9/11 Remembrance Speech, September 10, 2010

Ambassador Solomont

Tomorrow is the ninth anniversary of September 11. Who among us doesn’t remember where we were or what we were doing on that day that changed all of our lives. It is especially important to remember those who lost their lives that day – the passengers on the ill-fated flights hijacked by terrorists, the innocent people working in the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on that sunny September day, and the brave police, firefighters and citizens of New York who rushed to the assistance of those trapped in the burning towers. We should never forget the names of the innocent civilians who perished in that horrific attack on American soil.
 
Neither, should we forget that what happened that day was not really motivated by a religious ideology nor was it targeted at a certain group of people. That terrorist attack was motivated by hatred and a political agenda. It was an attack against American values and against our country as a symbol of progress and democracy, the champion of religious and political freedom around the world. The perpetrators were people who reject those universal values, embodied in the declaration of human rights, and who hold them as inimical to their political goals and their world vision. We must be unflagging in our adherence to, and our respect for the values that were attacked that day.
 
The victims of the 9/11 attacks came from every walk of life, from every religion, from every ethnic group, and from more than ninety countries around the world. Like the March 11 bombings in Madrid in 2004, the attack was indiscriminate, designed to sow fear and drive people apart. The Atocha bombings created a sad bond between the people of Spain and the United States, and a growing realization that this new generation of terrorist is willing to strike anyone, anywhere, without regard for who is target of their violence.
 
We honor the victims of those attacks best by respecting their diversity, and the diversity of the American people and the Spanish people. The world is a tapestry of different faiths and ethnicities which we should celebrate and not defame. Instead of letting terror divide us, we must stay true to our values by recognizing the common threads of the tapestry that unites the world’s great religions and by respecting and honoring their differences as well.
 
This is the spirit that guides the work of this Embassy community and our partnership with our colleagues and counterparts in Spain. In the last week alone, we’ve had two inter-faith events, one celebrating an Iftar dinner, breaking the fast of Ramadan in observance of established Islamic practice, and another celebrating Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year. Our guests at these events came from a variety of faith groups, from government, the private sector, and academia, to share a common experience and learn from those around them. Building bridges based on our common values and respect for our differences is the best way to honor the victims of 9/11, and 3/11, and all those who have been and are victimized by intolerance anywhere in this world.
 
President Obama spoke to these values at the Iftar dinner he hosted at the White House when he said: “The principle that people of all faiths are welcome in my country and that they will not be treated differently by their government is essential to who we are …We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus – and non-believers… That diversity can bring difficult debates… But time and again the American people have demonstrated that we can work through these issues, stay true to our core values, and emerge stronger for it.”
 
In the days following 9/11, President George W. Bush called for restraint and stated without equivocation that acts of reprisal against Muslims or any other group would not be tolerated. Tomorrow, Former First Lady Laura Bush will join First Lady Michelle Obama at a memorial for the brave passengers of United flight 93 who resisted the hijackers and brought their plane down in a Pennsylvania field rather than let it be used as a weapon. The President will lead memorial services at the Pentagon, and Vice President Biden will participate in a ceremony at ground zero.
 
I know that each of them will call upon us to honor those killed on 9/11 with a spirit of compassion and inclusiveness, and with full respect for the American values that were the target of attack that day. 
 
On this anniversary of a dark day in our history, I ask all of us to recommit ourselves to the American values that have always been a beacon to the world – the values of personal liberty, of religious freedom, of tolerance and diversity. 
 
May we now observe a moment of silence.