Obama urges unity on eve of 9/11 anniversary

WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama on Saturday urged Americans to remain united in the face of terrorist attacks, in a barely-veiled jab at Republican White House nominee Donald Trump 15 years after 9/11.

“In the face of terrorism, how we respond matters,” Obama said in his weekly radio and online address, delivered on the eve of the 15th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks in the United States.

“We cannot give in to those who would divide us. We cannot react in ways that erode the fabric of our society,” he added.

“Because it’s our diversity, our welcoming of all talent, our treating of everybody fairly—no matter their race, gender, ethnicity, or faith—that’s part of what makes our country great. It’s what makes us resilient,” Obama said.

“And if we stay true to those values, we’ll uphold the legacy of those we’ve lost, and keep our nation strong and free.”

On several occasions Obama has denounced Trump’s bombastic rhetoric towards Muslims.

Following the December shooting rampage in San Bernardino, California for example, Trump called for a temporary ban on the entry to the United States of all Muslims.

Obama was speaking two months before the presidential election in which real estate magnate Trump will face Democrat Hillary Clinton.

The al-Qaida hijackings of Sept. 11, 2001—the first foreign attack on the US mainland in nearly two centuries—ruptured a sense of safety and plunged the West into wars still being fought today.

More than 2,750 people were killed when two passenger jets destroyed the Twin Towers, the symbol of New York’s financial wealth and confidence. Another jet slammed into the Pentagon, and a fourth jet crashed in a field in Pennsylvania after those on board tried to overpower the hijackers.

Evoking “one of the darkest in our nation’s history,” Obama noted that much had changed over the past 15 years since the attacks.

“We delivered justice to (al-Qaida leader) Osama bin Laden. We’ve strengthened our homeland security. We’ve prevented attacks. We’ve saved lives,” Obama said.

But at the same time, he said, referring to attacks in Boston, San Bernardino, and Orlando, Florida, “the terrorist threat has evolved.”

“So in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and beyond, we’ll stay relentless against terrorists like al-Qaida and [the Islamic State group] ISIL.

“We will destroy them. And we’ll keep doing everything in our power to protect our homeland,” Obama said.

source: newsinfo.inquirer.net

Pentagon launches lab review, widens moratorium after anthrax find

WASHINGTON  - The Pentagon has launched a safety review at nine U.S. military labs and expanded a moratorium on the production and shipment of deadly toxins after anthrax contamination was discovered in a Utah facility.

The contamination at the Dugway Proving Ground Life Sciences Test Facility in Utah was in "secure areas located outside the primary containment area," the Pentagon said in a statement on Thursday. The lab conducted a full decontamination and did not detect anthrax during re-testing.

Specifically, the deadly anthrax bacteria was found on the floors of two laboratories, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement.

"If proper biosafety procedures had been followed, these surfaces should have been free of the agent," it said, adding there was no public health risk.

Secretary of the Army John McHugh on Wednesday directed all nine Department of Defense labs and facilities involved "in the production, shipment, and handling of live and inactivated select agents and toxins" to conduct safety reviews immediately, according to the Pentagon.

The Army had already suspended production, handling, testing and shipment of anthrax at all four Defense laboratories that work with the bacteria. Now, that moratorium extends to critical reagents and other agents and toxins, the statement said.

Alongside Dugway, the Edgewood Chemical and Biological Center, the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, and the Naval Medical Research Center Biological Defense Research Directorate are involved in anthrax research, according to the Defense Department.

In late May, officials discovered live anthrax had been shipped to researchers in the United States and other countries and in July the Pentagon said the error exposed major problems in how it handles the killer bacteria.

The Defense Department then conducted a comprehensive review of its policies and procedures on anthrax, which led to an ongoing investigation at Dugway. The Pentagon said the CDC had also found incorrect and incomplete record keeping at Edgewood and the infectious diseases institute.  — Reuters

Remembering 9/11 with reflection, respect

Once again, the threshold of 9/11 is on us.

That date is such a grim reminder of what took place on September 11, a dozen years ago. More than 3,000 lives were lost that day. That date changed the world forever.

Terrorism was defined in the cruelest and the most inhumane way when it came to what attained worldwide notoriety as ‘9/11.’

How air travel since then has been direly affected is an everyday reminder: when passengers traveling by air are required by law to follow whatever measures must be observed join the daily scenes at airports.

On many an occasion, this writer is not the only one who hears how ‘inconvenient’ it is to fly; remembering the many inconveniences whose origins go back to that date when terrorism didn’t just rock New York City, but the rest of the world. After-shocks tell volumes where blackened-out areas still stand out.

Inevitably, the subject of 9/11 arises when friends and kin talk about what happened, told and retold to them by scenes on TV, not only on that day but each time air carriers accompanied the news.

Just to recall the scenes, how commercial airlines were flown into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon seemed far from real; the viewer would not err when she/he would think what she saw was on reel, a story on science. But those spectra did happen. They were real. Not reel.

The attack on the Pentagon caused the death of 184 people. Forty were killed on United Air Lines (UAL) Flight 93 in Pennsylvania when determined and dauntless passengers were able to prevent another building in Washington to be struck by their own plane piloted by terrorist hijackers.

Had those passengers failed in their plan of attack on the cockpit where terrorists had taken over flight control, who knows whether or not the Capitol or even the White House could have been spared.

It was still breakfast on the West Coast then. The phone rang incessantly. It was Jason, our grandson, a plebe at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland (class 2005) who was on the line. He assured us “all was well,” and not to worry about him. That was the ‘alert’ he gave. Then, he was off the line in just moments. No time for queries nor comments came from us, his family.

Later, we put two and two together. Their grounds, close to the Pentagon were identified by news reports as ‘that close’ to the terrorists’ target when that UAL flight came down.

One question that ensued that day and has morphed into more queries many a time thereafter: “Where were you when 9/11 took place?” That query almost parallels one such question: “Where were you when President Kennedy was assassinated?”

What everyone was doing then doesn’t necessitate slow recollection. Numbers among us can recall what was going on in our lives when 9/11/2001 descended in untold destruction, not only in terms of lives and property, but the inner spirit as well.

A new definition of terrorism emerged.

Panic-stricken scenes ensued. There were pathetically narrated losses seen and heard. Of lives. Of morale. Of sole wage earners. Of budding careerists in their respective fields. Of brave men and women. Of public servants. Of medical teams rushing to save lives. Of how 9/11 became a tragedy of immeasurable proportions. Of nameless and unidentified heroes. Of attempts to scamper to safety from sky-high edifices whose facilities ceased working. Indeed, so many scenes unfolded that did appear over a long period of time on tape.

Remembering 9/11/2011 is today’s reality.

Oftentimes, the term ‘remembering’ takes on an affectionate connotation.

Returning to ‘9/11’ is replete in sadness as it comes to the fore. Yes, it is ‘remembering,’ to a boundless extent. Threats of terrorism cannot be shunted aside.

If only to recall the lessons learned, 9/11/2011 is one date to be together in quiet. Not in any form of celebration. Just respect. Just a few moments of remembrance meant to defer to those who unselfishly gave up their lives so more lives could be spared. — The FilAm

source: gmanetwork.com