SEPT. 11 PROBE Ex-mayor will testify; aides faced hostility

One panel member said the response wasn't even worthy of the Boy Scouts.
NEW YORK (AP) -- Former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, whose steady, reassuring presence after the Sept. 11 attacks led some to dub him "America's mayor," was no stranger to prickly public confrontation during his years as head of city hall.
That experience may come in handy today, when Giuliani could be forced -- or feel compelled -- to defend the work of his most trusted aides before the Sept. 11 commission.
On Tuesday, his deputies were publicly challenged over what some panel members said were long-running problems with the city's emergency response systems.
"The mayor's prepared to present the facts tomorrow," said his spokeswoman Sunny Mindel, adding he is "very sympathetic and empathetic" to the families of the 2,749 people killed at the World Trade Center.
Also to testify
Also set to testify today are Giuliani's successor, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge and other emergency response experts.
Tuesday's questioning at New School University, about 1 1/2 miles from ground zero, featured angry disagreements between witnesses and questioners over issues of cooperation, communication, and command rules for emergency personnel.
Former fire Commissioner Thomas Von Essen called some of the accusations "despicable."
Commission members focused on how leaders of the city's police and fire departments failed to share information effectively in the early frantic moments after hijacked planes slammed into the twin towers.
Commission member John Lehman branded the failure of agencies to communicate effectively a scandal "not worthy of the Boy Scouts, let alone this great city."
Angry reactions
Von Essen and former police Commissioner Bernard Kerik reacted angrily to Lehman's pointed questions, the strongest of a series of harsh statements from the panel.
"I couldn't disagree with you more strongly," Von Essen replied. "I think it's outrageous that you make a statement like that."
Families wept as they watched footage of the buildings collapsing, clapped when commissioners criticized former officials, and shook their heads sadly as a litany of communication problems were enumerated.
The applause was loud when commission member Slade Gorton launched a contentious line of questioning about the city's 911 emergency system to Kerik, Von Essen and Richard Sheirer, former Office of Emergency Management head.
When the witnesses tried to defer to their successors, Gorton said, "I'm asking ... what was going on Sept. 11."
Current city officials faced much gentler questioning from panel members, who gave them largely unchallenged opportunities to report how they were improving their departments and to appeal for more federal funding.
Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly was asked if the city was prepared to handle a chemical attack with 10,000 injuries. "I would say no," he replied.
The angriest responses were reserved for the tales of miscommunication that likely led to some of the deaths in the 110-story buildings. "The people watching at home on the TV knew more than we did," said Alan Reiss, the former director of the World Trade Center.
Reiss also said he knew nothing of Osama bin Laden's terror network until the summer before the attacks and was never briefed on threats involving hijacked planes.