President Joe Biden will commemorate the 20th anniversary of the attack on the United States on September 11 by visiting each area where hijacked planes crashed in 2001, seeking to pay tribute to the victims of this tragic event.
Biden will kick off the day in New York, where he will attend the event at 8:30 a.m. EDT in the area where the two World Trade Center towers stood before the planes crashed into both buildings until they collapsed.
He would then head to Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where United Flight 93 crashed into the arena after passengers overtook the hijackers and blocked another target.
Biden will eventually return to Washington to visit the Pentagon, a symbol of American military power killed by one of the aircraft used as arrows that day.
The commemoration comes shortly after the end of the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan, which was launched 20 years ago to end al Qaeda, which struck on 9/11.
Biden's withdrawal from the US military in August, months after the deadline set by his predecessor in the Republic, Donald Trump, and the rapid fall of the Taliban have drawn criticism from members of both political parties.
Biden is not scheduled to comment anywhere, but released a video on Friday expressing his sympathy for the victims' loved ones and highlighting the national unity that led to, at least initially, after 9/11.
"It's very difficult. Whether it's the first year or the 20th, children grow up without parents and parents suffer without children," Biden said.
The president has seen the heroism seen in the days following the attack.
"We have also seen something unusual: a true sense of national unity," Biden said.
Biden, a Democrat, promised to build such a coalition after taking office earlier this year, but the country is still deeply divided politically.
U.S. presidents usually go to one of the three attacks venues for the 9/11 celebration but it is rare to visit all three on the same day.
"The President saw the need to visit each of these three places to remember the lost lives, the sacrifices made by the day that have affected millions of people across the country but also many people in those communities," said White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki. on friday.
Biden is relieved of his role as a great comforter after the tragic loss of his family.
"It doesn't matter how long it has been, and these reminders bring back all the sadness, as if you had received the news a few seconds ago. And then on this day, Jill and I hold you close to our hearts and send you our love," he said in a video, referring to his wife, Jill Biden.
Last month, many of the families of the 9/11 victims asked Biden to skip 20-year commemorative events unless he posted a list of conflicting papers to show that Saudi Arabian leaders supported the attack. Last week the president instructed the Department of Justice to review documents from the FBI's investigation into attacks on dissent and release.
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