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                          Obama Dedicates 9/11 Museum

   by VOA News

   President Barack Obama has dedicated a new museum in New York
   recounting the horror of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in
   the United States that killed nearly 3,000 people.
   The American leader Thursday recalled the heroism of rescue workers who
   helped save thousands of people trapped in the twin towers of the World
   Trade Center after al-Qaida hijackers crashed passenger jets into the
   skyscrapers.
   "A nation that stands tall and united and unafraid because no act of
   terror can match the strength or the character of our country," the
   president said. "At the great wall and bedrock that embraces today,
   nothing can ever break us. Nothing can change who we are as Americans."
     ''Families of the victims and rescue workers gathered for the
   dedication at the National September 11 Memorial Museum, located on the
   footprint of the World Trade Center.
   The skyscrapers were destroyed when al-Qaida terrorists hijacked
   commercial passenger jets and flew them into the buildings.  Al-Qaida
   hijackers also crashed planes into the Pentagon, outside Washington,
   while another hijacked plane crashed in Pennsylvania.
   The museum and memorial plaza, set to open to the public next week, has
   been years in the making.  Its completion was troubled by disputes over
   its design, construction delays and -- to this day -- whether
   unidentified remains of some of the victims of the attacks should be
   buried in the depths of the new structure or above ground.
   Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg says the project holds wide
   meaning for visitors.
     ''"The museum is a place where you can come to understand 9/11
   through the lives of those who were killed and the lives of those who
   rushed here to help," Bloomberg said. ''The museum is almost entirely
   underground, extending to the bedrock where the steel supporting the
   World Trade Center was anchored.  Massive pieces of distorted steel
   recovered from its destruction are on display, as are 10,000 artifacts
   from the attacks and their aftermath.  There are pictures of those
   killed, a handwritten plea for rescue and voices of people from around
   the world recalling where they were when they heard about the attack
   and watched the day's horror unfold on live television.
   A film, "The Rise of al-Qaida," can be seen at the end of the
   exhibition.
   When entering and leaving the museum, visitors can look up through a
   glass ceiling and see a new tower, One World Trade Center, that is
   scheduled to open late this year.
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References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/obama-dedicates-911-museum/1915153.html