The "unspeakable" bombing by al-Qaida of the U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania 10 years ago strengthened the long-standing ties that bind the American, Kenyan and Tanzanian people, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said August 7, 2008.

Speaking on the 10th anniversary of the bombings, Rice said the nearly simultaneous terrorist attacks on both facilities "did not destroy our spirit."

"Today, we remain partners with the people of Tanzania and Kenya, and I witnessed the spirit of that partnership when I visited both Kenya and Tanzania earlier this year," she said at a memorial service held at the Department of State in Washington.

"Secure new embassies have now been built in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam reflecting the enduring strength of these relationships. Bombs and bullets and terror can never and will never break our bond," she said.

In Nairobi, the blast killed 218 Kenyans and Americans, while thousands were injured in the streets around the embassy. In Dar es Salaam, nine Tanzanians, one Kenyan and one Somali citizen were killed and 85 people were wounded.

"On that dark day 10 years ago," Rice said, "the bombings of our embassies seemed merely to be the senseless violence of evil men, an organization called al-Qaida. When seen from today, however, 10 years later, after the bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993, the attack on Khobar Towers in 1996, the attack on the USS Cole in 2000 and, of course, the terror of September 11, we now see those bombings of our embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam in a new light. We see them as they were, as the opening of a new twilight struggle between hope and fear, peace and hatred, freedom and tyranny, a struggle that has now finally fully been joined."

In a White House statement issued on the anniversary, President Bush called the attacks "brutal examples of al-Qaida's tactics in its war against innocent people worldwide -- carried out in the heart of two African capitals without regard to the race, creed or nationality of the victims.

"This has been al-Qaida's method for more than a decade, indiscriminately attacking civilians throughout the world," he said.

"The attacks in Kenya and Tanzania remind us that al-Qaida and its terrorist affiliates continue to want to attack the United States and our allies," President Bush said. He said the anniversary "reinforces the need to confront the terrorists, to work with our allies to bring them to justice, and to prevent such attacks from happening again."

Memorial ceremonies also were held in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam.

In Nairobi, U.S. Ambassador Michael E. Ranneberger told those gathered, "These unprovoked attacks by a hitherto largely unknown terrorist group called al-Qaida galvanized the United States, Kenya, Tanzania and countries throughout the world to undertake cooperative, coordinated efforts to fight terrorism.

"Today we recommit ourselves to preserve the memory of all the victims, we reaffirm our determination to bring those responsible to justice, and we rededicate ourselves to advance democracy and prosperity for all people," Ranneberger said.

See the full texts of the president's statement and Ranneberger's statement, along with the transcript of Rice's remarks.