What do you tell your kids about 9/11???

Having elementary age children now, one of the concerns that hits me each year about this time is:

• When will their innocent view of the world be shattered by the knowledge that there are those in the world that dream of killing them.
• How will they learn of 9/11
• How will it be taught

Unfortunately the school system has a responsibility to assure that a balance of political correctness is presented through this, which to an extent is a good thing- though many times I feel PC goes to excess.  How will this story be told?  What is the official stance of the educational system regarding the background of those that did this?  The Bush Administration was usually clear that it was from Islamic Extremists and that we were in a war against "terror."  The Obama Administration has softened that rhetoric where the term Islamic Extremists has all but disappeared from the public arena- and I sort of get why.  You don't want a group of people with no "dog in the fight" singled out because of the actions and thoughts of a few.  I get that.  

I have some German in my background and back in the first half of the 20th Century the blood of millions of Jews were on the hands of Germans.  Call a spade a spade.  The German nation was responsible for the senseless murder of millions of Jews, I don't know that there are any history books that play that down.  It was Japan and the Japanese that bombed Pearl Harbor, and I'm certain that Japanese history books have the exact country named in their history books that dropped a pair of bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.  

As an American- because of history of these two events, I don't know of too many people that hold grudges because of what has happened.  I know several Jewish people who own German cars despite the holocaust and an overwhelming percent of Americans own Japanese cars (even receive pay checks from them) despite Pearl Harbor.  

The US spent almost 100 years in a bitter on-again/off-again war with Great Britian.  They are the closest ally the US has today.

The 19 hijacker's didn't claim a nationality as their cause, just their religion.  My children's view of the world hasn't been tarnished yet, though each year 9/11 comes around it brings me to the thoughts of when, what, and how.  Where can the balance be found in telling our side of the story, yet maintain respect for families with that background, that quite frankly didn't have a "dog in that fight" eleven years ago.

Suggestions?