Bush Lays Wreath at Pentagon

Obamas mingle with family members of 9/11 victims

(NEWSER) - After visits to New York's Ground Zero and a memorial in rural Pennsylvania where Flight 93 went down, President and Michelle Obama continued their solemn remembrance of 9/11 today at the Pentagon, the AP reports. The president lay a wreath at a bench and small pool that memorialize the Pentagon's 184 victims. As a military band played "Amazing Grace," the Obamas mingled with visitors and family members of 9/11 victims. Some wore T-shirts and ribbons with the photos and names of lost loved ones. More»

Moment of silence at 8:46, moment first plane hit

(NEWSER) - President Obama opened a sun-splashed day of solemn remembrance today by honoring the 9/11 dead with a visit to ground zero, bowing his head at the cascading pools of the North Memorial Pond created in the footprint of the demolished north tower of the World Trade Center. Obama, hand in hand with wife Michelle, walked with former President George W. Bush and wife Laura to the memorial pool. They ran their hands over the bronze panels bearing the names of those lost in the attacks. Mayor Michael Bloomberg led a moment of silence beginning at 8:46am, the moment the first plane hit. Obama then read Psalm 46, and the names of the victims were read. Click through the gallery for images; MSNBC has live coverage of the ceremony at Ground Zero here . More»

He looked like he got 'worst news in the world,' recalls one

(NEWSER) - In the let-no-stone-go-unturned spirit of 9/11 coverage, AP catches up with the Florida second-graders who were sitting around President Bush as he read My Pet Goat and got the news about the World Trade Center attacks. Samples:

• "It was like a blank stare. Like he knew something was going on but he didn't want to make it too bad for us to notice by looking different," recalls Lenard Rivers, now 17.
• "One kid described his face as (like) he had to use the bathroom," says Chantal Guerrero. "That's how we saw it in second grade. He just looked like he got the worst news in the world."
• "I was too young and naive to fully understand the gravity of the situation," says Lazaro Dubrocq.

Former Pentagon chief undermined president, former aides say

(NEWSER) - Donald Rumsfeld isn’t a preacher, but nearly every morning after the Iraq invasion, he handed President Bush a national security digest containing Biblical quotations intended to influence his decisions. This tactic, Robert Draper writes for GQ in a lengthy look at Rummy's standing among administration contemporaries, epitomizes the former Pentagon secretary—a manipulative, imperious bully who would do anything to get his way, including vexing US troops. More»

Project for more secure fleet has already doubled in cost

(NEWSER) - President Obama has to decide whether to continue a Pentagon contract that pits wartime security against his principles of government accountability and frugality, the New York Times reports. The 2003 project to replace the decades-old Marine One fleet has nearly doubled in price to $11 billion, pushing the cost of each VH-71 helicopter to almost that of Air Force One. Marine One is most often used to shuttle the president to Camp David or Andrews Air Force Base. More»