Now president, Biden to mark 9/11 rite amid new terror fear

He will again make the ritual journey to sacred American landmarks of loss. He will once more bow his head in silent prayer. He will repeat words of comfort for those whose lives changed forever on that brilliant September day two decades ago.

But this time, Joe Biden will hold the rank of commander in chief as he marks the anniversary of the nation's worst terror attack. Now, he shoulders the responsibility borne by previous presidents to prevent future tragedy, and must do so against fresh fears of a rise in terror after the United States' exit from the country from which the September 11 attacks were launched.

This 9/11 comes little more than two weeks after a suicide bomber in Kabul killed 13 US service members as the military concluded its withdrawal from Afghanistan. And as Afghanistan returns to Taliban rule, there are fresh concerns that the country could again be a launching pad for attacks that Biden's government will be charged with preventing.

But for Biden, like his predecessors, the 9/11 anniversary can also present an opportunity to try to reclaim the sense of national unity that followed the attacks, a spirt long since faded amid the country's divisive politics.

"For Biden, it's a moment for people to see him not as Democratic president, but as president of the United States of America, said Robert Gibbs, who served as President Barack Obama's press secretary.

The American people are somewhat conflicted about what they have seen out of Afghanistan the last couple of weeks, Gibbs said. For Biden, it's a moment to try to reset some of that. Remind people of what it is to be commander in chief and what it means to be the leader of the country at a moment of such significance.

The president will commemorate the solemn anniversary on Saturday by paying his respects at the trio of sites where the hijacked planes struck, puncturing the United States' air of invincibility and resulting in the deaths of 3,000 Americans.

While the ceremonies don't call for him to make public remarks, Biden released a video Friday to remember those who lost their lives, comfort their families and honour the courage and sacrifice of first responders and servicemembers over the last 20 years.

He delivered an impassioned appeal for the nation to set aside its differences and reclaim the spirit of cooperation that sprung up in the days following the attacks.

Unity is what makes us who we are America at its best, Biden said. "To me that's the central lesson of September 11, he added. Unity is our greatest strength."

First on Saturday for the president will be a stop in New York City, where the twin towers of the World Trade Center were toppled as a horrified world watched on television. Then, a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where a plane fell from the sky after heroic passengers fought terrorists to prevent it from reaching its Washington destination. And finally, the Pentagon, where the world's mightiest military suffered an unthinkable blow to its very home.

Biden's task, like his predecessors, will mark the moment with a mix of grief and resolve. A man who has suffered immense personal tragedy, Biden speaks of loss with power and eloquence, and he has repeatedly addressed the grief caused by the COVID-19 pandemic that has claimed more than 600,000 lives across the country.

We all remember distinctly that day and how much it's impacted us and has impacted us for the last several decades, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said this week. That's true for him as well. Afghanistan will shadow the day.

Osama Bin Laden used that nation to mastermind the 2001 attacks, ushering in an expanded era of terror attacks on soft targets hotels, office buildings, nightclubs in cities across the West. Al-Qaeda was routed from Afghanistan in the months after September 11. But other groups have taken up the cause, including the Islamic State group in Afghanistan, believed to be responsible for the Kabul attack last month.

Biden has long argued that the United States' military mission in Afghanistan was over, that the US needed to stop allowing its soldiers to die there. But for some, the return of the Taliban to power, and the terror threat it could produce, has made the 20th anniversary a bitter and worrisome one.

Biden will be the fourth president to console the nation on the anniversary of that dark day, one that has shaped many of the most consequential domestic and foreign policy decisions made by the chief executives over the past two decades.

The terror attack defined the presidency of George W. Bush, who was reading a book to Florida schoolchildren when the planes slammed into the World Trade Center.

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were still deadly when President Barack Obama visited the Pentagon to mark his first September 11th in office in 2009.

By the time Obama spoke at the 10th anniversary, bin Laden was dead, killed in a May 2011 Navy Seal raid.

President Donald Trump pledged to get the US out of Afghanistan, but his words during his first September 11 anniversary ceremony in 2017 were a vivid warning to terrorists, telling these savage killers that there is no dark corner beyond our reach, no sanctuary beyond our grasp, and nowhere to hide anywhere on this very large earth.

On Saturday, as Biden visits all three sites, Bush will pay his respects in Shanksville while Obama will do the same in New York. Trump will be delivering ringside commentary at a boxing match at a casino in Hollywood, Florida, though he is planning to make at least one stop in Manhattan.