America marked the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks with ceremonies at Ground Zero and the Pentagon as Trump saluted troops fighting Iran and a victim’s wife confronted Saudi Arabia.
By Imran Malik | World Affairs Desk | MediaBites.com.pk | NJNewsline.com
Twenty-five years ago today, the world changed in 102 minutes.
On September 11, 2026, America paused to remember the 2,977 people killed in the most devastating terrorist attack in the nation’s history — with ceremonies at Ground Zero in New York, the Pentagon in Washington, and across the country marking a quarter century since al-Qaida hijacked four aircraft and attacked the symbols of American power and prosperity.
About half of all American adults alive today remember September 11, 2001 as the most historic event of their lifetime, according to a new poll. For the other half, it is history. For the families of those who died, it is every day.
Trump at the Pentagon — Iran in His Words
President Donald Trump attended the 25th anniversary ceremony at the Pentagon, marking his second consecutive year choosing the Pentagon over Ground Zero for the occasion.
His remarks connected the past to the present with deliberate purpose.
“September 11th reminded us of the terrible power of hate,” Trump said. “The 25 years since have shown us the even greater power of the American spirit to endure and prevail and to win.”
He used the solemn occasion to salute American troops currently at war. “We salute the service members working right now to ensure the world’s number one sponsor of terror — the Islamic Republic of Iran — will never ever have a nuclear weapon.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was more direct. “Over the past six months we have laid waste to the world’s most prolific state sponsor of terrorism,” he said, connecting the ongoing US-Iran conflict explicitly to the September 11 attacks and Iran’s decades of support for terrorism.
A New Tribute — The Toxic Dust Victims
For the first time in the ceremony’s 25-year history, Ground Zero organisers added a silent moment of tribute for people who were exposed to the toxic clouds of dust released when the Twin Towers collapsed and have since died of cancer and other illnesses.
The full number of people who developed fatal health conditions linked to the September 11 dust remains unknown and contested. The addition of this tribute acknowledges that September 11’s death toll did not end on September 11, 2001.
The Saudi Question — Still Unanswered After 25 Years
The most powerful and most uncomfortable moment at the Ground Zero ceremony came not from any official but from Terry Strada, whose husband Tom Strada was killed in the attacks.
Standing before the crowd at the site where the Twin Towers once stood, Strada directly confronted what she called decades of official betrayal.
“U.S. presidents have chosen to protect the Saudis instead of standing with the 9/11 families,” she said as the crowd broke into applause.
“It has been one betrayal after another. President Trump can still change that.”
She addressed Vice President JD Vance, who was in attendance, directly. “Carry that message back. Stand with the families. Stand with the survivors. Stand with Americans.”
Fifteen of the 19 hijackers on September 11 were Saudi nationals. The Saudi government has consistently denied any involvement in the attacks. Twenty-five years later that denial remains the official position and the families of the dead remain unsatisfied with it.
Condoleezza Rice — A Regret That Never Left
Former National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, who was serving in that role on September 11, 2001, spoke at the Pentagon ceremony with a candour that caught attention.
“Those of us in authority on that day did not see the nature of the danger in time to prevent the attack of 9/11,” Rice said. “I will always carry deep personal remorse for the pain that you, the families of the fallen, still feel, and for the trauma that our country endured.”
Twenty-five years of carrying that remorse. The families of 2,977 people carry something heavier.
September 11 and Pakistan — The Connection That Never Ended
For Pakistan, September 11, 2001 was not simply a foreign tragedy watched on television. It was the event that pulled Pakistan into a two-decade war it is still living with. The alliance with the United States that followed September 11 cost Pakistan tens of thousands of lives, destabilised its western border regions, and shaped its geopolitics in ways that continue to define the country today.
As America marks 25 years, Pakistan’s relationship with the consequences of that day remains as complicated, as costly, and as unresolved as the questions Terry Strada asked at Ground Zero this morning.
Twenty-five years. The attacks are history. The consequences are still present tense.
— Imran Malik | World Affairs Desk | MediaBites.com.pk | NJNewsline.com
Source: Associated Press
