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Former President George W. Bush called on Americans to reject the ‘fear and resentment’ policy on the occasion of the 20th anniversary the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, recalling the unity he witnessed in the months following that fateful day.
Bush, who was president at the time of the attacks, delivered a speech Saturday morning at a memorial ceremony near Shanksville, Pa., Where Flight 93 crashed into an empty field after passengers and members of crew passed the plane of the hijackers who had planned to attack the United States Capitol.
“In the weeks and months following the 9/11 attacks, I was proud to lead an extraordinary, resilient and united people,” Bush said before noting that “when it comes to the unity of America, those days seem distant from ours. ”
“The malicious force seems at work in our common life which transforms each disagreement into an argument and each argument into a clash of cultures, ”explained the former president.
He went on to say that “much of our politics has become a naked appeal of anger, fear and resentment. It leaves us worried about our nation and our future together.”
Bush said that even though he came “without explanations or solutions,” he wanted to remember the unity among Americans in the aftermath of the plane crashes in Pennsylvania, New York and Arlington, Virginia.
“On the day of America’s trial and mourning, I saw millions of people instinctively grab a neighbor’s hand and rally together,” he noted.
“This is the America I know,” he added, eliciting applause from the crowd gathered at the memorial service.
Bush, who after the attacks launched the invasion of Afghanistan that sparked America’s longest war, said he wanted to speak directly on Saturday to those who served in U.S. military operations during of the past two decades.
“The cause you have pursued at the Call of Duty is the noblest America has to offer,” he said. “You have put your fellow citizens out of harm’s way. You have stood up for the beliefs of your country and advanced the rights of the oppressed. ”
“You have been the face of hope and mercy in dark places,” he continued. “You have been a force for good in the world. ”
Bush went on to say that “nothing that followed, nothing, can tarnish your honor or diminish your accomplishments.”
“To you and to the honor of the dead, our country is eternally grateful to you,” he added.
The anniversary of the 9/11 attacks comes after the widely criticized withdrawal of the Biden administration from Afghanistan as the Taliban consolidated power in the country two decades after the United States overthrew the militant group.
Bush, who joined the Shanksville ceremony with former First Lady Laura Bush as well as Vice President Harris and the Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff
Doug Emhoff Biden Marks 9/11 Anniversary with Post Acknowledging Lives Trump to Offer Commentary on Heavyweight Fight on September 11 New York Medical Examiner Identifies Two More 9/11 Victims Days Before 20th Anniversary MORE, also took the opportunity to warn of the dangers posed by both “violent extremists abroad and violent extremists at home”.
Bush said that while there is often “little cultural overlap between the two,” he argued that they are “filthy siblings, and it is our continuing duty to confront them.”
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