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Victims' families and others were poised to gather and grieve Tuesday at ground zero, the Pentagon and near Shanksville, Pa., for the first time after the emotional turning point of last year's 10th anniversary
And in New York, there was a sense that it was a season of change and moving forward for the ground zero ceremony. It followed a last-minute breakthrough on a financial dispute that had halted progress on the Sept. 11 museum, and the commemoration itself was to be different:
COMPLETE COVERAGE: The NYC Site Today | The 9/11 Museum, and Debate on How To Fund It | PICTURES: Remembering 9/11 | On The Campaign Trail, A Momentary Pause
SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS: Can we move on without dishonoring the dead? Is it right to even think about downsizing the remembrances?
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At The New York City site, for the first time, elected officials won't speak at an occasion that has allowed them a solemn turn in the spotlight, but also has been lined with questions about separating the Sept. 11 that is about personal loss from the 9/11 that reverberates through public life.|
To Charles G. Wolf, it's a fitting transition.
"We've gone past that deep, collective public grief," says Wolf, whose wife, Katherine, was killed at the trade center. |
For former New York Gov. George Pataki, who was governor at the time of the attacks, the move is sad and appropriate. "It's time to take the next step, which is simply to continue to pay tribute," Pataki said. |
The World Trade Center Site... 11 years Later
Click on the arrows below to see a Map of the scene, Time lapse video of the construction since 2001, and for a comparison of the World Trade Center then and now. You can also click on each "I" symbol for more on any specific buiilding.
| Agreement reached for Sept. 11 museum's completion | |
| An agreement that paves the way for the completion of the Sept. 11 museum at ground zero was reached on the eve of the 11th anniversary of the terror attacks. | |
| Debate surrounds annual $60M cost of 9/11 memorial | |
| A debate over balancing the need to honor the memory of Sept. 11 with the enormous costs of running a memorial and museum at ground zero has been reawakened on the eve of the attacks' 11th anniversary, as officials faced questions Monday over the project's expected $60 million-a-year operating budget and an agreement paving the way for the museum's completion was reached. | |
 Don Underwood, a pilot for US Airways, reads names attached to flags honoring those who died in the 9/11 attacks Monday, Sept 10, 2012 at the healing field in Tempe, Ariz. . Each flag represents a person who lost his or her life in the attacks |
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 A woman looks at flowers at the Flight 93 National Memorial ahead of Tuesday's 11th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, Monday, Sept. 10, 2012, in Shanksville, Pa. (AP Photo/Mandel Ngan, Pool) |
 Photos of victims of the attacks of September 11 and messages from their loved ones, have been unveiled as part of the future 9/11 Memorial Museum. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan) |
Both campaigns eschew politics on 9/11 anniversary. It could be the only day before the Nov. 6 election without explicit partisan rancor- wiht agreeements to suspend any negative advertising today
President Barack Obama will spend Tuesday marking the 11th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.
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The Politics of 9/11 On The WBEN Liveline Dave Levinthal, Politico.com |
He and first lady Michelle Obama will gather with White House staff on the South Lawn to observe a moment of silence. That will take place about the time of the first attack, when American Airlines Flight 11 struck the north tower of the World Trade Center in New York City.
The president is then scheduled to attend a memorial ceremony at the Pentagon. In the afternoon, Obama plans to visit Walter Reed medical center in nearby Bethesda, Md., where he'll spend time with wounded veterans and their families.
Republican challenger Mitt Romney meanwhile, is set to address the National Guard, whose members deployed as part of the U.S. response to the attacks.
Both plan to take down their negative ads in honor of the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
"On this most somber day, those who would attack us should know that we are united, one nation under God, in our determination to stop them and to stand tall for peace and freedom at home and across the world," Romney said in a statement released before his speech.
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RELATED COVERAGE: DC Cathedral to scale back from big 9/11 events Washington National Cathedral plans to mark the 11th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks with prayers at its regularly scheduled services that day, rather than hold a larger commemoration event. |
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Vice President Joe Biden is expected to attend a memorial service at Shanksville, Pa., where one of the hijacked airliners crashed. Biden grew up in Scranton, Pa. Romney's running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, plans to spend the day in his home state and hasn't scheduled any public events. Ryan said in his own statement that Sept. 11 is a time to pay tribute to those who quietly work to prevent attacks and to those in the military "who have sacrificed so much, including their lives, for the same end." On behalf of the Obama campaign, former President Bill Clinton is set to attend an evening rally at Florida International University in Miami. At the White House on Monday, spokesman Jay Carney said Obama planned to remember those who lost their lives in 2001 and those who served in the two wars that followed. "He certainly hopes and knows that Americans across the country will take a moment to reflect upon the events of Sept. 11, 2001, and all that our country has been through together since then," Carney said. "And especially, I think, take that moment to remember the victims and their families from that terrible event." The attack killed almost 3,000 in the United States and was followed by wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. At least 1,987 U.S. troops have died in the Afghanistan war and 4,475 in Iraq, according to the Pentagon. Perhaps the most obvious signal that the presidential campaign is on hold is that negative ads will be taken off the air, following precedent. Obama and his allies have spent $188 million on TV commercials, according to information from media buyers provided to The Associated Press. Romney and the independent groups backing him have spent $245 million on ads through the end of August. |
Polls show Obama leading Romney on terrorism and national security issues, but both are a low priority for voters in an election dominated by the economyA CBS News/New York Times poll conducted in July found 37 percent of voters called terrorism and security extremely important to their vote, while 54 percent said the economy and jobs were that important.
Obama's campaign says it still sees an opportunity to focus on national security and terrorism in the final weeks of the campaign. National security issues resonate particularly well in battleground states with large military and veteran populations, namely Virginia, North Carolina and Florida. The Obama campaign has been running TV ads in those states focused on the president's policies for veterans, and Obama surrogates have held national security-focused events there as well. In 2004, the first presidential election after the 9/11 attacks, about two-thirds of voters said protecting the country was more important than creating jobs when deciding their vote for president, according to an AP-Ipsos poll conducted shortly before the election. President George W. Bush defeated Democratic challenger John Kerry in large part by convincing voters that he was the best candidate to keep the country safe. That role now falls to incumbent Obama, who accepted nomination for a second term at a Democratic convention that reminded voters at every turn that U.S. forces killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden on Obama's watch. The post-9/11 wars continue to have political implications. Romney did not mention Afghanistan in his speech accepting the GOP's presidential nomination. While he had spoken about the war a day earlier to the American Legion, his critics were quick to point out that he had not mentioned the ongoing conflict and the troops fighting in it. Romney provided another opening when he defended the omission by telling NBC's "Meet the Press": "I have some differences on policy with the president. ... I happen to think those are more important than what word I mention in each speech." Former Rep. Patrick Murphy, D-Pa., told MSNBC on Monday: "We know that there's 68,000 sons and daughter of American families that are fighting for us in Afghanistan. That's not important to Mitt Romney?" |