Anniversary of September 11: USA commemorates attacks with a political perspective

NEW YORK (AP) — Under the watchful eyes of the presidential candidates 9/11 Relatives of the victims turned to them on Wednesday, demanding accountability as the United States marked an anniversary marked by election politics.

In a remarkable tableau President Joe Biden, former President Donald Trump And Vice President Kamala Harris stood together at Ground Zero, just hours after Trump and Harris faced each other in their very first debateTrump and Biden – the successor whose inauguration Trump skipped – shook hands, and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg appeared to broker a handshake between Harris and Trump.

Then the two presidential candidates stood just feet apart, with Biden and Bloomberg between them, as the ceremony began with the ringing of a bell and a minute of silence. At Trump's side stood his running mate, Senator JD Vance.

It was a picture of politics being pushed aside at yet another solemn commemoration of the plane hijackings that killed nearly 3,000 people on September 11, 2001. For years, politicians were only observers at the memorial ceremonies at Ground Zero, and the microphones were instead handed over to relatives who read the names of the victims aloud.

Some of these readers took the opportunity on Wednesday to convey their own political messages.

“We are asking for your help, but you are ignoring us,” said Allison Walsh-DiMarzio, directly calling on Trump and Harris to urge Saudi Arabia to Official participation of Saudi Arabia involved in the attacks. Most of the 19 hijackers were Saudis, but the kingdom denies the involvement of high-ranking Saudi officials.

“Who among you will have the courage to be our hero? We deserve better,” said Walsh-DiMarzio, the daughter of 9/11 victim Barbara P. Walsh, an administrative assistant.

Joanne Barbara was one of many readers who opposed a revoke now plea Agreement of the Military Prosecutors with alleged mastermind of September 11 Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two co-defendants.

“Twenty-three years have passed and the families deserve justice and accountability,” said the widow of Deputy Fire Chief Gerard A. Barbara.

Bidenon the day he marked his final term as president on September 11, and Harris planned to pay her respects on Wednesday at all three sites where commercial airliners crashed on September 11 after being hijacked by al-Qaeda members.

Following the memorial service at Ground Zero, the president and vice president laid wreaths, spoke with the families of the victims and walked the fields of the sprawling Flight 93 National Memorial near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Biden and Harris were later scheduled to visit the Pentagon.

Trump and Vance left Ground Zero to visit a fire station in New York City. Trump was also later expected at the memorial site for Flight 93, where one of the planes crashed after crew members and passengers tried to wrest control from hijackers.

The attacks killed 2,977 people, left thousands of relatives dead and many survivors injured. The planes destroyed the twin towers of the World Trade Center and left a scar on the Pentagon, the headquarters of the US military.

Even though it may seem that many Americans no longer observe the anniversaries of September 11, “the men and women of the Department of Defense are still remembering it,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Wednesday.

The attacks changed U.S. foreign policy, domestic security practices, and the mindset of many Americans who had previously felt unattractive to attacks from foreign extremists.

The effects were felt worldwide and spanned generations. The United States responded with a “ Global war on terrorism”, including invasions of Afghanistan And IraqHundreds of thousands of Afghans and Iraqis, as well as thousands of American soldiers, were killed in these operations.

Communities across the country are holding their own September 11th commemoration events, and volunteer projects are also honoring the anniversary, which Congress has designated as both Patriot Day and a National Day of Service and Remembrance.

At the first anniversaries at Ground Zero, presidents and other officials read poems, parts of the Declaration of Independence and other texts.

But the National Sept. 11 Memorial and Museum decided in 2012, Limit the ceremony to reading relatives Names of the victims.

If politicians are interested in what's actually going on, that's great. Be here,” Korryn Bishop said as she arrived to watch the ceremony Wednesday.

“If they're only here for their political influence, that bothers me,” Bishop added. She lost her cousin, John F. McDowell Jr., who worked in finance.

Brandon Jones was glad that there were no politicians on the podium.

“This should be a place where we come together to find viable solutions and peace. This should not be a place to score political points to gain an advantage and unite your base,” said Jones, a cousin of victim Jon Richard Grabowski, a technology executive at an insurance company.

In 2008, the then senators and rivals in the presidential election campaign John McCain And Barack Obama paid their respects to Ground Zero, which was still an open-cast mine at the time.

The anniversary became a sensitive part of the 2016 presidential campaign. The Democratic candidate, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, abruptly left the ceremony in the trade centerstumbled while waiting for her motorcade and later announced that she had been diagnosed with pneumonia. The episode attracted renewed attention about her health, which her Republican opponent Trump, who was also present at the celebration, had questioned for months.

Over the years, some of the relatives who read the names of the victims have used the forum to lament the division of Americansurge Heads of State and Government to give national security the highest priority, to recognise the victims of the war on terror, complain that officials are politicizing September 11 and even criticize individual officialsOthers call for peace.

“I pray that this heinous act called terrorism never happens again,” Jacob Afuakwah said on Wednesday. He lost his brother Emmanuel Akwasi Afuakwah, a restaurant worker.

But most of them are limited to tributes and personal reflections. They increasingly come from children and young adults who born after the attacks killed one of her relatives.

Thirteen-year-old twins Brady and Emily Henry never met their uncle, firefighter Joseph Patrick Henry.

“We promise to continue telling your stories,” Emily said, “and we will never let anyone forget all the people who lost their lives on September 11th.”

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Associated Press writers Julie Walker and Adriana Gomez Licon in New York, Josh Boak and Darlene Superville in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and Tara Copp in Washington contributed.