We are here at the 9/11 Memorial Plaza as the commemoration ceremony of the 23rd anniversary of the September 11th. Terror attacks are about to begin, and we want to show you this video that just came in. We saw this moments ago. Kamala Harris being speaking with obviously, New York Senator Chuck Schumer, C Kirsten, Joe Lauren it behind her, Joe Biden next to her. Mike Bloomberg seems to be facilitating a handshake between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. Just hours after that debate in Philadelphia, the two candidates standing nearly side by side, two people apart and shaking hands as they are now standing very close to where we are here. As this ceremony is about to begin, quite a moment to see and probably a moment a lot of people want to see, which is at least kindness and and being cordial to one another in the face of this somber, hallowed place. Ground zero, as this ceremony is about to get underway here with me and watching all of this is CNN law enforcement, senior law enforcement analyst John Miller. I mean, before we talk about all of the things related to security, that in the evolution of security in the and the threat landscape in the 20 plus years since 911. Just seeing that, though, John, this is not a day about politics or about politicians. The families have always made that clear. And seeing that it's something I mean, one of the on that terrible, terrible day, 9/11, and one of the things that came out of it was it brought the country together. It brought people together and brought competitors and even enemies together. because of just the nature of that event and it is good to see, because the question that always lingers is, well, how long is long enough to forget that this morning, two people who were going at it last night about politics can put that on the shelf for a minute. I was thinking about that this morning, actually, John, because, I mean, not only does this anniversary land in the thick of the election season, it also comes the day after the morning after that hugely consequential and contentious debate. And I was thinking back to 2008, when you had two other presidential candidates, Barack Obama and John McCain, who were in the thick of an election as well, set it aside on this anniversary morning and walk together side by side and laid flowers together, roses together, just really in the embodiment of putting politics aside for the moment. And I have to be honest, I thought this morning there is no way we would see anything like that in this day and age and how contentious politics is. But they shook hands well, and maybe a tribute to the day or it maybe a tribute to Mike Bloomberg as a guy who can bring that together. Mike Bloomberg was definitely making it happen. But if you think about that debate last night, one of the things that barely got a mention was, the specter of terrorism. they talked about Afghanistan and the withdrawal, but not about the current threat to the United States. And that's something that, I mean, you have been tracking. There have been so many big, bold names in the security space talking about the the, the all of the lights are blinking red right now. How do you see and what do your sources say about the threat landscape today? Well, I, I looked at people like Mike Morrell, the former deputy director of the CIA, Graham Allison, the terrorism expert from Harvard. And they're saying we are in a September 10th, 2001 moment here, which is that it's simplest when terrorist organizations tell you they're going to do something, it usually means they intend to do it. It's not code, it's not a trick. And what we've been seeing here is the reemergence of ISIS extolling people to attack the United States, lone wolves. but we're also seeing enabled and directed plots in places like Moscow where people were killed in a shopping mall, burned to the ground, or even Iran, where ISIS attacked, a funeral of Kassam, Soleimani, arguably another terrorist leader. So the idea that terrorism in the post 9/11 world, after all those wars in those places, has been put to rest or is under control, is something I would really warn against. this is a time where on that issue, we have to have our left hand tied. And look, I had the secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, standing with me speaking this morning, a department created in it as the lessons learned in the post 9/11 World. Are things fixed in terms of the intelligence gaps? Oh, let's actually pause there. Now, hearing behind me, we see the procession beginning as the ceremony is about to begin. Let's it. Let's watch this together. Can we continue watching this procession? We will soon be hearing the national anthem. As we approach 846. A moment of silence. The moment that the first hijacked plane struck. The first tower, the north tower of the World Trade Center. And as we are watching this, it's this, this image, this beautiful image is reminding me of the one of the changes that the nine over 11 brought about was the call to service of so many. It's fascinating to see today as these firemen, walk by policemen marching, that there are those who work here and survive, long retired. There are those who are here and did not survive, whose children were either just born. because we're talking, you know, a couple of who are now on the fire department or now join the police department and carry their parents legacies forward, both men and women and. So can you see, by the dawn's early light. What so proudly we hailed. At the twilight's last gleaming. Whose broad stripes and bright stars. Through the perilous fight. O'er the ramparts we watched. Were so gallantly streaming. And the rockets red glare. Bombs bursting in. Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. Oh, say does that star spangled banner yet wave for the land of the free and the home of God. Brave. Right. Great. Much. 8:46 a.m.. That is. That is among that flight 11 struck the north tower, striking floors 93 through 99. Another moment of silence will be coming shortly. 903 that is when the south tower was hit. John Miller still with me in this moment. Every year and the city goes silent. Oh that's true. And when you think of what was it like that day? Yeah, it was just like was just like this. There was not a single cloud in the sky. It wasn't hot, it wasn't cold. And I remember waking up that day early and driving and looking in the sky and saying, what can go wrong on a day like this? It was a perfect day for about an hour and a half. And then the world changed. That is literally what happened. The world changed.
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