Biden to Visit 9/11 Memorial Sites on 20th Anniversary

U.S. President Joe Biden is going to visit all three 9/11 memorial sites to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, the White House said Saturday.

The White House stated that Biden would visit ground zero in New York City, the Pentagon and the memorial outside Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where United Flight 93 was forced down. Biden will be accompanied by first lady Jill to pay their respects to the nearly 3,000 people killed that day.

On her part, Vice President Kamala Harris will travel to Shanksville, Pennsylvania, for a separate event before joining the President at the Pentagon. Harris will travel with her spouse, Doug Emhoff.

Next Saturday's anniversary falls less than two weeks after the end of the nearly two-decade-long U.S. war in Afghanistan. The war was launched weeks after the 9/11 attacks to retaliate against the al-Qaeda plotters and the Taliban, who provided them with a safe haven.

The President has found support from the public for ending the conflict. However, he has faced sharp criticism, even from allies, for the chaotic evacuation of U.S. troops and allied Afghans during the final two weeks of August.