The political ritual of visiting Ground Zero will be injected with new meaning Thursday when President Barack Obama comes to New York City to mark the death of Osama bin Laden, who directed the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
The trip marks Mr. Obama's first visit to Ground Zero since becoming president. A phalanx of New York politicians is also expected to attend. A wreath-laying ceremony is planned for the afternoon, as well as a private meeting with some of those who lost loved ones in the 2001 attacks.
The hastily arranged event will mark the death of bin Laden, but also serve as a prelude to the much bigger ceremony planned in September for the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks that brought down the World Trade Center towers and killed nearly 3,000 people in New York, at the Pentagon and in a field near Shanksville, Pa.
Those invited to attend Thursday include Sen. Charles Schumer, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and Gov. Andrew Cuomo. The governor of Connecticut, Dannel P. Malloy, also is expected to attend.
Conspicuously aAbsent will be former President George W. Bush, whose presidency was defined by the events of Sept. 11, 2001.
"President Bush...appreciated the invite, but has chosen in his postpresidency to remain largely out of the spotlight," said spokesman David Sherzer. "He continues to celebrate with all Americans this important victory in the war on terror."
White House spokesman Jay Carney said Mr. Bush had been invited in the hopes that his presence at Thursday's event would enhance national unity in the wake of the successful end to the hunt for bin Laden.
"This is a moment of unity for Americans and a moment to recall the unity that existed in this country in the wake of the attacks on 9/11," said Mr. Carney. Mr. Obama "had hoped if President Bush were able to come, he would join the president in visiting the World Trade Center site. We completely understand that he's not able to come, but the invitation was made in that spirit."
Former President Bill Clinton also was invited, but a spokesman said he had a scheduling conflict.
Bin Laden, the leader of al Qaeda, had eluded capture for years. He was killed early Monday in a raid by U.S. forces on his compound in Pakistan.
Mr. Obama's private meeting with the family members Thursday afternoon will be hosted by the National September 11 Memorial & Museum. "The President looks forward to seeing those of you he has already met and meeting those of you he has not,'' the invitation reads.
Mr. Obama also plans to meet with first responders while in New York. This will be his first trip to Ground Zero since 2008, when he and Sen. John McCain, that year's Republican presidential nominee, took a break from the campaign trail to jointly attend an anniversary ceremony.
Today, Ground Zero in lower Manhattan is largely a construction site. Nearly a decade after the attacks, a new building is rising to replace the twin towers. Two square footprints remain to mark the location of the fallen buildings. Memorial designers envision these footprints will eventually be square pools of water surrounded by trees.
Write to Laura Meckler at laura.meckler@wsj.com and Devlin Barrett at devlin.barrett@wsj.com
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