Translated material
The enemy is not yet broken
Americans are expecting new terrorist attacks
A minute of silence was observed yesterday across the United States in memory of the nearly three thousand victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. All members of the US administration, led by US Vice President Richard Cheney, took part in the funeral ceremony on the south lawn of the White House.President George W. Bush was at that moment in New York, where the bells rang at 8:46 am. It was at this time exactly five years ago that the first of the hijacked planes crashed into the first tower of the World Trade Center. Relatives of the victims of the tragedy read out the names of the victims, taking three pauses. At 9:03 a.m. the plane hit the second WTC tower. At 9.59 and 10.29, skyscrapers engulfed in flames collapsed. In the evening, on an empty site where buildings stood that symbolized the business power of America, two powerful searchlight beams rose into the sky.
George and Laura Bush opened Memorial Day with a breakfast with members of the rescue operation in New York. Then the president headed to Pennsylvania, where he laid flowers at the crash site of a plane hijacked by terrorists. Then he headed to Washington, where a memorial was held for those killed in the aircraft ramming of the Pentagon building. The US President was scheduled to make a televised address to the nation that evening.
After a memorial service at St. Paul's Cathedral in New York, Bush said: “I vowed that I would never forget the lessons of that day. The enemy who would like to deal damage again still exists. There are still enemies in the world who are ready to commit such a terrorist attack against the American people and their allies.”
Commemorative ceremonies were held yesterday in other countries of the world. Several dozen people gathered in London at the US Embassy. Canadian Halifax Airport was visited by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice - five years ago, after the closure of US airspace, Canadian authorities allowed American planes carrying thousands of passengers to land on their territory. In Russia, at the Moscow courtyard of the American Orthodox Church, located in the Church of the Great Martyr Catherine on Ordynka, a memorial service was held with the participation of Russian and American clergy, ambassadors of the United States, Great Britain, Israel and other countries. A funeral service was held at St. John's Church in Washington, attended by Vice President Richard Cheney and former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. “We did everything right. With the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, Iraq was wrested from the camp of terrorism. The world is a better place,” Cheney said after the service.
Deputy Director of the Institute of the USA and Canada of the Russian Academy of Sciences Viktor Kremenyuk told Vremya Novostey: “I don’t think that five years after the tragic events the United States feels safer. The attempt to destroy international terrorism did not bring them impressive success. The tragedy of September 11th brought America to the conclusion that it was vulnerable to a cabal of conspirators that could cause enormous damage to the peace of American citizens, the integrity of their institutions, and even strike cities such as New York and Washington. This caused shock and a desire to punish the terrorists.” The expert believes that five years after Washington entered the war against international terrorism, American society is still afraid of terrorists and does not feel protected. “The United States has failed to find an adequate means to counter international terrorism. An attempt to fight it only by military or police means has shown its inconsistency,” Mr. Kremenyuk noted.
According to a public opinion poll conducted by the weekly Time on the eve of the fifth anniversary of the tragedy, 67% of Americans are convinced that the United States will not be able to win the war on terrorism in the next ten years. According to 73% of respondents, a new large-scale terrorist attack could occur in the United States within the next year. “There will definitely be new terrorist attacks in the United States, but no one knows when. I don't know anyone in intelligence who doubts that there will be more terrorist attacks," said Thomas Kean, former chairman of the Independent Commission to Investigate the September 11, 2001 tragedy.
The Americans' fears about the possibility of a repetition of the tragedy are confirmed by an appeal to his supporters by the second man in al-Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahiri, posted recently on one of the Islamist websites. “The time has come when we need to take new actions, intensify the fight against the United States and its allies,” said terrorist number two. Recalling the recent Israeli bombing of Lebanon, he said al-Qaeda has every right to continue attacks on the United States and its allies.