Bill Clinton: “exactly 11 weeks ago today, we as a nation suffered the most horrific and tragic attack in our long history on our…”

“exactly 11 weeks ago today, we as a nation suffered the most horrific and tragic attack in our long history on our shores. It is almost impossible to reconstruct the feelings, the emotions, the reactions that have swept through our Nation in the wake of the events of September 11. Certainly our Nation has responded both abroad, under the President's leadership, through the extraordinary efforts of our men and women in uniform, to root out the terrorists responsible for this attack. Here at home we have faced continuing challenges in the aftermath of September 11, including the use of anthrax to bring about death and injury and create an atmosphere of fear. But I want to bring our attention back to that part of our Nation that suffered the most grievous attack. That was in New York City in Lower Manhattan. I don't think it was any accident that the terrorists chose this particular place in America to launch their attack. New York City is the global city, not only the capital of global finance but of global media, of entertainment, of intellectual ferment. It is a beacon, a magnet for immigrants from throughout the world. So the attack was well planned, not only to destroy buildings and kill innocent people but to send a signal to America that the terrorists were aiming to undermine our way of life. Clearly, we have responded with such strength and resolution that the effort undertaken by those who thought they would destroy us has clearly been repudiated.”