Trump Links 9/11 to Iran War at Pentagon Anniversary Speech — SkimNews
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- Donald Trump spoke at the Pentagon on the 25th 9/11 anniversary and linked the 2001 attacks to the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, now in its seventh month, vowing 'we will never, ever forget. That's why we fight today.'
- Trump skipped the main 9/11 commemorations in New York, breaking a tradition in which presidents mark major anniversaries at multiple sites including the World Trade Center, where 2,977 victims died.
- Trump explicitly connected the Al-Qaeda fight launched by Republican predecessor George W. Bush to the current Iran conflict, declaring 'we don't have a choice. There can only be victory' and calling Iran 'the world's number one sponsor of terror.'
- Trump used the memorial address to hit out at domestic 'fanatics' in an apparent swipe at Democrats, injecting partisan politics into a solemn anniversary venue.
- The Pentagon was itself struck on 9/11 — one of the hijacked jets killed 184 people there, whose names were read aloud as a single bell tolled during Friday's ceremony.
- Trump stated the stated objective of the current fight is ensuring Iran 'will never ever have a nuclear weapon,' a framing that recasts a seven-month-old war as unfinished post-9/11 business.
Why it matters: By skipping the New York site — where 2,977 of the victims died — to instead deliver a Pentagon address that casts the seven-month Iran war as a continuation of the post-9/11 'war on terror,' Trump elevates an active conflict into the symbolic vocabulary of America's most solemn anniversary and pulls partisan combat into a memorial setting.
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