911 anniversary news live Joe Biden calls for unity as US marks 20 years since world-altering attacks

20 years of conflict and terror since 9/11

Joe Biden has called for a return to the spirit of “true national unity” that took hold in America in the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks 20 years ago.

In a television address on Friday night he said that togetherness was seen in “heroism everywhere”, adding: “To me that's the central lesson of 11 September. Unity is our greatest strength.”

The US president is to visit the site of all three attacks today, in New York City and Pennsylvania, and at the Pentagon.

Washington has only just ended its involvement in one of the wars spawned by 9/11. Mr Biden withdrew American forces from Afghanistan last month as the native army the US had spent billions to equip and train collapsed, allowing the Taliban to retake power.

His unilateral decision caught allied nations on the hop and led to chaos at Kabul airport as thousands begged to be saved from the returning theocrats.

Meanwhile, people outside the US will reflect on a world forever changed by the hijackings which killed nearly 3,000 people two decades ago.

All-seeing government surveillance and other privacy infringements like full-body scanners at airports; the rise of Isis in the aftermath of the Iraq war; civilians slaughtered in anonymous drone strikes, including children; lawless “rendition” kidnappings of innocents and terrorists alike.

All this and more can be traced to the hours in which the globe stood aghast, watching smoke billow from the World Trade Centre before the towers’ horrifying collapse.

Show latest update 1631348774Boris Johnson says 9/11 commemorations demonstrate 'failure of terrorism'Boris Johnson says 9/11 commemorations demonstrate 'failure of terrorism'Jon Sharman11 September 2021 09:261631348174Book extract: I escaped the 80th floor of the North Tower â€" then it collapsed on me

You know what happened.

Twenty years ago, on what began as a splendid Tuesday, 11 September, 2001, at 8.46:30am, an American Airlines Boeing 767 passenger jet, Flight 11, travelling from Boston to San Francisco at 500mph, weighing about 12 tonnes, carrying about 24,000 gallons of fuel with 93 people on board, some of whose throats had already been slit by the suicide-terrorists, was hijacked and plunged into the 93rd floor of the North Tower of the World Trade Center, like a gigantic hurtling meteor from outer space.

It practically tore through the entire width of the building, straight across, from one side to the other. I was on the 80th floor, where I worked for Beast Financial Systems, writes Sharon Premoli.

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In one especially grim regard, no country has paid a higher price for the appalling events of 9/11 than the United Kingdom. Sixty-seven British people were killed that day, in what remains the single worst terrorist attack on British life, writes Tom Peck.

In the wars that were subsequently fought in their honour, almost 10 times that number of British military personnel have been killed â€" 455 in Afghanistan and 179 in Iraq.

America, unsurprisingly, has more horrifying numbers but they are in less shocking proportion. 2,605 Americans were murdered on 9/11, compared to an estimated 7,000 members of the US military who have been killed prosecuting the “war on terror”, which nominally came to an end in humiliating and violent fashion a fortnight ago.

Jon Sharman11 September 2021 08:571631345894Queen marks 9/11 anniversary with message to US

The Queen has marked the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks with a message to the president of the United States.

Her message said: "As we mark the 20th anniversary of the terrible attacks on 11 September 2001, my thoughts and prayers â€" and those of my family and the entire nation â€" remain with the victims, survivors and families affected, as well as the first responders and rescue workers called to duty.

"My visit to the site of the World Trade Centre in 2010 is held fast in my memory. It reminds me that as we honour those from many nations, faiths and backgrounds who lost their lives, we also pay tribute to the resilience and determination of the communities who joined together to rebuild."

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One of our many commemorative features marking 20 years since the 9/11 attacks

In the months immediately after 9/11, Wendy Lanski was a woman submerged, writes Josh Marcus.

Physically, she’d managed to make it out of the north tower of the World Trade Centre shortly before it collapsed, running until she reached a rescue boat at the water’s edge. Mentally, she never left the building.

How can you forget watching people jump to their deaths, then rewatching them on the news and in your head?

Jon Sharman11 September 2021 08:281631344154Watch Biden’s ‘unity’ addressJoe Biden calls for unity on 9/11 on 20th anniversary of attacksJon Sharman11 September 2021 08:091631343053Biden calls for unity as US marks 20 years since 9/11 attacks

Joe Biden has appealed for Americans to reclaim the spirit of co-operation that sprang up in the days following the 9/11 terror attacks.

The US president is due to pay his respects at the three sites where hijacked planes crashed â€" in New York City and Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and at the Pentagon.

However, he will leave speech-making to others, the White House said.

Instead his team released a pre-recorded TV address late on Friday in which Mr Biden spoke of the "true sense of national unity" that emerged after the attacks, seen in "heroism everywhere â€" in places expected and unexpected".

"To me that's the central lesson of 11 September," he said, adding: "Unity is our greatest strength."

Mr Biden also offered his condolences to families mourning loved ones two decades on.

He said: "It's so hard. Whether it's the first year or the 20th, children have grown up without parents and parents have suffered without children.

"No matter how much time has passed, and these commemorations bring everything painfully back, as if you just got the news a few seconds ago. And so on this day, Jill and I hold you close in our hearts and send you our love."

Additional reporting by agencies

Jon Sharman11 September 2021 07:50

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