SEPTEMBER 11 – Silence and emotion in the United States and in particular in New York City this Saturday, September 11. Twenty years after the tragedy, the Americans paid tribute to some 3,000 dead from the attacks of Al-Qaeda in an atmosphere weighed down by the chaotic American withdrawal from Afghanistan.
A solemn ceremony began around 8:40 a.m. local time at the Manhattan Memorial in New York, where the World Trade Center twin towers, destroyed by the deadliest jihadist attacks in the world, stood until the deadly morning of Tuesday, September 11, 2001. Story.
In the presence of US President Joe Biden, alongside his predecessors Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, a first minute of silence was observed at 8.46 a.m., precisely twenty years after the first plane hacked by the Al Qaeda commando struck the tower. North.
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President Biden and first lady Jill Biden were joined by former President Barack Obama and Bill Clinton this morning in lower Manhattan for the commemoration ceremony at the National September 11th Memorial. https://t.co/YshsWGgMXPpic.twitter.com/IceyYK7E29
— CNN (@CNN) September 11, 2021
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The reading, until 12:30 p.m. of the names of the 2977 people killed that day at the three sites of the attacks (including 2753 in New York) then began, under the air of a flute. It is punctuated throughout the morning by musical tributes, including a song on the dry guitar by American star Bruce Springsteen.
Several minutes of silence will take place: for the collapse of the New York towers at 8:46 am and 9:03 am, the attack on the Pentagon near Washington and the crash of one of the planes in Shanksville (Pennsylvania).
The former President George W. Bush, in office during the attacks, spoke from this city and deplored the political disunity of his country twenty after the jihadist attacks. “In the weeks and months following the 9/11 attacks, I was proud to lead an impressive, resilient and united people. If we talk about the unity of America, those times seem distant, ”said the 43rd President of the United States.
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???????? A song in tribute to the victims of #11Septembre is sung by a Bruce #Springsteen. She celebrates these men and women who lost their lives 20 years ago pic.twitter.com/536RufcPHO
— France TV Washington (@F2Washington) September 11, 2021
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Moment of silence observed at the Pentagon to commemorate the 9/11 attacks. https://t.co/RdYLvfum24pic.twitter.com/3ciQqik0eA
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) September 11, 2021
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Bell chimes at 9:03 am ET at the World Trade Center followed by moment of silence. https://t.co/RdYLvfum24pic.twitter.com/gd3z6MbTqS
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) September 11, 2021
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In Times Square, in the heart of Manhattan, the economic heart of the world’s leading power, where America’s victories are traditionally celebrated, a gathering and moments of contemplation are also planned.
20 years of war for a much criticized result
According to researchers, the 9/11 cataclysm turned American society and politics upside down and is now anchored in American history. Like Pearl Harbor, Hiroshima, the Landing or the Kennedy assassination.
This very special commemoration of September 11, Joe Biden, 78, has undoubtedly prepared many times since his victory in November against Donald Trump, whom he accused of having weakened and fractured America. In a video message broadcast Friday evening, the Democratic president called for “unity, our greatest strength”.
But after eight months in office, he is widely criticized for the debacle of the end of the military intervention in Afghanistan, Washington having been taken aback by the meteoric advance of the Taliban.
In 20 years, the United States has lost 2,500 troops and spent over $ 2 trillion in Afghanistan. But at the end of August, they abandoned the country to Islamic fundamentalists whom they had nevertheless driven out of Kabul at the end of 2001, accusing them of harboring al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, who was finally killed in 2011 in Pakistan.
“We will never forget”
Twenty years after the horror, and while many Western countries became involved in humanitarian operations in Afghanistan after the Taliban took power, several heads of state paid tribute to the victims of the attacks.
Queen Elizabeth II of England praised “the resistance and determination of the communities who united to rebuild” after the attacks. “My thoughts and prayers – and those of my family and the entire country – remain with the victims, survivors and affected families, as well as with first responders and rescuers,” said the 95-year-old sovereign.
“We will never forget. We will always fight for freedom ”, tweeted for his part the French president, with a video of an American flag enthroned on the steps of the Élysée Palace in Paris.
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