Posted on 05/18/2004 2:17:21 PM PDT by Brilliant
NEW YORK - The former police and fire chiefs who were lionized after the World Trade Center attack came under harsh criticism Tuesday from the Sept. 11 commission, with one member saying the departments' lack of cooperation was scandalous and "not worthy of the Boy Scouts."
Former fire commissioner Thomas Von Essen and former police chief Bernard Kerik shot back with infuriated responses to John Lehman's questions, the strongest of a series of pointed statements from the panel.
"I couldn't disagree with you more strongly," Von Essen replied. "I think it's outrageous that you make a statement like that." Outside the hearing, he called the questioning "despicable."
Families of Sept. 11 victims applauded the tough questioning and shook their heads sadly as the panel enumerated a litany of communication breakdowns between the fire and police departments. Some wept as they watched videotape of the buildings collapsing.
As Von Essen testified, Sally Regenhard — who lost her firefighter son — held up a piece of paper reading: "LIES."
The heated exchanges occurred at the start of a two-day hearing held 1 1/2 miles from ground zero. The 10-member bipartisan panel has been holding hearings over the last year, including high-profile meetings in Washington last month about intelligence failures, to examine what led to the attacks and determine ways to avoid future attacks. The panel will issue its final report July 26.
While the New York hearings were meant to examine problems in the city's emergency response system, officials also were asked about what they knew about terrorism threats in the months before the attacks.
The former director of the World Trade Center told the commission that he knew nothing of Osama bin Laden's terror network until the summer before the attacks, and was never privy to FBI intelligence that Islamic terrorists might hijack U.S. planes.
Alan Reiss said he first heard about bin Laden's al-Qaida network when ex-FBI agent John O'Neill was hired in the summer of 2001 as head of security at the trade center. O'Neill, who had hunted bin Laden for years, was one of the 2,749 people killed in the attack.
"I was aware of the plot against some of the other Port Authority tunnels and the U.N.," Reiss testified. "But we were never briefed" by the FBI.
Reiss also said he was more focused on fending off possible bioterrorism attacks such as anthrax, spending more than $100,000 to protect the building from such an assault.
"We felt this (anthrax) was the next coming wave," he said. "We had developed plans on how to isolate the air conditioning system and shut it down but never did we have a thought of what happened on 9-11."
Reiss bristled under questioning from commission member Bob Kerrey, who asked him if he is angry that "things might have been different had they (FBI) trusted you enough" to deliver important intelligence.
Reiss said he was not angry at the FBI, but rather at "19 people in an airplane," referring to the hijackers.
Kerrey said he shared Reiss' anger. "These 19 people ... defeated the INS, they defeated the Customs (Department), they defeated the FBI, they defeated the CIA," the former Nebraska senator said as family members of the victims chimed in with the loudest applause of the morning.
But Kerrey said he was more concerned that "we may not be delivering the key intelligence, the facts, the information" to the first responders.
Later, family members cheered when commission member Slade Gorton launched an aggressive line of questioning about the city's 911 emergency system to Kerik, Von Essen and Richard Sheirer, former Office of Emergency Management commissioner.
When the agency heads tried to defer to their successors, Gorton refused to let them. "I'm asking ... what was going on Sept. 11," Gorton said to applause from the families.
For some family members, it was a day for reflection rather than protest. Terry McGovern, whose mother died in the south tower, said she came away with an understanding of what happened that day.
"For me, it was reliving what my mother heard, what she saw, what her last moments were," McGovern said.
The hearing began with a commission report recounting how city officials were forced to make life-and-death decisions based on incomplete communications, leading to some of the deaths in the twin 110-story buildings.
The communication problems resulted in incidents such as the deaths of Port Authority workers told to wait for help on the 64th floor of one tower. Many of them died when the building collapsed.
Communications breakdowns also prevented announcements to evacuate from reaching civilians in one of the buildings. One survivor recounted calling 911 from the 44th floor of the south tower, only to be placed on hold twice.
That was not a surprise, since emergency operators had a "lack of awareness" about what was happening at the twin towers and were overwhelmed by the sheer volume of calls, said commission staffer Sam Casperson.
Good idea,no cameras,no grandstanding politicians or outbursts from the "families".
I am a proud mother of a boy studying to become a paramedic. The brave men in NYPD and NYFD did all they could to save as many people. It is a shame these good men are dust at the base of where the WTC center stood. It is a double shame the ghouls are trashing their good names.
Line of questioning was designed to chip away at Guilliani's reputation.
