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September 7, 2003
THE second anniversary of the September 11 attacks this week looks set to be a low-key affair, reflecting a partial healing of wounds inflicted by the trauma and a switch in focus caused by the war in Iraq.
One year ago, the entire United States appeared to grind to a halt for a day of emotional remembrance, tearful public mourning and patriotic political speeches, following a week-long commemorative media blitz.
A year later, the tone will be as sombre, but also more private and reflective, with many minds more attuned to the volatile situation in Iraq than to the events that actually triggered the war there.
The national focus, as it was for the first anniversary, will be a ceremony at Ground Zero in New York, the site of the World Trade Center, where hijacked planes slammed into the twin towers, killing nearly 2,800 people.
Shortly after those attacks, another plane crashed into the Pentagon outside Washington, and a fourth hijacked plane crashed in Pennsylvania.
In a repeat of last year, the names of all those who perished will be read aloud at Ground Zero, but this time by children related to the victims.
The ceremony's participants will pause in silence four times -- twice to mark the times that each hijacked plane hit the towers and twice to mark the times that each tower fell.
"Our intent is to hold a ceremony that is simple and powerful and that honors the memory of those lost, so we can remember and reflect," said New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
A notable absentee will be President George W. Bush, who is sending Vice President Dick Cheney to Ground Zero as his representative.
Bush, who had led the mourners at Ground Zero for the first anniversary, will take part in a church prayer and remembrance service and will hold a moment of silence on the South Lawn of the White House.
Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld will lay a wreath at Arlington Cemetery and attend a ceremony dedicating a stained glass window at the Pentagon, while Labour Secretary Gail Norton will attend a ceremony in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
The US television networks, which abandoned normal coverage during the first anniversary to present long retrospectives, plan a reduced schedule this year.
"We don't anticipate the same extensive coverage of last year, when everyone was on the air for several hours," said a CBS spokeswoman.
Newspapers will run commemorative stories, but there will be no repeat of last year's free-standing special sections devoted to the event.
Charles Strozier, a practising psychiatrist and director of the Centre on Terrorism and Public Safety at New York University, said the muted tone surrounding the second anniversary marked a healthy progression.
"You can learn a lot about the significance of a tragedy in people's mind from the way they memorialise it," Strozier said.
"To me it is very illustrative that the mood this year is more private and dignified, whereas last year's anniversary was a big, splashy event and quite politicised," he added.
In another crucial change from last year, the Department of Homeland Security has no plans to raise the terrorist alert level ahead of the anniversary.
While stressing that the threat of terrorist action remained, the department said in a statement that it had "no specific information on individual targets or dates for any attack."
As an illustration of how some mindsets have changed in the past year, the New York Daily News on Thursday published an e-mail written by the vice president of the Tishman construction firm, Robert McNally.
Responding to a request from New York City officials for a 24-hour moratorium on work around Ground Zero on September 11, McNally replied: "9/11 happened two years ago, it is time to move on."
AAP
THE second anniversary of the September 11 attacks this week looks set to be a low-key affair, reflecting a partial healing of wounds inflicted by the trauma and a switch in focus caused by the war in Iraq.
One year ago, the entire United States appeared to grind to a halt for a day of emotional remembrance, tearful public mourning and patriotic political speeches, following a week-long commemorative media blitz.
A year later, the tone will be as sombre, but also more private and reflective, with many minds more attuned to the volatile situation in Iraq than to the events that actually triggered the war there.
The national focus, as it was for the first anniversary, will be a ceremony at Ground Zero in New York, the site of the World Trade Center, where hijacked planes slammed into the twin towers, killing nearly 2,800 people.
Shortly after those attacks, another plane crashed into the Pentagon outside Washington, and a fourth hijacked plane crashed in Pennsylvania.
In a repeat of last year, the names of all those who perished will be read aloud at Ground Zero, but this time by children related to the victims.
The ceremony's participants will pause in silence four times -- twice to mark the times that each hijacked plane hit the towers and twice to mark the times that each tower fell.
"Our intent is to hold a ceremony that is simple and powerful and that honors the memory of those lost, so we can remember and reflect," said New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
A notable absentee will be President George W. Bush, who is sending Vice President Dick Cheney to Ground Zero as his representative.
Bush, who had led the mourners at Ground Zero for the first anniversary, will take part in a church prayer and remembrance service and will hold a moment of silence on the South Lawn of the White House.
Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld will lay a wreath at Arlington Cemetery and attend a ceremony dedicating a stained glass window at the Pentagon, while Labour Secretary Gail Norton will attend a ceremony in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
The US television networks, which abandoned normal coverage during the first anniversary to present long retrospectives, plan a reduced schedule this year.
"We don't anticipate the same extensive coverage of last year, when everyone was on the air for several hours," said a CBS spokeswoman.
Newspapers will run commemorative stories, but there will be no repeat of last year's free-standing special sections devoted to the event.
Charles Strozier, a practising psychiatrist and director of the Centre on Terrorism and Public Safety at New York University, said the muted tone surrounding the second anniversary marked a healthy progression.
"You can learn a lot about the significance of a tragedy in people's mind from the way they memorialise it," Strozier said.
"To me it is very illustrative that the mood this year is more private and dignified, whereas last year's anniversary was a big, splashy event and quite politicised," he added.
In another crucial change from last year, the Department of Homeland Security has no plans to raise the terrorist alert level ahead of the anniversary.
While stressing that the threat of terrorist action remained, the department said in a statement that it had "no specific information on individual targets or dates for any attack."
As an illustration of how some mindsets have changed in the past year, the New York Daily News on Thursday published an e-mail written by the vice president of the Tishman construction firm, Robert McNally.
Responding to a request from New York City officials for a 24-hour moratorium on work around Ground Zero on September 11, McNally replied: "9/11 happened two years ago, it is time to move on."
AAP
