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A nation that just stepped back from the brink of conflict with Syria paused Wednesday to honor and reflect on the nearly 3,000 victims of 9/11, the day terrorist attacks spurred two other long-running conflicts in the Middle East. In New York, hundreds of friends and families of the victims stood silently — many holding photos of their loved ones — as bagpipes played. Relatives recited the names of those killed when two hijacked commercial airliners slammed into the World Trade Center's Twin Towers. Another plane that day crashed into the Pentagon near Washington, D.C., and a fourth plunged into the ground near Shanksville, Pa. President Obama marked the anniversary with a moment of silence on the South Lawn of the White House, along with first lady Michelle Obama, Vice President Biden and wife Jill Biden. They walked out of the White House at 8:46 a.m. ET, the moment the first plane hit the World Trade Center tower. Bowing their heads in a moment of silence, ...

Al Qaeda threat: Despite the seriousness of the Al Qaeda threat, the apparent targeting of US interests abroad – rather than in the US proper – suggests the group's aspirations have contracted since 9/11. A Bahraini armored personnel vehicle reinforces US Embassy security just outside a gate to the embassy building in Manama, Bahrain, on Sunday, Aug. 4, 2013. The US has extended the closure of some of its embassies across the Middle East and Africa through the end of this week, amid fears of an imminent attack by Al Qaeda against Western targets within the region. Arthur Bright is the Europe Editor at The Christian Science Monitor.  He has worked for the Monitor in various capacities since 2004, including as the Online News Editor and a regular contributor to the Monitor's Terrorism & Security blog.  He is also a licensed Massachusetts attorney. CNN reports that 15 of the 22 embassies and consulates that the US closed on Sunday, a normal work day in th...