Washington:
On the eve of the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, US President Barack Obama once again came out in defense of the construction of a mosque just two blocks away from the Ground Zero.
Addressing a press conference at the White House, on a day magnified by heightened tensions due to the Florida pastor's threat to burn Quran, Obama reiterated that the nation's founding belief of religious tolerance should not be compromised in any case.
"Saturday, should be a day not only to mourn but to show that we are not at war against Islam. We're at war against terrorist organizations that have distorted Islam or falsely used the banner of Islam to engage in their destructive acts," said Obama.
Speaking to reporters in the White House East Room, Obama was blunt about the enduring terror threat that has gripped the nation since Al-Qaida terrorists slammed planes into New York's World Trade Center towers, the Pentagon in suburban Virginia and the central Pennsylvania countryside.
"It's just a reality of today's world that there are going to be threats out there, I think, ultimately, we are going to be able to stamp it out. But it, it's going to take some time," Obama added.