Letters to the Editor
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I don't understand how Giuliani can run on 9/11
Standing around shouting into a bullhorn does not qualify as leadership (and would probably have been better left to the professionals who actually know what they're doing). As CWIC (chief weenie in charge), his role was to make sure that the city was in a position to respond to a disaster (natural or man made). So what actually happened in this disaster?
How did the "command center" do? Were they able to communicate with the police and fire groups that were responding to the disaster so that they could limit damage and loss of life? Were they able to open communications with State and Federal agencies to request assistance when New York's resources proved inadequate to the scope of the disaster? Well, no. There was no command center because Mr. Giuliani decided to put the command center, not in a secure location, but in a location that had already been attacked once already - the world trade center which itself was the target again.
How robust was the planning for disaster response? Did it include provisions addressing the (likely) event that some portion of the disaster response couldn't execute their part of the plan? Well, no. The executive hadn't even ensured that the police and fire departments could even talk to each other among other things.
So, overall how would I describe NYs response to this disaster? Disjointed and ineffective. What meager successes occurred to limit damage and save lives came as a result of the personal heroics of individual firemen, policemen, and the citizenry of the City of New York operating on their own initiative and in isolation.
You call that leadership? 'Cause I don't.