US: As the Republican convention opened less than four miles away, a small number of visitors to Ground Zero paid their respects yesterday. They expressed mixed feelings about whether President Bush should come to the site of the September 11th attacks.
Mr Bush has said he would not visit the former site of the World Trade Centre, where 2,749 people died in the attacks, to avoid charges of politicising the tragedy. But the opening session of the convention will feature a tribute to victims of the attacks.
For many Americans visiting the site, the events of that day and their aftermath are already thoroughly politicised. Reflecting deep divisions in the country, some said Mr Bush should stay away while others thought he should visit.
"I don't think Bush should come here. It seemed like grandstanding once and to do it again would be grandstanding twice," said Mr Daren Chapin, a Wall Street broker interviewed on his way to work.
Mr Bush came a few days after the attack and made a three-minute speech to rescue workers that transformed his presidency.
"Bush should come here and show support to the workers rebuilding the site," said Ms Deidre Williams, a bank worker from Corona, California. "He's been working hard to keep us safer and has done an excellent job. He has nothing to be ashamed of."
Heavy construction machines produced a deafening clamor as New Yorkers walked past the massive pit where the Twin Towers once stood.
Before the destruction of the towers, 50,000 people worked in the area and up to 10,000 visitors rode the express elevators to the 107th floor of the trade center to take in magnificent views.
Mr Kurt Nygren from Minnesota, a Bush supporter, said the feelings he experienced reminded him of what he felt on a visit to Dachau concentration camp in Germany.
"Bush should come here this week and disregard those who say he is politicising 9/11. It's too important a site for that to be a consideration," he said.
But fellow Bush supporter Mr Rob Corday, a security consultant from Colorado Springs in town for the convention, said such a visit would be a tactical mistake that could be used by Mr Bush's opponents.
"It would be spun to suggest he was exploiting the loss of life for political gain," he said.
Mr Zach Weingartner, a magazine writer from Denver, said it made little difference whether Mr Bush visited since he had already politicised the attacks and made them the centrepiece of his re-election campaign.
"I expect him to politicise 9/11 every chance he has. Bush has given this country a black eye around the world," he said.
All those interviewed, whether supporters of Bush or not, thought a similar attack could happen again in the US.
Mr Nygren said: "We're a little safer than we were but there are so many different ways we could be attacked."