Preserving 9/11's Authentic History

by Joe Daniels, Huffington Post

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joe-daniels/post_922_b_737860.html

Yesterday, the President of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, used a speech at the United Nations General Assembly to express his belief that "the majority of the American people, as well as most nations and politicians around the world agree" that "some segments within the U.S. governments orchestrated" the 9/11 terrorist attacks. His speech was a grievous insult to the families and friends of those who lost their lives that tragic Tuesday, as well as to a nation and world that remain outraged by the indefensible terrorist attacks perpetrated by al Qaeda.

While the impulse may be to ignore the rant of an individual who has consistently demonstrated a refusal to accept basic historic facts, including the murder of millions during the Holocaust, we cannot. Because someone like Ahmadinejad espouses and expresses such lies publicly, we at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum must lead the preservation and presentation of the authentic history of what occurred on 9/11. This history not only includes the worst of humanity in the execution of the heinous terrorist attacks, but also the best of who we can be through how this country and much of the world came together to support those in need.

The Memorial & Museum will honor the 2,982 people brutally murdered in the 9/11 terrorist attacks and in the February 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. Our collective determination to preserve both their memories and the history of what happened will prevail against the ignorance displayed at the United Nations yesterday.

We continue our work to open the institution that will be the global focal point for presenting the history of 9/11.