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Obama delivers solemn 9/11 speech at Pentagon memorial service
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09/11/12 10:29 AM ET
During a Sept. 11 memorial service at the Pentagon, President Obama delivered a solemn speech in which he highlighted the killing of Osama bin Laden as well as ending the War in Iraq and the planned end of the War in Afghanistan.
Obama was accompanied by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and first lady Michelle Obama at the service.
The speech was part of a number of events Obama is participating in Tuesday marking the eleventh anniversary of Sept. 11. Earlier in the day he observed the anniversary of the terrorist attacks with a moment of silence on the White House lawn.
"To you and your families the rest of us cannot begin to imagine the pain you have endured these past few years," Obama said. "But no matter how many years pass, no matter how many times we come together on this hallowed ground, know this, you will never be alone. Your loved ones will never be forgotten."
Obama noted that during his administration, Osama bin Laden had been killed and the wars in the Middle East that came as a result of the terrorist attacks were nearing their end. He said that "today the war in Iraq is over" and by 2014 "the war in Afghanistan will be over."
"Al Qaeda's leadership has been devastated and Osama bin Laden will never threaten us again," Obama said.
Obama also stressed that the United States's war against al Qaeda and affiliated terrorist organizations was not a war on any certain religion.
"I've always said that our fight is with al Qadea and its affiliates, not with Islam or any other religion," Obama said.
Remembering Sept. 11 also reminds Americans that no single event can destroy the United States, Obama said near the end of this speech.
"So as painful as this day is and always will be, it leaves us with the lesson that no single event can ever destroy who we are," Obama said. "No act of terrorism can ever change what we stand for."
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