It was only fitting that President Bush honor those who lost their lives on 9/11/01 fighting the terrorists on Flight 93. his speech was moving and he reflected upon another small town in Pennsylvania that had many heroes–Gettysburg.
Following his dedication, President Clinton spoke. He spoke of the Alamo and how the people knew they were going to die, but stayed the course. Both speeches were extremely moving. Bill Clinton said it was a disgrace that there was still 10 million more dollars to raise and he announced that he and Speaker Boehner had formed a bipartisan partnership to raise the rest of the cash for the memorial. He received a standing ovation.
CLINTON: So, since I am no longer in office, I can do unpopular things.
CLINTON: I told the secretary of the interior, the head of your development program, that I was aghast to find out that we still need to raise $10 million to finish this place. And Speaker Boehner and I have already volunteered to do a bipartisan event in Washington.
Let’s get this show on the road. Let’s roll. Thank you and God bless you.
Vice President Joe Biden was in attendance also and addressed the crowd. He was very gracious to both former presidents and spoke of his own personal losses generally and to reassure.
I am more convinced than ever that this National Memorial to the bravery of the passengers on Flight 93 is the right and proper acknowledgement of people who gave all so that others could live. They fought back.
National Geographic has done a great job with its series, Inside 9/11. It tells the story of 9/11 for 2 hours a night, and then a repeat for those who might not want their kids exposed. The series has very little politics in it and looks at what happened from an American point of view.
It’s been good to get angry all over again. There is something cleansing about remembering it all and bringing it to the forefront once again. To me, the part I enjoyed the most, if one can use the word ‘enjoyed’ is the section on George Bush. He gives a candid interview of what he felt that day. It was very touching as we watch the president of the United States vacillate between being the president and just being an American. He sure got more than he bargained for. Perhaps his 9/11 Address to the Nation will go down in the annals of history as one of the greats. It is simply too soon to tell.
Did anyone else see the series and if so, what were your impressions?
Gen. David Petraeus said a church's Quran-burning "is precisely the kind of action the Taliban uses."
Several weeks ago we put up a thread about a minister in Florida who planned to burn copies of the Quran on 9/11. To date, there seems to be mo change in his misguided plans.
CNN) — The U.S. commander in Afghanistan on Monday criticized a Florida church’s plan to burn copies of the Quran on September 11, warning the demonstration “could cause significant problems” for American troops overseas.
“It could endanger troops and it could endanger the overall effort in Afghanistan,” Gen. David Petraeus said in a statement issued Monday.
The Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida, plans to mark the anniversary of al Qaeda’s September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington by burning copies of the Muslim holy book. The church insists the event is “neither an act of love nor of hate,” but a warning against what it calls the threats posed by Islam.
Good for General Petraeus. Its time someone called out this arrogant man. Who better than the commander of all US troops in Afghanistan.
More from CNN:
With about 120,000 U.S. and NATO-led troops still battling al Qaeda and its allies in the Islamic fundamentalist Taliban movement, Petraeus warned that burning Qurans “is precisely the kind of action the Taliban uses and could cause significant problems — not just here, but everywhere in the world we are engaged with the Islamic community.”
And one of his deputies, Lt. Gen. William Caldwell, told CNN’s “The Situation Room” that event “has already stirred up a lot of discussion and concern” among Afghans.
“We very much feel that this can jeopardize the safety of our men and women that are serving over here in the country,” said Caldwell, the head of NATO efforts to train Afghan security forces.
Caldwell said American troops “are over here to defend the rights of American citizens, and we’re not debating the First Amendment rights that people have.” But he added, “What I will tell you is that their very actions will in fact jeopardize the safety of the young men and women who are serving in uniform over here and also undermine the very mission that we’re trying to accomplish.”
“I would hope they would understand that there are second- and third-order effects that will occur that will affect that young man and woman who’s out there on point for America, serving their nation today, because of their actions back in the United States,” he said
The stupidity and arrogance of this minister is almost unspeakable. When the U.S. Commander tells you that you are endangering the troops, you should listen. If even one of our men or women is killed because of this ignoramous, his entire ministry should be held responsible. How sad that Americans would involve themselves with book burning. Sounds Third Reich to me. I would have no problem with the press being ordered to stay away and the minister barred from his bonfire on 9/11, as a matter of national security. The first amendment is not without some limitations.
Meanwhile, we can only hope that our troops will be safe.
