Defense Secretary Ash Carter attends a wreath ceremony during a memorial for the 14th anniversary of the September 11th attacks, Sept. 11, 2015, at the Pentagon.
When Should the 9/11 War End?
Emeron Brooking – The National Interest
The last survivor had not yet been pulled from the World Trade Center’s 200,000 tons of twisted steel when senior White House officials met to lay the legal foundation of the future war on terror. In New York, 2,606 people were dead; aboard planes bound for Los Angeles and San Francisco, 246; at the Pentagon, where the jet fuel still burned, 125. As the nation reeled, government lawyers struggled to authorize combat operations against an enemy whose identity was still unknown. The resultant resolution, passed by both houses of Congress on September 14, 2001, stated:
“That the President is authorized to use all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored such organizations or persons, in order to prevent any future acts of international terrorism against the United States by such nations, organizations or persons.”
It was with the weight of the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) that President Bush delivered an ultimatum to the Taliban and declared a broader war against terrorism.
These efforts—every reconnaissance flight and drone strike and combat deployment—have been executed under a congressional authorization that is now nearly fourteen years old.
Some observers, noting how much time has passed, might reasonably ask why the 2001 AUMF should not be repealed and the continent-spanning “war” simply ended.
Still the Land of the Brave 14 Years After 9/11
Michael Daly – The Daily Beast
At times, 11-year-old Valerie Arnold had to take a break and step away from the computer.
“This is so sad, this is so sad,” she would tell her mother.
But after a break Valerie would sit back down, in her own way as brave and noble as any first responder. She had taken it upon herself to go online and learn what she could about the 20 murdered innocents whose names she had been asked to read at the upcoming observance of the 14th anniversary of 9/11.
“Mommy, you’re not going to believe this, you’re not going to believe this,” she would say as she came to another heartbreaking detail.
The second tower of the World Trade Centre explodes after being hit by a hijacked airplane in New York. (Reuters)
Why Isn’t 9/11 a National Holiday?
Keith Wagstaff – The Week
Shortly after the 9/11 attacks and during their 10th anniversary, there were plenty of calls to make Patriot Day a holiday, mostly out of a fear that it would be forgotten by an apathetic public.
There is some credence to concerns that a 9/11 holiday would be trivialized by commercialism. Yesterday, Tumbledown Trails Golf Course, located near Madison, Wis., got in trouble for offering nine holes of golf for $9.11 to “commemorate” the 12th anniversary of 9/11.
September 11 is also just a few days after Labor Day, meaning the United States would either have to move Labor Day to some other date or deal with two short work weeks in a row.
That gets to the biggest reason Sept. 11 probably won’t be a holiday anytime soon: Federal holidays cost money. A lot of money.
We Will Always Remember
Editorial Board – The New York Times
Soon after the horrific destruction of the World Trade Center towers 14 years ago, bumper stickers abounded in parallel with the nation’s grief. “Never Forget,” one proclaimed with great resolve. “We Will Always Remember,” promised another.
New York City firefighters and other emergency personnel survey the World Trade Center collapse area near Vessey and Greenwich Streets. (Reuters)
Now that they have faded from sight, their underlying message is being put to the test in Congress. The nation’s lawmakers have nothing less than a moral obligation to renew the health care and compensation programs for the thousands of 9/11 responders and volunteers severely stricken by their long labors at ground zero’s infernal pile of devastation.
An exterior image shows one part of the new Flight 93 National Memorial Visitors Center in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, September 10, 2015. (K. Farabaugh/VOA)
Flight 93 Recordings Remind us of Personal Side to National Tragedy
Chip Minemyer – The Tribune-Democrat, Johnstown, PA
On the morning that terror shook the nation and a passenger jet crashed into a field near Shanksville, Linda Gronlund left a chilling message on the telephone answering machine of her sister, Elsa.
“I only have a minute. I’m on United 93. It’s been hijacked by terrorists.”
Gronlund was among 40 passengers and crew members who perished when United Flight 93 crashed.
Now a recording of her final phone call from that doomed plane to a loved one is part of the new Visitor Center at the Flight 93 National Memorial. That phase of the memorial officially opens Thursday.
Flight attendant CeeCee Ross Lyles left a message for her husband Lorne – “I want to tell you I love you,” she says. “Please tell my children I love them very much.” – and also called United Airlines to report the hijacking.
An exhibit inside the Flight 93 Memorial in Shanksville, PA (K. Farabaugh/VOA)
