From Jim Kunder, Acting Deputy Administrator
U.S. Agency for International Development Remembers September 11
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 11, 2007
Press Office: 202-712-4320
Public Information: 202-712-4810
www.usaid.gov
Washington, D.C. - When terrorist planes struck on Sept. 11, 2001, they attacked a nation at peace and at work. Among the nearly 3,000 people killed that day were an estimated 500 foreign nationals and dual citizens from over 90 countries. This was not simply an attack on the United States but an attack on the civilized world. That morning we became a nation under siege and at war. Each of us will carry its horrific images forever.
President Bush has called this moment the "testing of a generation." And we at the U.S. Agency for International Development have been summoned to the challenge in unprecedented ways.
USAID has stood on the front lines of the war against terrorism in both Afghanistan and Iraq. We have worked to restore the infrastructure of countries that have suffered from a generation of devastating war and murderous tyranny. We have inoculated children, rebuilt schools and clinics and have laid the groundwork of democracy and a new political future through popular elections.
USAID is working to reduce the number of failing or failed states where terrorism breeds and hides. By strengthening the civil society of developing countries, strengthening their governing institutions and increasing their participation in the global economy, this Agency is fighting the underlying conditions that spawn terrorism and is striving to bring about a more peaceful and better world.
Today we remember. We remember those who lost mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, friends and loved ones. We remember and honor the many heroes and heroines who rushed to those in need. We remember and reaffirm our commitment to the advancement of human progress.
The U.S. Agency for International Development has provided economic and humanitarian assistance worldwide for more than 40 years.
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