WASHINGTON   -   US President Joe Biden invoked the memory of America’s unit­ed response to the September 11, 2001 attacks by al Qaeda and vowed to “never give up” in the face of terrorist threats in a solemn commemoration on Sunday at the Pentagon.

Biden’s remarks about na­tional unity on the 21st anni­versary of the attacks stood in contrast to his warnings in recent days about dan­gerous divisions in Ameri­can society, including that some Republicans who sup­port former President Don­ald Trump’s agenda pose a threat to democracy. “I hope we’ll remember that in the midst of these dark days, we dug deep. We cared for each other. And we came togeth­er,” Biden said, as rain fell on troops standing behind him, flanking his defence secre­tary and top general.