Tuesday night, President Barack Obama arrived in Afghanistan on an unannounced visit to sign a strategic partnership agreement with Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

The key agreement signed in Kabul by the two presidents defines the relations between United States and Afghanistan and the US military presence in the country after 2014, when the last NATO-led troops are due to leave.

Obama’s surprise visit comes exactly on the one-year anniversary of the raid that led to the killing of Al Qaeda’s leader Osama bin Laden in the city of Abbottabad, Pakistan.

“Together, we’re now committed to replacing war with peace,” Obama said after signing the agreement. “With this agreement I am confident that the Afghan people will understand that the United States will stand by them,” he added.

“I’m here to affirm the bond between our two countries and to thank Americans and Afghans who have sacrificed so much over these last ten years,” the U.S. President stated after the signing ceremony. “Neither Americans nor the Afghan people asked for this war yet for a decade we’ve stood together.”

The occasion was called as “a historic moment for our two nations”.

By signing the agreement after months of negotiations, the United States guarantees to Afghanistan its sovereignty, assuring also their support after the withdrawal of the military force from the country.

During his visit to Bagram Air Field, addressing to U.S. troops President Obama said, “I know the battle’s not yet over. Some of your buddies are going to get injured. And some of your buddies may get killed. And there’s going to be heartbreak and pain and difficulty ahead. But there is a light on the horizon because of the sacrifices you made.”

At 7.30 p.m. EST, 4 a.m. in Afghanistan, Obama delivered a live address to the Nation.

“My fellow Americans, we have traveled through more than a decade under the dark cloud of war. Yet here, in the pre-dawn darkness of Afghanistan, we can see the light of a new day on the horizon.” he said in speech excerpts released in advance of his televised delivery by the White House.

“The Iraq War is over,” he added. “We have a clear path to fulfill our mission in Afghanistan, while delivering justice to al-Qaida.”

“Last year, we removed 10,000 U.S. troops from Afghanistan. Another 23,000 will leave by the end of the summer. After that, reductions will continue at a steady pace, with more of our troops coming home. And as our coalition agreed, by the end of 2014 the Afghans will be fully responsible for the security of their country.”

Referring to the destruction of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, he added, “As we emerge from a decade of conflict abroad and economic crisis at home, it is time to renew America … a united America of grit and resilience, where sunlight glistens off soaring new towers in downtown Manhattan, and we build our future as one people, as one nation.”

This visit to Afghanistan and the signature of the U.S. Afghanistan agreement, emphasized by the anniversary of Osama bin Laden’s death, are aimed to underline the commitment  of the Obama administration for ending the war and supporting democracy in Afghanistan. Just the right move at a crucial time for a president who wishes to be re-elected, but how this event might affect the voters is yet to be seen.

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The memorial has been in construction for over five years and will finally be opening next week, September 12th. The memorial was created as tribute of remembrance and honor to the nearly 3,000 victims of September 11, 2001 attacks. The names on the memorial include not only the victims of the attack on the World Trade Center but also those who died at the Pentagon and Shanksville, Pa. The memorial offers visitors a chance to appreciate and remember the 343 firefighters and paramedics who gave their lives to save others ten years ago.

The memorial has also been created as a remembrance of the six people killed in the World Trade Center bombing in February 1993. The names of every person who died in the 2001 and 1993 attacks have been inscribed into bronze panels edging the two Memorial pools, which pools sit within the footprints where the Twin Towers once stood. The names are displayed in the centre of the Memorial.

Visitors to the Memorial Museum will be presented with a series of experiences which allow for personal encounters within an overall context of a historical narrative. Those who visit the memorial will experience the sounds of construction that took place following the attack, voices of first responders sharing their personal experience, along with a sense of how vast and expansive the towers were.

The final stage of the museum will take visitors alongside the “Survivor Stairs,” which was used by hundreds to escape the destruction of the Towers on 9/11.

NYC Major, Michael Bloomberg, spoke about the memorial “We will never forget the devastation of the area that came to be known as ground zero. Never. But the time has come to call those 16 acres what they are: The World Trade Center and the National September 11 Memorial and Museum”.

The memorial was designed by architect Michael Arad and landscape architect Peter Walker and cost $700 million to make, but honoring the lives of their loved ones is priceless to many. Tickets for the memorial fully booked up until next week, so if you are planning to visit the site, click on to http://www.911memorial.org/ to reserve tickets.

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It has been about 10 years since the attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Even though its been ten years, Ground Zero has not been forgotten and continues to move forward. Proposed in 2006, New York City is building the Freedom Tower, which will be the city’s new commercial building. The building is not suppose to replace the twin towers, but instead it is built for remembrance of those who lost their lives and it is a symbol of the power of America. With an estimated completion in 2013, the World Trade Center will now consist of five different buildings and areas with the hopes of creating an economic boost for the United States. There will be five new skyscrapers, a September 11^th memorial and museum, a transportation hub, retail complex, and a center of performing arts. The site will be built with some of the worlds most famous architects including; David Childs and Santiago Calatrava with hopes of creating a substantiate and safe World Trade Center.

The first tower will soar over 1, 776 feet over New York City, making it Americas tallest building. It will be known as the Freedom Tower and will be the main office space of the new design. The second tower will be 1, 349 feet and will be composed of the Performing Arts Center topped off with an eighty foot antenna. The last three towers will all rise around 900 feet with restaurants, memorials, and more. Besides the Freedom Tower, the memorial for September 11^th will be the most significant of the project with two pools that will stand in place of where the twin towers use to be. It will have two waterfalls, which will soon be the two biggest man made waterfalls of all time. All 3,000 lives that were taken on the attacks will be engraved around the edges of the pool. This will recognize the lives lost from the trade centers, the pentagon, and the plane crashes. Any visitors of the memorial and museum will go through a series of experiences in order to get the full effect of the tragedy.

“The design strives to make visible of what is absent,” stated Micheal Arad, one of the architects on the project. He stresses the main goal of the new World Trade Center is the remembrance of the lives lost. Even though it has been over ten years, and with the recent passing away of Osama Bin Laden, fear is still a factor in terrorist attacks in New York City. The World Trade Center’s other main goal, because of this, is safety. Some of the primary safety precautions of the new site include; fireproofing, structural stability, chemical air filters, wider staircases for evacuating, safer elevators, three feet deep concrete walls for refugee in case of attack, and an extra staircase for fire fighters. The site developer, Larry Silivstein, states that it will be one of the biggest and most expensive projects that America has ever seen, with hopes of healing the agony the terrorists left on the United States. The project is estimated to cost over two billion dollars, using some of the most expensive materials and designers.

Ten years ago, the largest tragedy hit the United states and now, ten years later, the largest memorial will be built. The new World Trade Center project could never and will never replace the twin towers. Instead, it will keep the lives lost remembered and honored. Wars, attacks, and millions of lives lost have been working towards this goal for years. The Freedom Tower will become a new symbol for the United States just as Lady Liberty has become. The new tower represents our country’s ability to move forward and to overcome all evil.

Image Courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/28722563@N05/

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