Giuliani: It Would Have Been ‘Impossible’ to Give Firefighters Working Radios

by Seth Michaels, Jan 3, 2008

Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R-N.Y.) continues to come under fire for his failures during the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. During an appearance on ABC’s “This Week,” Giuliani again was challenged over the faulty radios used by firefighters and other first responders during the attacks. Even though the flawed radio system first malfunctioned in 1993, Giuliani claimed it would have been “impossible” to upgrade the radios during those eight years.

In fact, during that time, Giuliani, according to an investigation by Brave New Films, allegedly gave Motorola a no-bid contract to provide new radios that also turned out to be faulty. According to Alternet:

…the firefighters on 9/11 were forced to use old equipment that had malfunctioned eight years earlier, during the 1993 attacks on the World Trade Center.

But it wasn’t “impossible” to get new radios to these firefighters, as Giuliani tried to claim. After the 1993 incident, Giuliani gave Motorola a $1.4 million no-bid  contract. Despite this exorbitant sum, the radios were faulty and had to be taken out of service in March 2001, after a “distress call from a firefighter trapped in a burning house” went unheard.

Giuliani’s performance before, during and after the Sept. 11 attacks has come under serious scrutiny during the campaign. The Fire Fighters (IAFF) union has released a video, “Rudy: Urban Legend.” In the video, New York firefighters talk about the malfunctioning radios and other mistakes made by Giuliani, which resulted in lost lives.

Three Iowa firefighters tried to confront Giuliani about his record in a diner in Des Moines, Iowa. As they describe in this video, the former mayor and presidential hopeful avoided their questions and left the diner without speaking to them. (The Fire Fighters union has endorsed Sen. Chris Dodd [D-Conn.] for president.)

Giuliani also angered Ground Zero rescue workers, who risked their health at the site of the attacks, by claiming he had been at the site so often he was “one of them.”

Throughout this election cycle, Giuliani has had a record of misleading and exaggerated statements, so it’s no surprise to see him make the claim that giving firefighters the equipment they needed was “impossible.” It’s also no surprise that his support is collapsing.

For more information on presidential candidates, check out Working Families Vote 2008.

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