8A
NEWS
SEPT.11
THE UNIVERSITY BARN KANSAN
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12; 2006
Bush addresses anniversary
President visits targets of attacks, defends continued fighting
BY TERENCE HUNT
ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — Five years after the worst terror attack in U.S. history, President Bush said Monday night the war against terrorism was "the calling of our generation" and urged Americans to put aside differences and fight to victory.
"America did not ask for this war, and every American wishes it were over," Bush said. "The war is not over — and it will not be over until either we or the extremists emerge victorious."
Bush, in a prime-time address from the Oval Office, staunchly defended the war in Iraq even though he acknowledged that Saddam Hussein was not responsible for the 9/11 attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people.
He said Saddam's regime, while lacking weapons of mass destruction, was a threat that posed "a risk
the world could not afford to take." At least 2,600 U.S. servicemen and women have died in Iraq, which Bush calls the central front in the war on terror.
"Whatever mistakes have been made in Iraq, the worst mistake would be to think that if we pulled out, the terrorists would leave us alone," the president said. "They will not leave us alone. They will follow us."
The address came at the end of a day in which Bush honored the memory of the attacks that rocked his presidency and thrust the United States into a costly and unfinished war against terror.
It was a day of mourning, remembrance and resolve. Before his address, Bush visited New York, Shanksville, Pa., and the Pentagon to place wreaths and console relatives of the victims.
Bush said that Osama bin Laden,
the mastermind of the attack, and
other terrorists were still in hiding.
"Our message to them is clear: No matter how long it takes, America will find you and we will bring you to justice."
Bush said the war on terror was nothing less than "a struggle for civilization" and must be fought to the end. He said defeat would surrender the Middle East to radical dictators armed with nuclear weapons.
He said Islamic radicals were trying to build an empire "where women are prisoners in their homes, men are beaten for missing prayer meetings and terrorists have a safe haven to plan and launch attacks on America and other civilized nations."
"Our nation has endured trials, and we face a difficult road ahead," the president said. "Winning this war will require the determined efforts of a unified country. So we must put aside our differences and work together to meet the test that history has given us."
》SEPT.11
Students march in Freedom Walk
BY JOHN MILBURN ASSOCIATED PRESS
FORT RILEY - Under gray skies, 520 red, white and blue-clad students marched Monday to remember the Sept.11 attacks.
Within the next month, 85 percent of the students at Fort Riley's Ware Elementary School will have at least one parent marching off to war.
The students participated in a Freedom Walk in the neighborhood adjacent to their school, making the mile-long trek with flags, a marching band and plenty of military presence. Chants of "U-S-A" echoed off homes, punctuated by cannon fire.
Fourth-grader Noah Kelly, whose father has been in Iraq, had a hard
time explaining why he marched and what all the excitement was about. His conclusion was "so that we could honor the soldiers that died and served the Army and honor the people who helped in 9/11 who died."
Katie Parnell watched as her husband, Sgt. Michael Parnell, joined his fifth-grade daughter Elena marching through the neighborhood. The sergeant, like most at Fort Riley, has had one tour in Iraq.
Across Kansas, schools and communities marked the fifth anniversary with speeches and ceremonies around flagpoles, where the flag was lowered to half-staff. Churches planned evening services to remember the more than 2,700 people who died in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania, including two men from Kansas.
Katie Parnell had her daughter read about the attacks and pay more attention recently to the news to understand why her father had to go to war.
"She's learning," Katie Parnell said. "She was in kindergarten. She really didn't know until now. I told her that when she has kids, they will understand that this was history that she has lived through."
Principal Deb Gustafson said the event was a way for students to say 'thank you' to the soldiers, their parents and others for their sacrifices in defending the nation. She had been principal at the school for little more than a month when the attacks occurred.
Annie Boller, from the Bronx borough of New York, takes a picture of the "Tribute in Light" as it illuminates the sky over Manhattan, Sept. 11 in New York, marking the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks.
Dima Gavrysh/ASSOCIATED PRESS
2006 ANDERSON CHANDLER LECTURE SERIES
THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS SCHOOL OF BUSINESS PRESENTS AN EVENING WITH
Matthew Rose
CHAIRMAN, PRESIDENT AND CEO BURLINGTON NORTHERN SANTA FE CORPORATION
"Future Transportation Crisis"
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2006 · 7:00 P.M.
THE LIED CENTER OF KANSAS
FREE TO THE PUBLIC