Posted on 05/19/2004 6:52:53 AM PDT by jmstein7
NEW YORK – One day after his police and fire chiefs were grilled over their Sept. 11 response, former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani told members of a national commission Wednesday that their priority should be preventing a new attack, not assigning blame.
"Our enemy is not each other, but the terrorists who attacked us," Giuliani said in his opening statement to the panel. The mayor acknowledged "terrible mistakes" were made on Sept. 11, but attributed that to the unprecedented circumstances.
Giuliani, whose steady, reassuring presence after Sept. 11 led some to dub him "America's mayor," appeared to be trying to deflect criticism from his team in his opening statement to the panel.
"The blame should be put on one source alone, the terrorists who killed our loved ones," Giuliani said to applause from the audience, which included several families of the victims.
Giuliani's testimony came on the second day of hearings in New York by the Sept. 11 commission, created by Congress to examine what led to the attacks and advise ways the country can avoid future attacks.
The former mayor and his commissioners were widely hailed for their efforts after two hijacked planes slammed into the World Trade Center, killing 2,749 people.
'Despicable'
But on Tuesday, commission member John Lehman said the failure of city agencies to communicate effectively on Sept. 11 was a scandal "not worthy of the Boy Scouts, let alone this great city."
Ex-fire commissioner Thomas Von Essen called Lehman's comments "despicable."
Giuliani's remarks came after the commission issued a report that said flaws in New York's 911 phone system deprived people in the twin towers of potentially lifesaving information. The findings were the second part of the most comprehensive probe to date of New York's response to the attacks.
The 911 phone system's operators and dispatchers did not know that fire chiefs had made decisions to evacuate the burning towers because the city did not have a way of relaying that information, the commission staff concluded.
With the buildings' public address systems out of service, workers inside the buildings called 911 for help but were not told to evacuate, according to report.
An unknown number of victims in the south tower might have had a better chance of survival if 911 operators had instructed them not to flee upward, where some found locked roof doors and no hope of escape, the report concluded.
"In several ways, the 911 system was not ready to cope with a major disaster," the report found.
Tuesday's testimony focused largely on how fire and police officials worked, sometimes separately and sometimes together, and areas where information was not shared.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge are also scheduled to testify.
No, foisting homos on the Scouts is "a scandal not worthy of the Boy Scouts", you pompous Socialist!!!
If you kill all the potential attackers, you don't have to be prepared for an attack.
And if you abuse them a little along the way, so much the better.
This panel is into the blame game. I didn't watch yesterdays hearings when they apparently attacked the fire and police chiefs at the time, but these hearings are really nothing but a political game and that panel is full of jokers.
The dems just don't get the above statement. I don't think they ever will. I'd like to shake the crap out of 'em!
I don't recall anything even resembling this kangaroo court after Pearl Harbor.
Oh, wait. That particular president was a Democrat.
Bingo!!! DemoRats in charge, nothing wrong, time to move on. "Send me the next intern!"
Once again, former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani shows his intelligence, dignity and common sense by telling the 9-11 Commission they are wrong headed and anti-American in their jihad against the Bush Administration.
I am incredibly disgusted this morning after listening to the "vicitims families" continually interupt these hearings. As Rudy talked, he was interrupted with jeers and even personal attacks such as, "he isn't a hero...3,000 people died." Any sympathy I had for these families left long ago.
Actually, Lehmann is a Republican.
I just got home and saw the last few minutes of this circus; I wonder if the "victims' families" believe that they are endearing themselves to the American public?
What do they want??? Somebody's head on a stick?
I'm left speechless by their actions.
John F. Lehman
Commissioner
John Lehman is chairman of J.F. Lehman & Company, a private equity investment firm. He is also chairman of OAO Technology Solutions, director of Ball Corporation, Insurance Services Office, SDI Inc., Elgar Inc., and Racal Instruments, Inc., and a member of the Advisory Board of Paribas Affaires Industrielles.
Lehman was formerly an investment banker with Paine Webber Inc. He was president of Abington Corporation between 1977 and 1981. He served 25 years in the naval reserve. Lehman was appointed Secretary of the Navy by President Reagan in 1981 and served until 1987. During his tenure as Secretary of the Navy, Lehman was responsible for building a 600 ship Navy, establishing a strategy of maritime supremacy, and reforming ship and aircraft procurement. He has served as staff member to Henry Kissinger on the National Security Council, as delegate to the Force Reductions Negotiations in Vienna and as deputy director of the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency.
Lehman holds a B.S. from St. Joseph's University, a B.A. and M.A. from Cambridge University, and a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. He is currently an Honorary Fellow of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge University. Lehman is the author of numerous books, including Command of the Seas, Making War, and On Seas of Glory. He serves as Chairman of the Princess Grace Foundation USA, a director of OpSail Foundation, a member of the Board of Overseers of the School of Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania, and is a trustee of LaSalle College High School.
Not if they could hear what I was screaming at them through the television!
Notice how everytime one of the disgraceful propaganda artists started their ranting how the press broke their necks running towards them?
In that kind of horror, fire, smoke, and chaos, it wouldn't have mattered even if they had perfect plans. "The best laid plans ....!"
Lehman was completely out of line with that comment, especially in the light of Guiliani's testamony today. This entire commission has been a disgrace.
This witch hunt was orchestrated by Hillary to knock down Rudy, nothing more, nothing less.
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