Special report: 5th anniversary of 9/11 terror attacks

    WASHINGTON, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday adopted a Republican-proposed resolution to commemorate the 9/11 terror attacks, CNN Television reported.

    The resolution, passed by a 395-22 vote, said that "the American people will never forget the tragedy of Sept. 11, 2001, and the loss of innocent lives that day, and will continue to fight the war on terrorism in their memory, and will never succumb to the cause of the terrorists."

    It also echoed assertions of the Bush administration that the nation is safer today than it was five years ago, although challenges remain ahead.

    Although the majority of House Democrats voted for the resolution, many Democrats remained critical.

    "I disagree with that, and I think a great many people disagree with it, because all of the evidence points in the other direction. We are not safer today than we were," said Democratic Rep. Maurice Hinchey.

    Republicans defended inclusion into the resolution of praise for the security laws and bills their party created and pushed rapidly through Congress.

    Without these references, said Republican Rep. David Dreier, "We would not be here today without having suffered another attack on our soil."

    Some U.S. analysts saw the resolution as part of the Republican efforts to turn the election-year debate to national security and the threat of terrorism, less than two months before the Midterm elections in November.

    However, as Americans are growingly negative about the Iraq war, the Republican tactic risks backfire, they said. Enditem