25 years later, America pauses again to remember 9/11

International

THE NAMES were read again, the bells rang again, and the moments of silence returned as the United States marked 25 years since the September 11 attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people and changed the country forever.

Ceremonies were held at the World Trade Center in New York, the Pentagon and the Pennsylvania field where United Airlines Flight 93 crashed after passengers fought back against hijackers.

President Donald Trump led the Pentagon commemoration, while Vice-President JD Vance attended the New York ceremony alongside former presidents George W Bush, Joe Biden, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, as well as the living former first ladies.

At the Pentagon, Trump was joined by cabinet secretaries and Condoleezza Rice, who was national security advisor on 9/11.

“Today we renew the sacred oath that we first swore in their names a quarter of a century ago,” Trump said in a BBC report, adding that the US would “never, ever forget” the victims. He also linked the “war on terror” that followed the attacks and years of US involvement in Middle East wars to his current conflict in Iran, warning that the Islamic Republic “will never, ever have a nuclear weapon”.

In New York, the names of the victims were read for nearly four hours. Bells and moments of silence marked the times the four planes crashed and the Twin Towers fell. A seventh bell was added this year to remember people who later died from illnesses linked to the attacks. US health officials say such illnesses have since claimed more than three times the number of lives lost on September 11 itself.

For survivors, the anniversary remained deeply personal. Some recalled the chaos of escaping the towers as the attacks unfolded, including the deafening impact of the second plane and the devastation left behind. Others used the commemoration to renew calls for accountability, questioning why, 25 years later, they believed there had still been no justice over alleged Saudi links to the attacks.

Saudi officials have repeatedly denied involvement. The 9/11 Commission Report “found no evidence that the Saudi government as an institution or senior Saudi officials individually funded” al-Qaeda.

Tributes were also held in London, Toronto, Gander and Milan, where Italian and US firefighters climbed 110 floors to honour emergency responders who died in the attacks.(MyTVCebu)