Barack Obama: Let's Reclaim the Post-9/11 Unity (by Community Organizing!)

Ten Septembers have come and gone since that awful morning. But on this 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, we are summoned once more to honor those we lost by keeping our country strong and true to their memory.

Over the coming days, we will remember nearly 3,000 innocent victims — fathers and mothers, sisters and brothers, sons and daughters who were simply going about their daily lives on a beautiful Tuesday morning. And we'll talk to our children about what happened on that day, and what's happened since.

Like every American, I'll never forget how I heard the terrible news, on the car radio on my way to work in Chicago. Yet like a lot of younger Americans, our daughters have no memory of that day....As they've grown, Michelle and I faced the same challenge as other parents in deciding how to talk with our children about 9/11.

One of the things we've told them is that the worst terrorist attack in American history also brought out the best in our country. Firefighters, police and first responders rushed into danger to save others. Americans came together in candlelight vigils, in our houses of worship and on the steps of the U.S. Capitol. Volunteers lined up to give blood and drove across the country to lend a hand. Schoolchildren donated their savings. Communities, faith groups and businesses collected food and clothing. We were united, as Americans.

On a day when others sought to destroy, we choose to build. Once again, Sept. 11 will be a National Day of Service and Remembrance, and at Serve.gov every American can make a commitment to honor the victims and heroes of 9/11 by serving our neighbors and communities. That's the America we can and must always be.

Unity my ass...

It was only a matter of days until the left starting protesting in favor of the jihadists...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protests_against_the_War_in_Afghanistan_(2001%E2%80%93present)

On September 29, 2001, as many as 20,000 people demonstrated in Washington, D.C., United States, denouncing the impending invasion of Afghanistan. The protests were organized by the recently formed A.N.S.W.E.R. coalition. Thousands gathered at Meridian Hill Park (Malcolm X Park) and marched downtown, while elsewhere members of the Anti-Capitalist Convergence clashed briefly with police on their way to Edward R. Murrow park, across from the headquarters of the World Bank and the IMF. Both groups of marchers converged on a rally at the Freedom Plaza.[1]

In San Francisco, USA, almost 10,000 people converged on a park in San Francisco’s Mission District to denounce the Bush administration’s plans for military intervention in Afghanistan.[2]

In Los Angeles, USA, roughly 2,500 protesters marched through the streets of Westwood.[3]

In New York City, USA, 3,000 to 5,000 people took part in a peace march at Union Square.[4]

Demonstrations were also held in the Netherlands, Spain and Greece. Over 10,000 people filled Amsterdam’s central square, the Dam, for an open air meeting with “Justice, not revenge” as the main slogan of the protest. It was the largest peace action in the Netherlands since the 1980s, when half a million people marched against the deployment of NATO missiles in their country.[4]

In Barcelona, Spain, 5,000 people attended a rally and marched behind a banner that read: “No More Victims—For Peace.” The protesters urged the Spanish government not to support any US military intervention or NATO retaliation.[4]

On October 1, 2001, several thousand protesters demonstrated in New York City, USA, against any military offensive in response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York and near Washington. Sporting buttons that said “Don’t Turn Tragedy into War” and “Our Grief Is Not a Cry for War”, many protesters argued that the attacks were not an act of war but a criminal act to be dealt with through the international justice system.[5]

On October 7, 2001, 10,000 to 12,000 people turned out in New York City, USA, to oppose the Bush administration’s so-called war on terrorism. The group marched from Union Square to Times Square, cheering the police at the beginning of the march. The list of about twelve speakers was cut to three or four by the police, and they were herded at the end into a one-lane-wide “bullpen”.

The October 7 March was only the latest in a string of anti-war protests in major U.S. cities and on college campuses. Demonstrations also took place in other countries around the world in recent days, including in Paris, France, where 5,000 people marched from the Place de la Republique to the Place de Nation to protest military action by the US.[1][6]

On October 13, 2001, more than 20,000 people joined the UK’s biggest protest yet against military action in Afghanistan by the USA and its allies. Turn-out was twice as big as had been expected by organisers, with the noisy but peaceful march through London culminating in a rally at Trafalgar Square.[7][8]

In Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom, around 1,500 people gathered in George Square for a rally against the military action in Afghanistan.[7]

In Germany more than 25,000 protesters took to the streets in cities across the country. In Berlin, the largest demonstration drew 15,000 people to the central square in a rally that followed several marches throughout the city under the banner “No war — stand up for peace”.[7][8]

In Sweden the biggest demonstration took place in Gothenburg, where more than 2,500 people marched through the city.[7]

In San Francisco, USA, 10,000 people took to the streets, while a rally in Washington Square in New York City, USA, attracted some 700 people.[8]

In Australia, thousands of people demonstrated in the cities of Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide.[7]

On October 14, 2001, hundreds of thousands of peace protesters in Italy and India called for an end to the bombing of Afghanistan. More than 200,000 demonstrators took part in the peace march from the central Italian town of Perugia to Assisi, with protesters shouting “Stop the terrorism against Afghanistan”, “We want peace not war”, and chanting slogans attacking George W. Bush, the United States president.[9]

In India, 70,000 people in Calcutta staged the biggest anti-war protest the country had ever seen. The protesters marched more than 7.5 miles through the city, entertained by performers who sang anti-war folk songs.[9]

On November 10, 2001, after weeks of bombing, hundreds of protesters took to the streets across the United Kingdom to call for an end to the bombing of Afghanistan. In Bolton 250 people gathered in the town’s Victoria Square. In York, about 200 protesters called for an end to the war during a two-hour demonstration. A vigil was held in London.[10]

On November 18, 2001, thousands — police estimated 15,000, organizers estimated 100,000 - from all over the UK took part in a march in London to demonstrate again against the war in Afghanistan.

Many protesters waved placards reading “Stop the War” and “Not in My Name”.[11] As the demonstration fell during Ramadan, an element of prayer was included in the final rally to allow pious Muslims to observe their faith. Headlining speakers included human rights campaigner Bianca Jagger, Labour Party veteran Tony Benn, Labour MP George Galloway, and speakers of Muslim faith.

Member of Parliament Paul Marsden told the rally:

“You are sending another powerful message to Number 10 and to the White House that we are not simply going to allow the atrocities of September 11 to be replaced with further atrocities in Afghanistan.”

Organiser Lindsey German said the bombing campaign had done nothing to tackle international terrorism.

“The war aims were never to install the Northern Alliance into Afghanistan to replace the Taleban. Most people who know anything about both regimes regard the Northern Alliance as just as bad.”

At the time the protest was the largest peace demonstration in more than twenty years.[12]