With the 10th anniversary of 9/11, some touching remembrances have been written, but also an increasing number of op-eds, editorials and blog posts, the theme of which are “let’s stop looking back at 9/11 and start moving forward.” The second response is bad advice for several reasons. While I appreciate the need to move ever forward, we must not forget the vicious attacks of ten years ago. We must not forget that it was a calculated attack on Americans and a strike at our way of life. We must not …
Today, we join America in honoring the anniversary of September 11, 2001, when terrorists killed nearly 3,000 of our fellow citizens. In the days after 9/11, Americans stood together as one, setting aside partisan fervor and recognized a common enemy in Islamist terrorist groups, particularly al-Qaeda. National security was rightfully restored as our nation’s highest priority. Ten years later, Osama bin Laden is dead, delivering to victims’ families and the rest of America a bit of justice for the heinous acts we all witnessed. But one terrorist’s death does not …
I did not experience the 9/11 attack personally, and very fortunately did not lose anyone I know in that vicious act of terrorism. But it did mark a significant change in my life, since it marked my move to Washington. In fact, I was upstairs in our bedroom in Atlanta the morning of the attack packing my bags. I was supposed to head to the airport to fly to Washington—I had an interview scheduled for September 12 for a possible job at the Department of Justice. My wife called upstairs …
This is a guest post by Sen. Jim Risch (R-ID) for our special blog series on 9/11. Ten years ago a group of evil, but extremely committed religious extremists hijacked four airliners and turned them into weapons. It is difficult to relive those moments when we watched in horror and disbelief as the towers fell, the Pentagon smoldered and a crater in Pennsylvania burned. That day, the world we lived in changed. As a member of the Senate’s Select Committee on Intelligence, the calamity of 9/11 influences my work daily …
I was still on active duty in the U.S. Army and stationed at the National Defense University, where I was editor of the journal Joint Force Quarterly. Before that I had been stationed at the Pentagon, so a lot of family and friends called, worried that I might have been there when the plane hit the building. Actually, on that day I was at the National Archives in College Park, Maryland, looking for photos to illustrate an article for the journal. When the plane hit the Pentagon, the archives closed. …
In each century since our nation’s founding, foreign enemies have tested the strength of the American republic, our national security, and our political principles. September 11, 2001 was not the first devastating attack on U.S. territory: in 1814, the British burned Washington, D.C., and, in 1941, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. A look back at these two events reminds us that 9/11 was not a wholly unique event. The death, destruction, and shock of the attacks reinforced a lesson learned previously by generations of brave Americans who bequeathed to us …
Having spent the past decade working in law enforcement, I hold a special reflection on the upcoming 10th anniversary of the attacks of September 11. On that day, of the more than 400 rescue workers who perished, 343 firefighters and 60 police officers from New York City and the Port Authority died while responding to the call of duty. Never in American history has our nation’s public safety infrastructure suffered such a tragic day. The nearly 3,000 innocent men, women, and children who died that day at the hands of …
Next month, America will honor the anniversary of September 11, 2001, when terrorists killed nearly 3,000 of our fellow citizens. In the days after 9/11, Americans stood together as one, setting aside partisan fervor and recognized a common enemy in Islamist terrorist groups, particularly al-Qaeda. National security was rightfully restored as our nation’s highest priority. Ten years later, Osama bin Laden is dead, delivering to victims’ families and the rest of America a bit of justice for the heinous acts we all witnessed. But one terrorist’s death does not justify …
Attempts to eradicate religious symbols from the public square were in full force last week as a group of New York City atheists filed a lawsuit demanding that a building fragment known as the World Trade Center cross be removed from the 9/11 Museum and Memorial at Ground Zero. American Atheists, Inc., claims that the cross, which was moved to a permanent position at the 9/11 tribute last week, is not only “offensive and repugnant” to non-believers but an apparent source of physical discomfort to atheists. Two days after the …
On the ninth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks that killed nearly 3,000 Americans, a new documentary accuses the Obama administration of not facing reality when it comes to terrorism. “America at Risk: The War With No Name,” presented by Citizens United and hosted by Newt and Callista Gingrich, asserts that current U.S. policy and government officials refuse to acknowledge that radical Islam drives terrorist attacks such as the Fort Hood Massacre, Christmas Day bomber and Times Square bomber. Examples include two top Obama administration figures: White House counter-terrorism …
