United States: Firefighters and relatives of 9/11 victims are laying aggressive plans to undermine the former mayor's record, writes Peter Wallstenin Washington
Many Americans know Rudolph Giuliani only from his performance in the smoke and ashes of the September 11th attacks on New York - a steely image that has propelled him atop the polls in the race for the Republican presidential nomination.
However, some groups at the centre of the 9/11 experience are laying aggressive plans to tarnish that image and undermine the central pillar of his candidacy.
Officials from a national firefighters' union, and relatives of some September 11th victims, say they will publicly attack decisions Giuliani made as New York mayor before and after the attacks. Among other complaints, they say he failed to support modernised radios that might have spared the lives of more firefighters at the World Trade Center, and that he located the city's main emergency command centre in the complex, even though it had been targeted by terrorists eight years earlier. Giuliani aides say the accusations are baseless and are driven by politically motivated unions with strong ties to Democrats.
So far, the International Association of Fire Fighters, the country's biggest firefighter union, says it will aim its anti-Giuliani effort at its own 280,000 members. However, union president Harold Schaitberger said the group will "stand ready" to support a much more public campaign by families of firefighters and workers who died in the World Trade Center. The union's actions are among several potential threats that could put Giuliani on the defensive.
Lawyers want to question the former mayor under oath as part of a federal lawsuit alleging that the city negligently dumped body parts and other human remains from Ground Zero in the Fresh Kills rubbish dump in Staten Island, New York.
Giuliani's testimony "could undercut his hero status", said Norman Siegel, the lawyer representing families who brought the suit. Siegel is also consulting with families who have discussed forming a committee to influence the presidential race.
Giuliani's televised news conferences and other actions after 9/11 helped him build an image as a cool and competent manager who counselled a frightened nation through loss. That image has spurred his rise in surveys of Republican voters, acting as a counterbalance to his liberal positions on abortion, gay rights and other social issues, which typically disqualify a candidate in the eyes of conservatives.
But Giuliani has left bitterness among families of 9/11 victims. Representatives of some families said they plan to speak out aggressively on Giuliani.
"This is going to be a war for truth," said Sally Regenhard, whose 28-year-old son, Christian, was one of 343 New York firefighters who died. "I'll be speaking out as a mother and a parent."
Critics are considering ways to back up their claims about Giuliani's decision-making with video footage, documents and perhaps audio from recently released emergency dispatch tapes.
Anthony Carbonetti, a strategist for Giuliani, said Giuliani's presidential campaign was prepared to respond by showcasing his long- standing relationships with rank-and-file firefighters and police officers.
The mayor opened firehouses, Carbonetti said, and pushed for new "bunker gear" that protected firefighters from intense heat. He attributed the union's anger to disagreements over city pay issues and partisan interests - the International Association of Fire Fighters was an early supporter of Senator John Kerry, the Democratic nominee in the 2004 presidential campaign.
"The union is not the firefighters. You have to separate the two," Carbonetti said. "I don't think they'll have any success. The more we keep talking about Rudy's record, the more people will see how much he did to support all the uniformed services in the city."
Giuliani's aides have enlisted help from Lee Ielpi, a retired New York firefighter whose 29-year-old son, Jonathan, also a firefighter, died in 9/11.
"Rudy Giuliani was not flying those planes. Terrorists flew those planes and caused that disaster on 9/11," Ielpi said. "Giuliani just happened to be the figure who was mayor at the time who did a spectacular job to the best of his abilities."
The Fresh Kills lawsuit presents further complications for Giuliani. If the families fend off an attempt by city officials to dismiss the suit, Siegel, the lawyer, said he plans to ask Giuliani questions about his post-September 11th decisions.
"Most Americans don't know that this was dumped in a garbage dump," Siegel said, referring to claims that human remains wound up in the landfill. "Who made that decision? He will have to answer questions under oath."
Giuliani's dispute with the union erupted publicly in March when he declined to attend the group's candidate forum. Schaitberger, the union president, then distributed a scathing three-page letter describing Giuliani's "disgraceful" treatment of firefighters after 9/11.
A central complaint was an order from the mayor that, citing safety reasons, placed strict limits on the number of people who could work on the still-smouldering pile at Ground Zero. Firefighters were irate because they had not yet found remains from all of their comrades who died. Giuliani reversed his decision, but raw feelings remained.
For Giuliani, who turned his image as "America's mayor" into a lucrative career as a security consultant and motivational speaker, confronting critics of his September 11th leadership will be a new experience.
- (LA Times-Washington Post)