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This is a hard subject for me-- specifically, as an engineer. As a local political commentator, I was called after the south tower was hit by a local shock jock. He wanted to know my opinion on the environmental effects of such a catastrophe. Like most Americans, I was in shock. After he asked, my first response was "I think we're going to have other things besides environmental problems to worry about." My second was thinking "at least one of those towers is coming down." As someone with a BS in civil engineering, we had studied the towers, and failure from aircraft impact was a subject discussed-- and this was back in 1981.
My professional inclination holds the fire chief and various police captains who sent their men into the towers after the crashes as being professionally culpable for criminal malfeasance. The fire chief was killed when the building collapsed. In the end, the firemen and policemen called to the scene could do nothing to prevent the eventuality that happened. Professionally speaking, it is hard for me to believe that there was no one in the chain of command at either the NYPD or NYFD that wasn't a structures expert that should have been calling the shots with regards to the feasibility and action plan for such an event. Such a person should have viewed the tower collapses as highly probable-- not impossible, as was portrayed in the press.
But then I ask myself what would I have done had I been in charge? In such an emotionally charged situation, it can be unfair to judge men, confronted with such an extraordinary situation. Had they not sent their men in, what would have been the consequence had the towers not collapsed? It is the classic question of real leadership-- can one rely on their objective thought process in the midst of such a calamity? And should we hold them responsible if they do not?
The credit for saving the 47K+ people who escaped from the Towers rightfully goes to John O'Neill, the head of security at the Towers, who devised the escape plan, predicted the eventuality of the attack, and was Clinton's #1 guy in the FBI on Al Qaeda. He too was killed when the South Tower collapsed. I still am amazed at the fact that some 47K people escaped both towers in an orderly evacuation in about 25 minutes time. It is nothing short of amazing.
Regardless of how one feels about the leadership, the rank-and-file did what they had to do, what they believed was their mission. They followed the commands of a flawed leadership, and most were killed. Theirs was the ultimate, profound, noble sacrifice.
