
Obama will visit SEAL Team Six to thank them for killing Bin Laden

Families of 9/11 victims angry at the way Obama handled his death, saying he 'took the spotlight'

George Bush 'angry' at lack of recognition for finding and killing Bin laden

Obama started tour of New York yesterday by visiting fire fighters who lost 15 men in 9/11

After facing criticism from the families of 9/11 victims who claim he 'took the spotlight' over Bin Laden's death, it has emerged that President Obama will visit Fort Campbell, Kentucky, today to personally thank the Navy SEAL commandos who took down the al Qaeda leader.

Fort Campbell is home to the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, which it is thought flew the SEAL teams to Bin Laden's Abbottabad compound.

According to a White House official, Obama has already met Vice Admiral William McRaven, thought to be the man in charge of the Bin Laden raid.

The visit is part of a series of stops on a tour the President has embarked on since the SEALs took the terror leader out on Sunday.

Yesterday, he started his trip to new York by visiting fire fighters who lost 15 men in the attack as well as laying a wreath at Ground Zero in a ceremony dedicated to the thousands who lost their lives on September 11, 2001.

Despite keeping it deliberately low key - privately speaking to relatives of those who lost their lives as well as fire fighters and policemen caught up in the tragedy - he has had to fend off accusations that he was revelling in the death of Osama bin Laden on Sunday.

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Bowed: US President Barack Obama lays a wreath at the 9/11 Memorial in New York today. Obama took a defiant message to the New York epicentre, warning that Osama bin Laden's death proved America will never fail to bring terrorists to 'justice'

View: Obama is seen today in front of the Freedom Tower, erected close by where The World Trade Centre towers formerly stood

President Barack Obama hugs Diane Wall, wife of Glen James Wall who died at the World Trade Center attack

Some relatives of the 9/11 victims have criticised him for his 'self-congratulatory' handling of the killing.

One, Debra Burlingame, said the president was 'using families in what is a transparent political ploy'.

Her brother, Charles Burlingame, was the pilot whose plane crashed into the Pentagon.

She said she was pleased Bin Laden had been killed, but was shocked when Mr Obama turned his back when she confronted him over the prosecution of the CIA agents who interrogated 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

She told Fox News: 'I was very upfront, I said Mr President, I've been one of your most ardent critics, but on Sunday night I was very proud of you, I was very appreciative of what you helped make happen, and I was very proud of America.

'And then he hugged me, but then I said I have a question for you.'

Angry: Debra Burlingame, the sister of Charles 'Chic' Burlingame, the pilot of the plane that crashed into the Pentagon, met with President Obama where she said he 'turned his back on her'

She said: 'As a former attorney I know you can't tell the Attorney General what to do, he said, "No, I can't."

But I said "we - that shouldn't stop you from giving your opinion. We wouldn't be here today if they hadn't done their jobs. Can't you at least give them your opinion."

And he said "no I won't," and he turned around and walked away.'

David Beamer, whose son, Todd Beamer, helped stop hijackers on the fourth 9/11 plane, also criticised the president.

Mr Beamer said Bin Laden's death was 'a cause for joy', but he told Fox News: 'I feel some chagrin now, though, about how the rest of it has been handled.

'And frankly it started May Day 2011 when the president announced what had happened.

'The excessive use of the personal pronoun that he used in his remarks, I really felt that was the beginning of the Commander-in-Chief putting too much spotlight on himself, taking too much credit for what the remarkable Americans had done.'

Mr Beamer went on to criticise the praise heaped on Mr Obama for taking the decision to kill Bin Laden, saying once the CIA had found the compound there was nothing else he could have done.

He said: 'It's been hailed as one of the greatest wartime decisions, bold, gutsy, but quite frankly under the facts and circumstances I think it was anything but that.'

Though there was heavy security, New Yorkers still turned out by the hundreds yesterday to gather just southeast of the World Trade Centre site and line the roads to watch the president's motorcades.

Bush was name checked only once during Sunday night's historic speech

New York City police tackled a man to the ground, pointing a gun at his head after he yelled 'Secret Service, coming through' in order to get past throngs of onlookers as President Barack Obama made a visit to ground zero.

Officers believed he was acting suspiciously. They emptied his messenger bag, then brought him inside a post office located steps from the trade centre site, before releasing him shortly afterwards.

There were happy faces and flags waved in the crowd though they were cordoned off blocks from where the president entered the ground zero site.

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who led the city in dark days after the attacks, joined Obama during the day.

Obama began his tour of New York by visiting fire fighters who lost colleagues when the World Trade Centre towers fell.

In a private meeting, Barack Obama had lunch with the men of engine company 54 - known as the 'Pride of Midtown' - who lost 15 of their colleagues on September 11.

The visit is Obama's first visit to ground Zero as President.

Obama ate a lunch of eggplant parmigiana with the fire fighters before moving to Ground Zero for his wreath laying ceremony.

There was tight security around the fire house, with extraordinary scenes as tens of city sanitation trucks formed a ring of steel around the block.

Inside the fire house, the President gave an informal speech in which he praised the men of Engine 54 saying: 'This is a symbolic site of extraordinary sacrifice which was made on that terrible day.

'What happened on Sunday sent a message around the world that when we say we will never forget, we mean what we say.'

Chief of fire house Edward Kilduff said afterwards: 'The president was kind enough to visit our fire house today.

'I think the president connected well with the firefighters for what they did on September 11.

'It was a wonderful lunch, a very informal lunch, there was a little bantering back and forth , while at the same time remembering that the military and families continue to make sacrifices.'

