US: President Bush plans to commemorate the second anniversary of the September 11th attacks in a lower-key fashion than the first, with a moment of silence and a meeting with wounded US troops.
Mr Bush yesterday issued declarations designating September 11th as a national day of remembrance and Patriot Day. He urged Americans to observe the day by flying flags at half mast.
"September 11th is a sombre day for remembrance, reflection and prayer. We will always remember and honour the victims of the horrific and brutal attacks of September 11th, 2001, and we will always ask for comfort for their loved ones," White House spokesman Mr Scott McClellan said as Mr Bush arrived in Kansas City, Missouri, to give an economic speech. "This is also a time to reaffirm our commitment and resolve to winning the war on terrorism," said Mr McClellan.
The President's day is to begin with a memorial service at St. John's Church near the White House, followed by a moment of silence on the White House South Lawn at 8.46 a.m, the moment the first hijacked jet hit the World Trade Centre two years ago.
Mr Bush will later visit the Walter Reed Army Medical Centre to meet troops wounded in what he has called a war against global terrorism, encompassing the US-led invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq.
On the eve of the anniversary, Mr Bush will watch a screening of an award-winning documentary on the tragedy called Twin Towers, Mr McClellan said.
Last September 11th, Bush visited all three sites where a total of some 3,000 people died a year earlier in the crashes of four hijacked commercial aircraft.
He made stops at the Pentagon, the "ground zero" site of the fallen twin towers, and a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where United Airlines Flight 93 crashed, and capped the commemoration with a night-time speech from Ellis Island against a backdrop of a glowing Statue of Liberty.