Today is the 17th anniversary of 9-11. On that day in 2001, terrorists who were members of the terrorist group, Al Qaeda, under orders from Osama Bin Laden, seized four American airliners filled with passengers by force and flew three of them into the two towers of the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington D.C. After learning of the carnage by cell phone, the passengers of the fourth airliner attacked their terrorist captors and took control of the plane by force. They, like the passengers of the other three aircrafts, all died that day; but their sacrifice likely saved the Capitol Building and the lives of thousands more Americans on the ground. Any illusions we might have had that we lived in a time of peace ended that day. The War on Terror continues to this day.
All flags should be flown at half-staff.
Governor Kay Ivey said, “At the request of the President, I am directing flags to be displayed at half-staff on Tuesday, September 11, 2018 to honor and remember the victims of September 11, 2001. The flags should remain lowered at half-staff until sunset on Tuesday, September 11, 2018.”
Congresswoman Martha Roby, R-Montgomery, wrote, “May we never forget the innocent lives lost and the brave lives sacrificed on this day. I hope that you will join me tomorrow in remembering the victims, honoring the heroes, and reaffirming our American ideals of bravery, freedom, and patriotism.”
Today is also the anniversary of the deadly attack on the American Consulate in Benghazi, Libya.
Nine days after the crushing terrorist attack, then President George W. Bush said, “Even grief recedes with time and grace. But our resolve must not pass. Each of us will remember what happened that day, and to whom it happened. We’ll remember the moment the news came — where we were and what we were doing. Some will remember an image of a fire, or a story of rescue. Some will carry memories of a face and a voice gone forever. And I will carry this: It is the police shield of a man named George Howard, who died at the World Trade Center trying to save others.”
To this day, the memory of Sept. 11, 2001, still haunts this country like few events possibly could.
U.S. military forces are still battling the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan. U.S. military are still fighting ISIS forces in Iraq and Syria. American units are also engaged with terrorist insurgents in Africa and other places.
On Monday, President Donald J. Trump affirmed that the national state of emergency that Congress passed in the days following September 11, 2001, is still in effect.
“Consistent with section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act, 50 U.S.C. 1622(d), I am continuing for 1 year the national emergency previously declared on September 14, 2001, in Proclamation 7463, with respect to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and the continuing and immediate threat of further attacks on the United States. Because the terrorist threat continues, the national emergency declared on September 14, 2001, and the powers and authorities adopted to deal with that emergency must continue in effect beyond September 14, 2018. Therefore, I am continuing in effect for an additional year the national emergency declared on September 14, 2001, in response to certain terrorist attacks.”
