Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. 24/7 Space News .




TERROR WARS
911 attacks on US inspired 'fierce determination': Panetta
by Staff Writers
Washington (AFP) Sept 11, 2012


US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta hailed the "fierce determination" that emerged from the attacks of September 11, 2001, praising those who volunteered to serve in uniform as the country marked the 11th anniversary of the tragedy.

Speaking at a ceremony honoring the 184 people who died when a hijacked airliner slammed into the Pentagon, Panetta said the attacks failed to weaken America and instead inspired a generation to take up arms.

"For today we also recall that out of the shock and sadness of 9/11 came a new sense of unity and resolve, that this would not happen again," Panetta told families of those who died in the Pentagon attack.

"It inspired a fierce determination to fight back and protect our way of life."

Panetta was joined at the ceremony by President Barack Obama, who placed a floral wreath at the memorial marking the spot where Flight 77 hit that day 11 years ago at 9:37 a.m.

An ensemble of US Navy musicians dressed in crisp, white uniforms played patriotic hymns in somber tones as Obama spoke to relatives of those who died at the Pentagon.

The attacks were a watershed for the country and for the US military, which transformed its tactics but struggled to sustain an all-volunteer force that has been stretched to the breaking point after a decade of war, amid an epidemic of suicides and traumatic brain injuries.

"In trying to attack our strengths, the terrorists unleashed our greatest strength: the spirit and the will of Americans to fight for their country," said Panetta.

"Millions of Americans responded. A whole new and great generation stepped forward to serve in uniform, to fight this war on terrorism. They bled on distant battlefields. They relentlessly pursued those who would do us harm," he said.

The Pentagon chief, who as CIA director presided over the successful raid last year that killed Osama bin Laden, said the United States relentlessly pursued the Al-Qaeda leader.

"We never gave up the search for bin Laden. We successfully brought him to justice," he said.

Since the September 11 attacks, US military forces and intelligence agencies have waged war -- openly and covertly -- on Al-Qaeda and its affiliates in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia and elsewhere.

An invasion of Iraq launched by ex-president George W. Bush in 2003 had no direct connection to Al-Qaeda, though administration officials argued at the time Saddam Hussein's regime was a dangerous adversary that had to be disarmed.

In the chaotic aftermath that followed Saddam's fall from power, a lethal wing of Al-Qaeda rose up in Iraq.

US troops have since withdrawn from Iraq, while Obama has ordered a gradual drawdown in Afghanistan, with the bulk of combat forces due to depart by the end of 2014.

The grinding, 11-year-old war in Afghanistan appears at a stalemate amid flagging popular support for the conflict on both sides of the Atlantic. But Panetta said the war effort was making progress.

American troops have denied Al-Qaeda and its allies a safe haven in Afghanistan, said Panetta, adding that "they're fighting so that Afghanistan can secure and govern itself."

.


Related Links
The Long War - Doctrine and Application






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








TERROR WARS
Charity to refuse proceeds from US Navy SEAL's book
Washington (AFP) Sept 6, 2012
A charity for US Navy SEALs says it will refuse any proceeds from a book by an ex-commando who took part in the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, after the Pentagon threatened legal action against the author. The former Navy SEAL who wrote "No Easy Day," Matt Bissonnette, has promised to donate a majority of his profits to charities, but one of the non-profit groups he touted - the Navy SEA ... read more


TERROR WARS
First man on moon to be buried at sea: Armstrong family

Russian deputy PM proposes Moon station

NASA's GRAIL Moon Twins Begin Extended Mission Science

Flags at half mast across US for Armstrong funeral

TERROR WARS
Early Mars may not have been hospitable after all: study

India: From Ferrying Rockets on Cycles to Eyeing Mars

Indian PM defends spending on space exploration

Hadley Crater - closing in on the Martian interior

TERROR WARS
Mankind's messenger at the final frontier

35 years on, Voyager 'dancing on edge' of outer space

Space-age food served up with seeds of success

Africa eyes joint space agency

TERROR WARS
Tiangong Orbit Change Signals Likely Date for Shenzhou 10

China Focus: Timeline for China's space research revealed

China eyes next lunar landing as US scales back

China unveils ambitious space projects

TERROR WARS
Astronauts Take Second Spacewalk

ISS crew complete space station repair

Crew Wraps Up Preparations for Wednesday's Spacewalk

Building MLM Under Way at Khrunichev

TERROR WARS
S. Korea to make third rocket launch bid in October

Arianespace concurrently manages six missions with Ariane 5 and Soyuz

First-Stage Fuel Loaded; Launch Weather Forecast Improves

NASA launches mission to explore radiation belts

TERROR WARS
Birth of a planet

A Hot Potential Habitable Exoplanet around Gliese 163

NASA's Kepler Discovers Multiple Planets Orbiting a Pair of Stars

How Old are the First Planets?

TERROR WARS
World watches for 'iPhone 5' unveiling Wednesday

Airborne observatory and electronic noses - DLR presents new space developments at ILA

Estonian first graders to learn computer code

Tough gel stretches to 21 times its length, recoils, and heals itself




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement