President Barack Obama used his weekly presidential address Saturday to look ahead to the eleventh anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on Tuesday.
"This week, we mark the eleventh anniversary of the September 11th attacks. It's a time to remember the nearly 3,000 innocent men, women and children we lost, and the families they left behind," Obama said in his video address to the nation.
"It's a chance to honor the courage of the first responders who risked their lives - on that day, and every day since. And it's an opportunity to give thanks for our men and women in uniform who have served and sacrificed, sometimes far from home, to keep our country safe. This anniversary is about them," he added.
"On that clear September morning...we were filled with questions," Obama continued. "Where had the attacks come from, and how would America respond? Would they fundamentally weaken the country we love? Would they change who we are? The last decade has been a difficult one, but together, we have answered those questions and come back stronger as a nation."
The president went onto to say Americans have grown in the last decade into a people stronger than we could have been before the attacks - a people who didn't turn to grief, anger or solitude, or turn on each other.
"That's the legacy of 9/11 - the ability to say with confidence that no adversary and no act of terrorism can change who we are. We are Americans, and we will protect and preserve this country we love," Obama said.
The White House has not yet released how the president will mark the anniversary on Tuesday. However, the Department of Defense confirmed today they will hold a remembrance ceremony in the Pentagon's center courtyard on Tuesday.
Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. James Winnefeld Jr. and Director of Administration and Management Michael L. Rhodes will speak at the event.
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