Inside the Beltway

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By Jennifer Harper INSIDE THE BELTWAY

Y'ALL COME

The official remembrance of 9/11 is not what it used to be under the Obama administration. This year, the survivors of those who died at the Pentagon got a casual electronic "e-vite" for the annual wreath-laying at the memorial site as if it were a trite invite to a party, a source tells Inside the Beltway. Survivors were also referred to a recorded telephone announcement rather than a human contact for information.

"The e-vite was cold and disrespectful, addressed to 'Dear family.' We were instructed to print out the invitation and bring it along. Many of us thought it was a joke. But it wasn't a joke," says a survivor who lost a spouse when American Airlines Flight 77 - hijacked by terrorists and flying at 530 mph - slammed into the Pentagon at 9:36 a.m. on Sept. 11, 2001.

The impact killed 183 people ranging in age from 3 to 71 years, plus the six terrorist hijackers.

"I don't want to be part of some photo-op, if that's all this is going to be. Some of us are thinking about not going. The Defense Department was always so sensitive to survivors in the past. We got a printed invitation, and there was a very courteous contact person who helped us along for years. He's gone, too. I get the feeling DoD doesn't want to make a big deal about 9/11 anymore. Now, it's like nothing," the source says.

"I'm not one for huge deals. I don't think we need a great big event here. But an e-vite and a recording? People still need to remember. We can't become complacent."

SAVAGE REACTION

Scotland's release of Lockerbie bomber Abdel Baset al-Megrahi continues to infuriate a spate of notables - including PresidentObama, FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen - who are convinced that the decision was no humanitarian gesture, but a naive attempt to enhance trade between Britain and Libya that ultimately mocked justice.

Talk-radio host Michael Savage is particularly piqued, given that his name remains on a list of "undesirables" banned from Britain.

"They put me on this list of murderers and terrorists as a political favor to Islamic nations," Mr. Savage tells Beltway.