Trump, Past US Presidents Mark 9/11's 25th Anniversary
The Facts
- U.S. President Donald Trump marked the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks at the Pentagon on Friday, saying the quarter-century since had demonstrated "the even greater power of the American spirit to endure and prevail."
- "We're being tested today, and we're winning that test very handily," Trump said in a speech honoring the 184 people who were killed at the Pentagon and aboard American Airlines Flight 77 on Sept. 11, 2001. A total of 2,977 people died in the 2001 attacks.
- In his remarks, Trump turned to the ongoing war with Iran, calling it the "world's number one sponsor of terror," saluting service members working to ensure that Iran "will never, ever have a nuclear weapon."
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The Spin
Narrative A
Twenty-five years on, the families still have no justice because administration after administration shielded Saudi Arabia instead of the Americans it buried. They withheld evidence, vetoed JASTA, broke public and private promises and the betrayals kept coming. Release the unredacted files and make the Kingdom answer for the agents who backed the hijackers.
Narrative B
The real way to honor the victims is to keep the next attack from happening, and right now that mission is being hollowed out. Experienced counterterrorism agents are walking out the door, budgets are being cut and FBI personnel are being pulled onto immigration raids while al-Qaeda and IS franchises spread across Somalia and the Sahel. Complacency is how 9/11 happened the first time.
Narrative C
Saudi Arabia is America's partner in fighting terrorism, and there's no evidence that the government or senior officials directed or funded the attacks. Since then, Riyadh has emerged as a critical counterterrorism partner, providing intelligence that has disrupted plots and reforming its approach to extremism. Preserving this partnership strengthens defenses against current threats from Iran and jihadist groups far more effectively than litigating settled history.
Metaculus Prediction
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