The United States will never wage a war against Islam or any other religion, President Barack Obama said in a speech to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks.
On the anniversary of the worst terrorist attack in modern history the president and first lady Michelle Obama visited the three sites of the attack - in New York, Shanksville and Washington, where they met relatives of the victims.
"These past 10 years underscore the bonds between all Americans. We have not succumbed to suspicion and mistrust. After 9/11, President Bush made clear what we reaffirm today: The United States will never wage war against Islam or any religion." Obama said.
In the September 11 attacks, al Qaeda's 19 men hijacked airliners and crashed them into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon outside Washington. Another aircraft, presumably destined to hit the White House or the U.S. Capitol, fell on a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. A total of 2,974 people were killed, and 24 are still listed as missing.
Just weeks after that, U.S. forces invaded Afghanistan to topple that country's Taliban rulers who had harbored the al Qaeda leaders responsible for the September 11 attacks.
