September 11 Families Become Political Force In U.S.

NEW YORK, Sept 9 (AFP) - The families of the September 11 attacks' nearly 3,000 victims have become a political force whose voice has gained strength on the key issues of terrorism and the Iraq war.
They are the gatekeepers of the victims' legacies and watchdogs eyeing government efforts to protect the United States from further devastating attacks.
One group, September 11th Families For Peaceful Tomorrows, describes itself as an "advocacy organization" of victims' relatives "who have united to turn our grief into action for peace."
"Our mission is to seek effective, nonviolent solutions to terrorism ... break the cycle of violence and retaliation engendered by war ... (and) promote US foreign policy that places a priority on principles of democracy and human rights," the group says.
A group of New Jersey widows led the charge to demand that President George W. Bush create an independent commission to investigate the September 11 attacks. The panel, which Bush opposed but later agreed to under pressure, released the findings of its probe in July.
The widows, Kristen Breitweiser, Lorie Van Auken, Mindy Kleinberg and Patty Casazza, have become a symbol of September 11 families critical of the Bush administration's handling of terrorism.
Victims' relatives were also recently opposed to the Republican Party's decision to hold its national convention in New York, where more than 2,700 people perished when two hijacked airplanes struck the World Trade Center's twin towers.
A New York Times poll of 339 relatives of victims found that more than half of them would have preferred the Republican Convention to be held elsewhere.
But this small group seemed clearly divided in its views. A quarter thought Republicans chose New York "to capitalize on September 11" and another quarter believed that, on the contrary, the point was "to show it's safe."
Monica Gabrielle, whose lost her husband in the attacks and considers herself an independent voter, said during the convention that Bush "should use this opportunity to state some clear and meaningful thoughts."
The war in Iraq "had nothing to do with 9-11 (September 11)," she said.
"Innocents are being killed, all on false intelligence," she said. "And now it's a hotbed of new terrorism. It's a shameful situation."