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‘What’s destroyed…’: In 9/11 address, Biden vows to protect democracy, thwart terror
The US President said that “Pentagon was both the scene of a horrific terrorist attack and the command center for our response to defend and protect the American people”.
US President Joe Biden on Sunday addressed a ceremony at the Pentagon to commemorate the 21st anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Biden, during his address, vowed to safeguard the democracy of America.
“We have an obligation, a duty, a responsibility, to defend, preserve and protect our democracy. The very democracy that guarantees the rights of freedom that those terrorists on 9/11 sought to bury in the burning fire and smoke and ash. That takes a commitment on the part of all of us,” he said.
Biden, who took part in a somber wreath-laying ceremony at the Pentagon, said in his opening remarks, “To all the families and loved ones who still feel the ache of that missing piece of your soul, I'm honoured to be here with you once more to share this solemn rite of remembrance.”
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He added, “So many heroes were made here. So many of your loved ones were those heroes. Again almost immediately, with civilians and service members leaping action as the walls collapsed and the roof began to crumble.”
The US President said that “Pentagon was both the scene of a horrific terrorist attack and the command center for our response to defend and protect the American people”.
"What was destroyed, we have repaired. What was threatened, we fortified. What was attacked, the indomitable spirit, has never, ever wavered," he said.
“We’ll continue to monitor and disrupt those terrorist activities wherever we find them, wherever they live, and we’ll never hesitate to do what’s necessary to defend the American people,” the President said.
“It took 10 years to hunt down and kill Osama bin Laden but we did,” he said, while also citing the July airstrike he ordered that killed al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, the successor of bin Laden.
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‘Grief is the price we pay for love’
Quoting Queen Elizabeth II who died on September 8, Biden said the British monarch had said, “Grief is the price we pay for love”.
The 9/11 anniversary commemoration ceremony began with the reading of the names of all of the people who were killed in the attack on September 11, 2001.
Nearly 3,000 people were killed as 19 al-Qaeda hijackers seized control of four jetliners, sending two of the planes into New York’s World Trade Centre - one into the Pentagon and the fourth into a field in western Pennsylvania.
(With agency inputs)
