Wednesday, September 11, 2024

Honoring the Memory of 11 September: Text of president Biden's Statement


PIX CREDIT HERE


Psalms 11 (KJV)
1 In the LORD put I my trust: how say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain?
2 For, lo, the wicked bend their bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string, that they may privily* shoot at the upright in heart.
3 If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?
4 The LORD is in his holy temple, the LORD'S throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men.
5 The LORD trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth.
6 Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup.
7 For the righteous LORD loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright.

It has been my practice to post on the Anniversary of the 11 September Attacks (eg, here, here, here ). This year my offering is Psalm 11 set out above in its Kong James English version.

The Statement of President Biden on this Anniversary follows below. Mr. Biden chose to focus on the biblical imagery of the crucible. The allusion evokes Proverbs 27:21-22 ("The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and a man is tested by his praise. 22 Crush a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain, yet his folly will not depart from him."). One looks to what came; the other, perhaps, to what may come.

 

Statement from President Joe Biden on the Anniversary of September 11

Today, our nation comes together to renew our sacred vow: Never Forget.

Never forget each of the 2,977 precious lives stolen from us when terrorists attacked our nation. Never forget their families who still bear the grief from that searing September morning. Never forget the heroic citizens and survivors who rushed to help their fellow Americans. And never forget that when faced with evil—and an enemy that sought to tear us apart—we endured.

In the crucible of September 11 and the days that followed, we showed what Americans are made of. Firefighters and police officers running into the inferno of jet fuel and debris at Ground Zero. Civilians and service members at the Pentagon rushing into the fiery breach to rescue their colleagues. The heroes of Flight 93, who confronted terror with absolute courage and undoubtedly saved more American lives. Neighbors who showed up for neighbors to grieve and to rebuild. And hundreds of thousands of women and men whose hands went up—ready to serve our country.

On this day 23 years ago, terrorists believed they could break our will and bring us to our knees. They were wrong. They will always be wrong. In the darkest of hours, we found light. And in the face of fear, we came together—to defend our country, and to help one another. That is why terrorists targeted us in the first place: our freedom, our democracy, our unity.

They failed. But we must remain vigilant. Today, our longest war is finally over. But our commitment to preventing another attack on our people never will be. We will continue to disrupt terrorist networks wherever we find them. And we will continue to deliver justice to terrorists who plot against America—just as we did with Osama bin Laden in 2011 and Ayman al-Zawahiri in 2022.

And above all, we will continue to remember: we are the United States of America. We endure. We overcome. And there is nothing beyond our capacity when we do it together. May God bless our fallen and their families. May God protect our troops and first responders. And may God bless the United States of America. 

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