Romney reflects on Sept. 11, a turning point in America’s history
Sep 10, 2021, 3:57 PM
The World Trade Center flag is presented by members of the New York Police and Fire Department at the Opening Ceremonies of the Salt Lake 2002 Winter Olympic Games at Rice-Eccles Stadium Friday, February 8, 2002. SLC is now in the running to host the games again, if selected in an international bidding process. (Stuart Johnson/Deseret News)
(Stuart Johnson/Deseret News)
The 9/11 terrorist attacks on America, twenty years ago Saturday, changed the course of the world, and in many ways, our way of life.
Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, spent a moment recently with KSL NewsRadio to talk about 9/11, the day he calls an inflection point in US history.
Romney: Haters behind 9/11 still out there
The haters behind the Sept. 11 attacks are still out there, and they want to destroy America.
“[9/11] was a wake up for us in this country to realize that there are people in the world that want to destroy us, that see us as being the antithesis of good, and they’re still there,” Romney said.
He said without the men and women in the US armed forces, terrorists, such as the Islamic State (ISIS), would still kill innocent people.
“Those men or women who fought to keep Afghanistan from being overrun by the Taliban and al-Qaeda, they did so with a great purpose,” Romney said. “And the same is true with regards to Iraq and the battles against ISIS. Had ISIS been allowed to grow and metastasize further, we would have undoubtedly lost even more life.”
After the attacks, Romney said it amazed him to see the unifying spirit of Americans to help the country in time of need.
“Just days after 9/11, we created a small pin that you could put on that said ‘United We Stand.’ We put those on sale, saying the proceeds would go to help with victims of 9/11 and their families. People lined up literally around the block to buy those pins and to pay a lot more for them than they were worth.”
2002 Winter Games
As CEO of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the 2002 Winter Olympics, Romney reflected on how momentous the opening of the Games were, just months after the 9/11 attacks.
“I do remember when then-President [George] Bush came into the opening-ceremonies stadium. The reverence and the awe that he was held in, just representing our country, was something which was remarkable. I remember the French team came in holding little French flags on one side and American flags on the other.”
Read more:
- 9/11: Why witnessing the first draft of history isn’t so great for the witnesses
- My Minute of News: How a crowded flight restored my faith in humanity
- Sen. Romney calls U.S. service member deaths in Afghanistan ‘unthinkable loss’
- ISIS-K in Afghanistan has worldwide goals, is more dangerous than Taliban
- President Biden to mark 20th anniversary of 9/11 at 3 memorial sites
- My Minute of News: Why the fall of Kabul feels so much like the fall of Saigon
