Today we pause to remember and pay tribute as ceremonies around the area and throughout the world mark the 13th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
It is an emotional day. The coordinated assault launched by the Islamic terrorist group al-Qaida against the U.S. killed nearly 3,000 people and left few untouched. Many of us had friends or family among those who were lost or later affected by the ongoing recovery effort and the resulting war on terrorism.
We vowed to never forget, but American resolve — so unified and strong in the dark days that followed the September terrorist attacks — seems to have dimmed.
Our military forces remain engaged in war, but with final troop withdrawals from Afghanistan on the horizon, many may consider that the job has been done.
After all, Osama bin Laden, the terrorist leader generally acknowledged as the primary architect of the attacks, was eventually found and killed by U.S. forces in May 2011.
The nation is weary of war and awaits peace and healing, and while we agree that we deserve such a time, we fear that it is not yet at hand.
We urge Americans to remain vigilant against the forces of terrorism, to strengthen their resolve and stand together as we did after the Twin Towers fell, the Pentagon was attacked and United Flight 93 crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, its passengers desperately trying to overcome their hijackers.
We need to find a way to rekindle that patriotic fervor that filled our hearts and helped us through those dark, early days after that long-ago September morning.
Today is a fitting time to renew our vow to resist the forces of evil because they continue to mount against us. They have waited and watched, knowing that as the years pass our resolve will weaken and our guard will eventually be let down.
Our enemies have grown more sophisticated and today they employ our favorite technological tools against us to recruit new followers here and around the world. If mass marketing via the airwaves and Internet can sell our favorite products, then why not use it to mass market terrorism?
What better way to influence young minds, gullible in their innocence, than to blast your message into millions of electronic devices?
On this, the 13th anniversary of the terrorist attacks, we should resolve to continue our fight against those who plot to bring down our nation. We urge you to remember that national defense is not a political issue and to stand behind our leaders as they launch new strategies to protect our interests here and abroad.
The world is much smaller now than it was in 2001, which puts our families within easy reach of those who wish to harm us.
One of the most powerful weapons against terrorism is truth, and we must employ it as we continue to fight for our nation’s future. We must counter propaganda by exposing the real message of terrorists who torture, enslave and behead those who do not share their views.
We also urge our congressional leaders to take immediate action now to develop a broader campaign to defeat the violent extremists in Iraq and Syria. As we said, national defense should trump political differences.
We did not yield to the terrorists that engineered the Sept. 11 attacks, and we cannot allow others to attack our people now.
We must show the world that we are again united against a common enemy and will remain so until that enemy is finally and totally vanquished.
