Giuliani: Flawed or Flawless?: on Homeland Security
Al Sharpton:
Ordinary NYers are 9/11 heroes; Giuliani just did his job
Carol Bellamy, NYC politician, says, “I am not a big fan of Giuliani’s leadership, but he performed superbly, but I don’t think it would have been beyond the capacity of others to do that as well.”Another observer says, “Where Rudy surprised people is
not the ‘take charge’ part of it, but the emotional part of it and the way he effectively brought hope to people. Anybody who has watched Rudy at a cop’s funeral knows that he is very emotionally invested in this part of the job-- there is an aspect of
him that is very priestlike.
Rev. Al Sharpton says, “I don’t know any mayor that wouldn’t have done the same thing. Look at Mayor Williams, in Washington. He went through two crises and the national media did not make a hero out of him; there was no
Time magazine ‘Man of the Year’ for him. I do not criticize what he did, but I don’t think that he did anything anyone else didn’t do. I think the real hero was all the New Yorkers--ordinary people--that came together and did a tremendous job.”
Source: Flawed or Flawless, by Deborah & Gerald Strober, p.267-270
Jan 16, 2007
John Kerry:
OpEd: Lost 2004 because wouldn't stand up to terrorists
Former NYC Mayor Ed Koch: I announced, independent of the Republicans, whom I had had no discussions with, that I was voting for George Bush & I didn't agree with him on a SINGLE domestic issue--but I believed that his position on fighting international
terrorism was more important than ANY OTHER ISSUE and that the Democratic Party and its candidate, John Kerry, didn't have the stomach to stand up to international terrorism. That's what I said. So then I got calls from two people:
Bush's former press secretary, Ari Fleischer. He came here with the head of the Republican Jewish Committee and they said to me, "We would like you to go campaigning in Philadelphia and Florida." Ultimately, I went to Pennsylvania, Florida,
Michigan, Iowa--I don't know why they sent me to Iowa; I think there are two Jews in Iowa and I met both of them, but they wanted me to go campaigning in Jewish areas, primarily Ohio and Florida--and I went. And they say I had an impact.
Source: Giuliani: Flawed or Flawless, by D. & G. Strober, p.301-302
Jan 16, 2007
Mike Bloomberg:
9/11 FYPD were heroes because they chose to stay behind
Giuliani basically said, "These guys [the firefighters who died on 9/11] were heroes; they chose to stay behind." Bloomberg said the same thing in a letter he sent to the
9/11 Commission, and that is what the commissioners put in their report because after going to great pains to describe--in chapter 9--the communications problems, the commissioners concluded in a footnote that all on-duty members of
15 to 20 fire companies knew there was an order to evacuate, but, for whatever reason, didn't get out.
What Giuliani, Bloomberg, and the 9/11 commissioners are basically saying is that these firefighters chose to die in the building. That drives the families nuts.
Source: Giuliani: Flawed or Flawless, by D. & G. Strober, p.291
Jan 16, 2007
Rudy Giuliani:
Avoided military service in Vietnam with a deferment
After graduating magna cum laude from NYU Law School in 1968, Rudy set his sights on becoming a federal prosecutor. Although then a Kennedy Democrat, Rudy caught the eye of Lloyd MacMahon, a prominent Republican lawmaker and judge, who, unimpressed by
pedigree, saw Rudy’s good points--his street smarts, driving ambition, and tireless dedication. Becoming Rudy’s mentor, the judge even helped Rudy to avoid military service in Vietnam--a deferment that would one day come to haunt candidate Rudy.
Source: Flawed or Flawless, by Deborah & Gerald Strober, p. 37
Jan 16, 2007
Rudy Giuliani:
Giuliani’s 9/11 actions reassured a traumatized city
The mayor set up an emergency post [near the WTC]. Then there was an enormous thud. The South Tower of the World Trade Center had imploded and Giuliani was tapped in the now dust- and debris-filled building. Giuliani’s actions that morning at Ground
Zero not only brought some measure of assurance to his grief-stricken, traumatized constituents in the immediate aftermath of that defining tragedy, but in demonstrating his great personal courage, dedication, and leadership, he succeeded in shedding
both the baggage of his long career and more recent negative image to emerge to most people as a superhero to his city, the nation, and the world.
One political opponent said, “I’m not a big fan of Giuliani’s mayoral leadership, but that day he
performed superbly.” Another political opponent said, “Where Giuliani surprised people is not the ”take charge“ part of it, but the emotional part of it and the way he very effectively brought hope to the people of the city and kept their spirits up.”
Source: Flawed or Flawless, by Deborah & Gerald Strober, p.255-267
Jan 16, 2007
Rudy Giuliani:
Locating command center in WTC7 contributed to destruction
In the wake of 9/11, questions began to surface concerning the wisdom of Giuliani’s locating the emergency reaction center right there, where there could be another, truly devastating attack. It was later revealed that the fuel tanks required to service
that command center were in large part responsible for the destruction of the 7 World Trade Center building, which had not taken a direct hit by aircraft.When Giuliani builds the Emergency Command Center, he puts it in the wrong place.
What was expected was a chemical and biological attack. Some people said, “This is a really bad idea. They hit this target once and they’re going to come back; we should but it in Brooklyn.”
This was supposed to be a bunker. A bunker is normally underground. It is a place where you dig in. In your command center, you should be safe from enemy attack, so you do not put a bunker on the 23rd floor of an office building.
Source: Flawed or Flawless, by Deborah & Gerald Strober, p.277-280
Jan 16, 2007
Rudy Giuliani:
9/11 FYPD were heroes because they chose to stay behind
Giuliani basically said, "These guys [the firefighters who died on 9/11] were heroes; they chose to stay behind." Bloomberg said the same thing in a letter he sent to the
9/11 Commission, and that is what the commissioners put in their report because after going to great pains to describe--in chapter 9--the communications problems, the commissioners concluded in a footnote that all on-duty members of
15 to 20 fire companies knew there was an order to evacuate, but, for whatever reason, didn't get out.
What Giuliani, Bloomberg, and the 9/11 commissioners are basically saying is that these firefighters chose to die in the building. That drives the families nuts.
Source: Giuliani: Flawed or Flawless, by D. & G. Strober, p.291
Jan 16, 2007