Flags, Embassies, Ambassadors and 9/11

Ambassador Jeffrey Bleich and other employees of the US State Department attached 2,996 miniature flags to the gates of the US Embassy in Canberra earlier today in order to commemorate the 11^th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States of America. 

Ambassador Bleich reflecting on the victims of 9/11 at the US Embassy in Canberra (10-9-12)

The flag attachment ceremony was in preparation for the official September 11^th commemoration events that will be taking place at the US Embassy tomorrow at 4-30pm. The main commemoration event will include remarks by both Ambassador Bleich and Foriegn Minister Bob Carr, followed by a presentation of flags by the U.S. Embassy’s Marine Security Guard Detachment.

Ambassador Bleich said that September 11 was a day of global signifigance, as a result of over 90 different countries losing citizens as a result of the attacks in Washington DC, Pennsylvania and New York City. The Ambassador then stated that he hopes that the world can reflect on the lessons learned from September 11 in a way that benefits humanity as a whole.

During the following press conference the Ambassador also answered questions in regards to newly proposed internet regulations that would be used to counter state-sanctioned and individual terrorist acts, as well as international criminal syndicates.

Audio -- Press Conference and flag-planting ceremony --

“We believe in an unfiltered internet, as it is the key to drawing nations together and that we do understand one another. There's an old saying that sunlight is the greatest disinfectant, and so we want an open internet.

At the same time we also understand that the internet can be used by criminal networks and by nation states in dangerous ways, so we are working to strike the right balance.”