Of course the family crowd was probably loaded with the anti-Bush 9/11 families, as has been done before.
Did you see this? Those despicable 9/11 panel members criticizing those heroes who rushed into buildings on 9/11 have some nerve. And the families who clapped. How dare they? Those heroes who died, those heroes who helped others do NOT deserve to be treated like this.
So here is something worthy of your report, 9-11 Commission!
These people are just sick egomaniacs. They have gone so far over the top that they're not gonna hurt Bush and certainly not gonna do their own careers any good, that is the few who aren't has-beens.
Surprised at Lehman. This commission is a joke. What is with the United States? Always carping on those that stand between us and anarchy, the military and our firefighters. Sick bunch of bureaucrats.
Blame the criminal??!?!? I never thought I would see the day in America again!
A correction is in order..
As Von Essen testified, Sally Regenhard — who lost her firefighter son — held up a piece of paper reading: "LIES show me da money!"
The house and senate shold have a strick budgets, when the tax payrs money is wasted on meaningless show and tells then they are through.
Seems to me it's time to again fire up the cry for Gorelick to resign. She was all about "tough questions" today, sounding very Hillaryesque. The entire usless commission should be disbanded.
The Dims have been working on "recreating" every single thing that was done to their own god Priapus, x42, and getting revenge on the little American citizens who ruined his legacy. Commissions, panels, inquiries, impeachment proceedings...all to restore the image of BJ Bill. They are the flying monkeys taking the orders of the "I'll get you and your little dog Toto, too!" witch senator thing.
Go get 'em, Rudy!
My day started with the news there would be hearings today with this commission and that Guiliani would be tomorrow. I made a note to myself to watch what I can but I figured the fireworks had died down (as an aside, I have to be gone a bit tomorrow morning so will probably miss some of it live.)
Then before I left on errands this morning I read or heard some news (I know Fox was doing periodic reports), and my eyebrows went up a bit at the tone that was starting to ooze out from today's event.
Then at 1:00 my time (4:00 eastern) I happened to have MSNBC as Lester Holt's show started. My jaw dropped open as Holt informed viewers that some firefighters that used to be viewed as heroes might be knocked off their pedestal and then he played a clip of John Lehman. I could not believe the accusatory tone and content of the "questions". That was enough for me to get the gist. Now I see from this article it was even worse (which I had feared).
This commission has become imbued with some kind of unholy tribunal attitude. They fancy themselves judge and jury of the events leading up to and beyond that infamous and horrible day.
How DARE they be allowed to comport themselves in this manner. They are all vile. If there are any members of this panel that witnessed this outrageous tack and do not object in the most strenous terms then I must conclude there are none that possess an ounce of decency and honor.
This is beyond a travesty. There is nothing right about this.
Not only did they have cameras, they've now taken the circus on the road. This was Kerrey's day to preen on his home turf at New School U. What a joke.
May 18, 2004 -- This is going to be a busy week for Bob Kerrey. Today, the national 9/11 commission, of which he is a member, comes to town for two days of public hearings at the New School University, which Kerrey heads.
These so-called leaders and guardians of the public trust will manage to convince close to half of America that we live in a country where our own government conspires to slaughter its citizens, our military are perverted murderers, and our law enforcement agents are corrupt incompetents. This isn't liberalism, it's anarchy.
I'd like to divide the country (literally) down the middle and put them all on one side of the boundary and build a wall to keep us apart. Of course, their half of the country won't have any government, military, law enforcement or free enterprise. But, that shouldn't be a problem for them, should it?
Ping
The 9/11 Commission is completely insane. They have some kind of weird notion that they have some superhuman overriding moral authority and can mete out justice with the wave of a hand and the stroke of a pen. Hectoring all who dare to present themselves and offer puny excuses for not having the foresight and knowledge to have prevented evil incarnate from attacking us.
Get the hook for this sick and sorry crew!
The 911 commission is a bunch of Monday morning quarterbacks. Except even with the benefit of hindsight, these A--holes don't have a clue.
Example: "Well Mr Conspiracy Guy, if you had not swung the hammer, wouldn't you think your thumb would not have been smashed? What did you know about the hammer and when did you know it? Wouldn't a nerf hammer be less dangerous? Wouldn't you agree that the steel hammer is inherently dangerous? Be quiet Mr Conspiracy Guy I only have 15 minutes so I need to create all my talking points. John Kerry would never swing the hammer. Wouldn't you say that driving the nail is job for the UN? Have you ever seen a grown man naked? "
The whole Kangeroo Court is a disgrace to Kangeroos and their judgement.
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