Biden calls on Americans for unity on 21st anniversary of attacks

(Patria) - US President Joe Biden recalled the united American response to the Al-Qaeda attacks of September 11, 2001, during a commemoration at the Pentagon and vowed "never to back down" from terrorist threats.

Biden's remarks on national unity on the 21st anniversary of the attacks contrasted with his warnings in recent days about dangerous divisions in American society, including that some Republicans who support former President Donald Trump's agenda pose a threat to democracy.

"I hope we remember that in these dark days, we strove even harder. We cared for each other. And we united," Biden said, as rain fell on the soldiers standing behind him, along with his Secretary of Defense and top general.

Nearly 3,000 people died in the attacks when Al-Qaeda crashed planes into the World Trade Center towers in New York and the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, while a fourth plane crashed in Pennsylvania. Passengers on United Airlines Flight 93 overpowered the hijackers, and the plane crashed in a field, preventing another target from being hit.

The anniversary comes a year after Biden ended the US war in Afghanistan, launched two decades ago to eradicate the militant group Al-Qaeda, which carried out the September 11 attacks after planning them in Afghanistan.

Biden's chaotic withdrawal of US troops last year and the country's rapid fall into the hands of the Taliban were met with criticism from members of both political parties. But Biden promised that the fight against terrorism would continue. "We will not falter. We will not forget. We will never give up," he said.

Last month, Biden authorized a drone strike that killed Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, an Egyptian surgeon whose head was valued at $25 million and who helped coordinate the September 11, 2001 attacks.

US military and intelligence officials have warned that a complete US withdrawal from Afghanistan could allow Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State to strengthen and that, if unchecked, they could again begin to act against the US.

Biden and others have said that the threat of terrorism has spread throughout the world over the past 21 years, and that there are better ways to fight it than indefinitely long military engagements and wars.

"Our advantage in preventing another attack on the US is endless," Biden assured.

First Lady Jill Biden attended a ceremony in Pennsylvania on Sunday morning, while Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband Doug Emhoff attended another ceremony in New York. In New York, key moments of September 11, such as when both World Trade Center towers fell, were marked by silence after the ringing of bells.