President of Iran denied access to ground zero

Some people objected on
political grounds.

NEW YORK (AP) — Almost everyone agrees Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad doesn’t belong at ground zero.

So who gets access these days to the 16-acre pit where the World Trade Center once anchored the Manhattan skyline, a slice of the city that many regard as hallowed ground?

Construction workers. The families of victims. The occasional journalist. And not too many others, in stark contrast to the days immediately after Sept. 11 when the smoldering site was overrun with celebrities, politicians and even Playboy playmates.

Amid the chaos after the twin towers fell, rescue workers and cleanup crews mingled with a parade of well known visitors: Muhammad Ali, Robert De Niro, cast members from “The Sopranos,” Martha Stewart.

Miss America Katie Harman signed body ID tags for grateful workers. Boxing promoter Don King toured the site, as did U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and other world leaders. Almost half of the Senate arrived en masse.

The vast majority came to offer support and condolences, although critics suggested others viewed a trip to the devastation as a photo op.

Within a month, the city was turning down hundreds of requests to visit the site and began asking celebrities to avoid the area as the treacherous search for remains continued.

No chance

Six years later, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said a proposed ground zero visit by Ahmadinejad during next week’s U.N. General Assembly had no chance. Police cited ongoing construction and security concerns, and the Iranian president, who is under Secret Service protection while in the U.S., was told to steer clear.

Some objected to Ahmedinejad’s visit on political grounds.

“To have the leader of the greatest state sponsor of terrorism in the world visit the site of the most heinous terrorist attack on America would be an affront to the victims and families of 9/11 and to all who lived through that day,” said Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League.

Giuliani, the mayor at the time of the attacks, was caught in a dust-up when he took a Saudi prince on a tour of the site in October 2001. Giuliani then rejected the prince’s $10 million relief check after the prince suggested U.S. policies in the Middle East were partly to blame for the carnage.

Though Ahmadinejad may not be welcome at ground zero, he is at Columbia University, where he is scheduled to appear Monday at a question-and-answer session with faculty members and students as part of the school’s World Leaders Forum.