He will once again make the solemn journey to the places where lives were lost. Once again he will bow his head for a silent prayer and offer words of consolation to those whose lives changed forever in that brilliant September two decades ago.
But this time, Joe Biden will be the commander-in-chief in commemoration of the worst terrorist attack in the United States. It now has the responsibility of previous presidents to prevent future tragedies, and it must deal with new fears of a rise in terrorism following the departure of the United States from Afghanistan, the country from which they were launched. the attacks of September 11, 2001.
This anniversary comes just over two weeks after a suicide bomber in Kabul killed 13 U.S. soldiers who were aiding in the withdrawal from Afghanistan. And as the Taliban return to the Afghan government, there are concerns that the country may once again be a platform for launching attacks.
But for Biden, as for his predecessors, the 9/11 anniversary may also represent an opportunity to try to regain the sense of national unity that was experienced after the attacks 20 years ago, a spirit which faded long ago due to political divisions.
“It’s a time for people to see him not as a Democratic president, but as the president of the United States,” said Robert Gibbs, who was former press secretary to former President Barack Obama.
Biden will visit the three places where the planes crashed, events that deflated the image of the invincibility of the United States and caused the death of 3,000 Americans.
On Friday the government released a video to remember those who lost their lives, comfort their families and honor the courage and sacrifice of lifeguards and the military. The video calls for putting aside differences and regaining the spirit of cooperation that emerged in the days following the attacks.
“Unity is what makes us who we are,” Biden said. “For me, this is the main lesson of 9/11 … Unity is our greatest strength.”
On Saturday, the president will make a first stop in New York City, where the twin towers of the World Trade Center were torn down. He will then go to Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where a plane crashed after heroic passengers fought terrorists to prevent him from reaching his destination in Washington. And finally he will go to the Pentagon, where the most powerful army in the world suffered an unthinkable blow at home.
Biden’s task, like that of his predecessors, will be to commemorate the moment with a mixture of pain and determination. Biden, a man who has suffered immense personal tragedy, speaks of the loss with power and eloquence.
But Afghanistan will darken the day.
Osama bin Laden used this nation to plan attacks, marking the beginning of an era of attacks on soft targets (hotels, office buildings, nightclubs) in cities across the West. In Qaeda she was expelled from Afghanistan in the months following 9/11. But other groups have taken up the cause, including the Islamic State in Afghanistan.
Biden said for a long time that the U.S. military mission in Afghanistan was over. But for some, the return of the Taliban to power, and the terrorist threat that this could pose, have made the twentieth anniversary bitter and troubling.
Biden will be the fourth president to console the nation on this dark day. The terrorist attack defined the presidency of George W. Bush. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were still deadly when Barack Obama visited the Pentagon to commemorate his first September 11 in office in 2009. When Obama spoke on his tenth birthday, Bin Laden had died in May. of 2011. President Donald Trump pledged to take the United States out of Afghanistan in its first ceremony, in 2017.
On Saturday, when Biden visits all three sites, Bush will present his respects to Shanksville and Obama to New York. Meanwhile, Trump will make front-line comments in a boxing match at a casino in Hollywood, Florida.