Giuliani to 9/11 Commission: Don't Blame, Prevent Another Attack

A day after his top commissioners were grilled over their September 11 response, former mayor Rudolph Giuliani told the 9/1l Commission its job is preventing a new attack, not assigning blame. "Our enemy is not each other, but the terrorists who attacked us," Giuliani said.
• Click here for Streaming Video Coverage

In his opening statement to the panel, the mayor acknowledged there were "terrible mistakes" made on September 11. He said that was, simply, because it was such an unprecedented event.

"The blame should be put on one source alone, the terrorists who killed our loved ones," Giuliani said. He went on to describe his actions and his feelings that day, after he heard the World Trade Center had been attacked.

The former mayor and his commissioners were widely hailed for their efforts after two hijacked planes slammed into the twin towers, killing 2,749 people and rattling the city's psyche. But on Tuesday, commission member John Lehman said the failure of city agencies to communicate effectively on 9/11 was a scandal "not worthy of the Boy Scouts, let alone this great city." Before Giuliani took the stand Wednesday, the commission released a 10-page staff report saying basic flaws in the city's 911 phone system denied people inside the World Trade Center potentially lifesaving information. The report says operators and dispatchers were not aware of an evacuation, because the city had no way to tell them about it.

The report also said that with the buildings' public address systems out of service, workers inside the buildings called 911 for help but were not told to evacuate.

The report concluded 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.

Giuliani, whose steady, reassuring presence after the attacks 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.

Current Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge are also testifying today. The session is expected to be just as fiery and emotional and Tuesday's session, when the men who ran the city's 9/11 effort ran straight into a series of blistering attacks from commission members.

Today's session is expected to wrap-up around 1:00 p.m.

Related: