For Immediate Release
Shonna Carter or David Lerner, Riptide Communications 212-260-5000
September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows Urge President Obama to Lead the Nation on a Path to Peace
Families Group calls for Re-Commitment to Rule of Law, Closing Guantanamo and Bringing Our Troops Home
NEW YORK - Today as President Obama travels to Ground Zero where he will lay a wreath at the site and then meet with families of victims of the terror attacks, September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows issued the following statement:
September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows has always believed violence should be met with nonviolence, terror should be confronted with courage, and grief could be fashioned into action for peace. We said this in the days and months after 9-11, and we stand by our convictions today.
The recent death of Osama Bin Laden brings our nation full circle – back to the fall of 2001. Two wars did not lead to the capture of Bin Laden. Good intelligence work did. Two wars have caused untold human suffering, wasted trillions of dollars, and diverted precious attention and resources from bringing to justice the murderers that committed the horrific crimes against our nation.
President Obama today marks a new beginning. May the wreath you lay today, at the grave site of our loved ones, bemore than a symbolic gesture. Lead our nation by following the rule of law, accomplish a new mission by bringing our troops home now, open the door to human dignity by closing the prison at Guantanamo Bay and honor our nation's collective loss by gaining our trust in a government of the people, and for the people, once again.
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Peaceful Tomorrows is an organization founded by family members of those killed on September 11th who have united to turn our grief into action for peace. By developing and advocating nonviolent options and actions in the pursuit of justice, we hope to break the cycles of violence engendered by war and terrorism. Acknowledging our common experience with all people affected by violence throughout the world, we work to create a safer and more peaceful world for everyone.