Others were not so pleased about the President's visit and one family even turned down an invitation to meet him saying it was 'kinda lame'

Jan and John Vigiano lost both their sons on 9/11. John Vigiano Jr, 36, was a FDNY firefighter, and their youngest, Joe was an NYPD detective.

They said they nearly deleted the invitation when it arrived in their inbox, thinking it was spam.

US President Barack Obama(R) arrives and shakes hands with First Responders today

President Barack Obama (2nd R) carries a wreath with police and firefighters during a wreath laying ceremony at Ground Zero

Barack Obama greets New York City uniformed officers during a visit to the World Trade Centre today

Mr Vigiano told Pix 11: 'It says "Dear 9-11 family member" - no names. I don't know if its disrespectful, but it doesn't work for me.'

And he said whatever happened, there would be 'no closure' for their sons' deaths.

Former president George W. Bush also turned down his invitation to the ceremony today.

A highly-placed insider told the New York Daily News Bush felt it 'was for the benefit of Obama, and Obama withheld credit from people Bush believes deserved it.'

Obama arrived in New York City yesterday after rejecting calls to release photos of a slain bin Laden so the world could see some proof of death. The president said he would not risk giving propaganda to extremists or gloat by publicizing grotesque photos of a terrorist leader shot in the head.

To those who keep on doubting, Obama said, 'You will not see bin Laden walking on this earth again.'

The visit comes as it emerged former president George Bush was 'rubbed the wrong way' by Barack Obama for not being given credit in the discovery and killing of Osama Bin Laden.

Bush, who arguably set up the intelligence infrastructure that led to Bin Laden's bloody assassination, was 'rubbed the wrong way' after the President failed to acknowledge his predecessor in the aftermath of Sunday's kill operation.

Visit: President Barack Obama and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, right, meet with firefighters and first responders at Engine 54, Ladder 4, Battalion 9 before visiting the National Sept. 11 Memorial at Ground Zero

Humbled: President Barack Obama speaks to assembled fire fighters in mid town before taking lunch with the men

New York city police officers arrest a man near Ground Zero as President Obama leaves a wreath laying ceremony. He was released shortly afterwards

When asked what they talked about, Chief Kilduff joked: 'A little bit of Yankees, a little bit of Mets and little bit of Red Sox.'

Between the station's 15 victims, 28 children lost parents on 9/11.

Smiles: President Barack Obama meets with police officers and first responders at the First Precinct before visiting the National Sept. 11 Memorial at Ground Zero

Speaking to the New York Daily News, a highly placed Bush insider said: 'He doesn't feel personally snubbed and appreciates the invitation, but Obama's claiming all the credit and a lot of other people deserve some of it.

'Obama gave no credit whatsoever to the intelligence infrastructure the Bush administration set up that is being hailed from the left and right as setting in motion the operation that got Bin Laden.

'It rubbed Bush the wrong way.'

While the President spoke privately to the families of those affected on 9/11, Vice President Joe Biden greeted relatives and first responders at the Pentagon today.

It was confirmed this week that Obama will mark the tenth anniversary of 9/11 in New York City at the formal opening of the national memorial to the nearly 3,000 people who died in the terrorist attacks.

Until now Obama has spent the anniversary at the Pentagon, with Biden leading ceremonies at Ground Zero.

The bustling construction site that Obama visited bears little resemblance to the pit that remained after the rubble of the towers was removed.

The emerging skyscraper informally known as Freedom Tower is more than 60 stories high now. Mammoth fountains and reflecting pools mark the footprints of the fallen twin tower s.

The President has steered clear of even mentioning the Bush team's efforts to capture Bin Laden, only hinting at the previous administration when he said: 'Over the last 10 years, thanks to the tireless and heroic work of our military and our counter-terrorism professionals, we've made great strides.'

Bush was name checked only once during Sunday night's historic speech, when he added: 'I've made clear, just as President Bush did shortly after 9/11, that our war is not against Islam.'

Obama had invited Bush to today's ceremony, a gesture Bush turned down.

Speaking to the paper, another source said Bush felt the invitation 'was for the benefit of Obama, and Obama withheld credit from people Bush believes deserved it.'

Vice President Joseph Biden (C), and U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates (2nd-L) participate in a wreath laying ceremony to honor the victims of the September 11 at the Pentagon

Police and onlookers near Ground Zero await the arrival of President Barack Obama

Tough: New York City police officers stand guard outside Ground Zero ahead of President Barack Obama's visit

Obama's New York visit was intended to have a measured tone compared to George Bush's famous bullhorn speech in the days after 9/11.

Standing amid the rubble, the Bush speech has become an iconic picture in the 'war on terror'.

When one worker yelled, 'I can't hear you,' the president responded: 'I can hear you, The rest of the world hears you, And the people — and the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon.'

Now: Almost ten years after 9/11, work is well under way on reconstructing the Ground Zero site

All these years later, Obama said this is no time for gloating. 'We don't need to spike the football,' he said as he told CBS he would keep bin Laden's death photos sealed.

White House spokesman Jay Carney called today's visit by the President a, 'cathartic moment for the American people.'

Obama does not even have scheduled remarks during his trip.

Yet it is likely Obama will make comments during his time at the 9/11 memorial, where he will lay a wreath.

Jim Riches, whose firefighter son was among the nearly 3,000 people killed at the World Trade Center, planned to meet with the president on Thursday.

'I just want to thank him, hug him and thank him and shake his hand," Riches said. "Father to father. Thank you for doing this for me.'

The White House said Obama will meet privately with families of those killed in the attacks and with the emergency workers who rushed to help.

Iconic: President George W. Bush speaks to rescue workers, firefighters and police officers from the rubble of Ground Zero September 14, 2001