Wayne Barrett’s Village Voice article titled “Rudy Giuliani’s Five Big Lies About 9/11” ought to be required reading for anyone thinking about the GOP presidential primary.
Here are the facts: Giuliani focused little on terrorism while mayor of New York in advance of 9/11, failed to prepare the city for an attack in any significant way, prioritized his petty personal needs over the advice of experts when constructing an emergency response command center, and didn’t supply first-responders with the equipment they needed — all of these facts from Barrett’s article are supported by former Giuliani aides and members of his NYC administration. More importantly, all of these facts directly contradict the strongest-on-terrorism image Giuliani presents on the campaign trail. Terrorism is Giuliani’s “best” issue, and he consistently lies about his record.
Barrett’s article is a portrait of a man willing to accept illegitimate praise and eager to spread legitimate blame. As Barrett writes, “naked revisionism” is the name of Giuliani’s game. Have a read.
