The United States on Friday commemorated the 25th anniversary of the devastating September 11, 2001 attacks with a poignant ceremony in New York. The event, marked by President Donald Trump's absence, saw searing criticism from victims' relatives. Vice President JD Vance and Trump's four living predecessors attended the ceremony at Ground Zero in lower Manhattan, where the names of the 2,977 victims were read out and a bell was rung to mark major moments in the attack.
President Trump, in an unusual move, paid his respects at the Pentagon instead of the New York event. He sought to link the 'war on terror' that followed 9/11 with his current conflict in Iran. 'Today we renew the sacred oath that we first swore in their names a quarter of a century ago. We will never, ever forget. That's why we fight today,' Trump said. 'We don't have a choice. There can only be victory. We fight hard. We fight to win.'
The event at Ground Zero was generally apolitical with no speeches. However, several bereaved family members who read out the names of those killed criticized Saudi Arabia and US leaders' closeness to the kingdom. Terry Strada, whose husband Tom Strada died in the Twin Towers, unleashed a stinging attack on Riyadh, accusing it of complicity in the attacks and denouncing former presidents who were in attendance.
The September 11, 2001 attacks were carried out by mostly Saudi hijackers and orchestrated by Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, a wealthy Saudi. Strada called for action from the absent Trump, questioning why there has been no justice for the role that Saudi Arabia played in the attacks. 'For 25 years, administration after administration -- including leaders in front of us here today -- chose to protect the Saudis instead of standing with a 9/11 family,' she said.
In New York, Democratic Mayor Zohran Mamdani, the city's first Muslim leader, attended the Ground Zero event despite a campaign urging him to stay away. The effort was spearheaded by the right-wing New York Post newspaper and former mayor and Trump ally Rudy Giuliani, who led the city through the crisis and was also present on Friday. The petition gathered more than 100,000 signatures.
A small anti-Islam protest gathered at City Hall and marched towards Ground Zero, flanked by a heavy police presence and counter-protesters. Mamdani won plaudits for revealing thousands of documents showing what city officials knew about toxicity levels of the air in Lower Manhattan following the attacks. After the initial dust cloud that followed the collapse of the World Trade Center, months of pollution and lingering dust ensued, causing cancers from which thousands of New Yorkers still suffer today.
The CIA also declassified and published dozens of 9/11-related presidential intelligence briefs to coincide with the 25th anniversary. Nineteen Al-Qaeda operatives hijacked four airliners on the nearly cloudless autumn day in 2001. Two of the jets slammed into the World Trade Center's Twin Towers, causing the iconic skyscrapers to collapse. A third plane struck the Pentagon, while a fourth -- believed to have been aiming for Congress or the White House -- crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after passengers fought back.
