri took over al-Qaeda after U.S. troops killed Osama bin Laden in 2011. The commemorations are also a little more than a year after U.S. troops completely withdrew from Afghanistan, marking an end to two decades of war triggered by the September 11 attacks and setting the stage for the Taliban to retake Afghanistan after it was ousted from power in 2001. The chaotic withdrawal sparked a backlash from both Republicans and Democrats, with thousands still stuck in the Taliban-run country hoping to escape, but Biden has argued the war accomplished its primary goals years ago. Biden referenced the end to the conflict on Sunday, saying “Afghanistan is over, but our commitment to preventing another attack” against the U.S. is “without end.”

Further Reading

Biden honors 9/11 victims at Pentagon ceremony: ‘This is a day not only to remember, but a day of renewal and resolve’ (CNN)

Watch Live: U.S. marks 21st anniversary of 9/11 attacks (CBS News)