Bush Marks Fifth Anniversary of Terrorist Attacks
President Bush visits the sites of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks to mark the fifth anniversary of the events. After a memorial service at Ground Zero in New York City, where the World Trade Center towers fell, he travels to the Pentagon in Northern Virginia and to the rural Pennsylvania site where hijacked plane crashed.
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ALEX CHADWICK, host:
From the studios of NPR West, this is DAY TO DAY. I'm Alex Chadwick.
MADELEINE BRAND, host:
I'm Madeleine Brand. Coming up, five years after the attacks of September 11th, what about that memorial at Ground Zero? Frustration with the pace of rebuilding.
CHADWICK: First, in New York and at the Pentagon and in a field in western Pennsylvania, a day of mourning. Moments of silence punctuated ceremonies to remember the victims of the 9/11 attacks five years ago today.
President Bush is visiting all three sites today, starting at Ground Zero in New York, traveling to Shanksville, and finally to the Pentagon. From New York, NPR's Diantha Parker reports.
DIANTHA PARKER: Crowds began gathering at Ground Zero before sunrise. But the ceremonies there officially began about 20 minutes to nine with remarks from New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Mayor MICHAEL BLOOMBERG (New York City): We come back to this place to remember the heartbreaking anniversary and each person who died here - those known and unknown to us, whose absence is always with us.
(Soundbite of bell ringing)
PARKER: That bell rang at 8:46 this morning to mark the crash of the first plane into the North Tower. The sound announced the first of four moments of silence observed during the morning. The others - at 9:03, 9:59, and 10:29 -marked when the second plane hit and the two towers fell.
Each year since the attacks has been marked by a reading of the names of the dead - to date, 2,749 people. This year, a cello played softly as spouses, partners, and significant others did the honors.
Unidentified Woman #1: Daniel Thomas Aflito(ph).
Unidentified Woman #2: Emanuel Acquasi Afucua(ph).
Unidentified Woman #3: Aluk Agarawal(ph).
Unidentified Woman #4: Mukul Kumar Agarwala(ph).
Unidentified Woman #5: And to my husband, Richard Anthony Accetto(ph) - our daughter Christina and I love you and miss you very, very much.
PARKER: Some New Yorkers are intentionally staying away from Ground Zero today. Cynthia Aberion(ph) is one of them.
Ms. CYNTHIA ABERION (New York Resident): I used to work for Lehman Brothers. I saw the first plane before it hit. So for me, that's very scary. I'm a little bit scared today.
PARKER: And others who weren't there say the attacks seem much nearer than five years ago - maybe a year, says Josh Quadro(ph). He says he's sad but not especially fearful because he has it easy compared to some.
Mr. JOSH QUADRO (New York resident): I have family in Iraq right now fighting. So, you know, I'm more worried about them than I am, you know, myself, so.
PARKER: The ceremonies in New York are continuing throughout the afternoon. Musicians in 80 parks will play in what's called the September Concert. The program includes a statewide sing along of The Beatles' All You Need is Love.
The day's final official tribute begins after sunset when the city fills the gap in its skyline with two towers of light.
Diantha Parker, NPR News, New York.
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President Bush Urges Resolve on Terror, Iraq
Analysis is provided by NPR's Michele Norris and David Greene, with Tod Lindberg of the Hoover Institution and E.J. Dionne of the Brookings Institution.
President Bush sits at his desk in the Oval Office after addressing the nation in a rare prime-time speech.
On the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, President Bush pays tribute to those who lost their lives -- and to those who struggled to save lives that day.
Speaking to the nation in a live address from the Oval Office, President Bush recalled the attacks that killed some 3,000 people five years ago, in New York, Shanksville, Pa., and the Pentagon.
President Bush also looked ahead to the challenges the United States faces as it tries to prevent another attack on its home soil. Speaking about the global effort to combat terrorism, the president described it "is a struggle for civilization."
"If we do not defeat these enemies now," he said, "we will leave our children to face a Middle East overrun by terrorist states and radical dictators armed with nuclear weapons."
President Bush urged Americans to show resolve in fighting terrorism, stressing that his policies will prevail in the end.
"We will defeat our enemies, we will protect our people," the president said. "And we will lead the 21st century into a shining age of human liberty."
The president's speech also dwelt on Iraq -- and questions over its place in the fight against terrorism.
"I am often asked why we are in Iraq when Saddam Hussein was not responsible for the 9/11 attacks," President Bush said.
"The answer is that the regime of Saddam Hussein was a clear threat. My administration, the Congress, and the United Nations saw the threat - and after 9/11, Saddam's regime posed a risk that the world could not afford to take. The world is safer because Saddam Hussein is no longer in power."
And despite setbacks in Iraq that have included sectarian violence and insurgent attacks, President Bush said that democratic reforms will take hold in Iraq and in the Middle East.
"Whatever mistakes have been made in Iraq," the president said, "the worst mistake would be to think that if we pulled out, the terrorists would leave us alone," the president said. "They will not leave us alone. They will follow us."
In pushing for democracy in the region, President Bush said, the United States is "offering a path away from radicalism. And we are enlisting the most powerful force for peace and moderation in the Middle East: The desire of millions to be free."
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