Remarks for September 11th Commemoration
September 11, 2005

Today we commemorate the fourth anniversary of September 11, a date that is seared in the memories of all Americans and most people worldwide. 

On that date, terrorists from Al Qaida commandeered four planes -- and stole the future from nearly 3,000 innocent people from the United States and more than 90 countries around the world.  They took the lives not only of everyone aboard those planes, but also of thousands of others who worked at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and of hundreds of New York City policemen and firemen who selflessly gave their lives to try to save others.

Everyone who saw the tragic events of September 11 unfold hoped -- and prayed -- that the world would never again see such a tragedy.  But we have.  And more often than anyone of us would ever have imagined.  In the months since September 11, 2001, terrorists have been responsible for the loss of many other innocent lives -- in Indonesia, in Russia, in Egypt, in Madrid, and most recently in London. 

All of us are well aware that terrorism was not invented on September 11.  Far too many countries around the world have endured tragic attacks for decades.   But the September 11 attacks – and those that have followed it its wake – have demonstrated beyond a doubt that today’s terrorists fully intend to strike to the limits of their power and will use any and every means available to them, irrespective of the nationalities, cultures, occupations, religious beliefs, ages or gender of their victims.  

Concerted efforts by law enforcement, military, intelligence, diplomatic and financial community in a host of nations have weakened al-Qaida’s capabilities.  But there is much still to do, and international cooperation is the key.  

Understanding that, we and our allies -- El Salvador, Spain, and the United Kingdom -- all of whom are represented here today – are working together to reconfigure national and international security arrangements to protect our people and our borders.   

Our joint, long-term objective is a lasting, democratic peace in which nations can develop and prosper, free from the threat of terror. 

I now ask, as a Marine Color Guard lowers the American flag to half-mast that the Spanish Ambassador, Jorge Hevia Sierra, and the Honorary British consul George Chippendale, join me in placing a floral wreath in front of the monument to our left. 

Once the wreath is placed, and we hear the soulful notes of Taps being played, I ask that you bow your heads and, with me, offer a minute of silence in memory – not only of the victims of September 11, but also of all the other innocent men, women, and children of so many nationalities who have suffered or died as a result of terrorism.  I ask that you also include in your thoughts and prayers those who have lost family and friends and virtually all of their worldly possessions as a result of Hurricane Katrina; may they – and the many who are working so hard to restore normalcy to the devastated Gulf Coast – derive strength from the knowledge that we are with them in spirit.