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http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/21/us/politics/21giuliani.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

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http://www.911memorial.org/911-primary-sources

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A lot of lives were lost that day; there were about 3,000 people who died, including more than 400 police officers and firefighters.  http://www.history.com/topics/9-11-attacks

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http://www.history.com/topics/9-11-attacks

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On September 11, 2001, 19 militants associated with the Islamic extremist group al-Qaeda hijacked four airplanes and carried out suicide attacks against targets in the United States. Two of the planes were flown into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, a third plane hit the Pentagon just outside Washington, D.C., and the fourth plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. Almost 3,000 people were killed during the 9/11 terrorist attacks, which triggered major U.S. initiatives to combat terrorism and defined the presidency of George W. Bush.

World Trade Center

On September 11, 2001, at 8:45 a.m. on a clear Tuesday morning, an American Airlines Boeing 767 loaded with 20,000 gallons of jet fuel crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center in New York City.

The impact left a gaping, burning hole near the 80th floor of the 110-story skyscraper, instantly killing hundreds of people and trapping hundreds more in higher floors.

As the evacuation of the tower and its twin got underway, television cameras broadcasted live images of what initially appeared to be a freak accident. Then, 18 minutes after the first plane hit, a second Boeing 767-United Airlines Flight 175-appeared out of the sky, turned sharply toward the World Trade Center and sliced into the south tower near the 60th floor.

The collision caused a massive explosion that showered burning debris over surrounding buildings and onto the streets below. It immediately became clear that America was under attack.

Did you know? September 11, 2001, was the deadliest day in history for New York City firefighters: 343 were killed.

Osama bin Laden

The attackers were Islamic terrorists from Saudi Arabia and several other Arab nations. Reportedly financed by the al-Qaeda terrorist organization of Saudi fugitive Osama bin Laden, they were allegedly acting in retaliation for America's support of Israel, its involvement in the Persian Gulf War and its continued military presence in the Middle East.

Some of the terrorists had lived in the United States for more than a year and had taken flying lessons at American commercial flight schools. Others had slipped into the country in the months before September 11 and acted as the "muscle" in the operation.

The 19 terrorists easily smuggled box-cutters and knives through security at three East Coast airports and boarded four early-morning flights bound for California, chosen because the planes were loaded with fuel for the long transcontinental journey. Soon after takeoff, the terrorists commandeered the four planes and took the controls, transforming ordinary passenger jets into guided missiles.

Pentagon Attack

As millions watched the events unfolding in New York, American Airlines Flight 77 circled over downtown Washington, D.C., before crashing into the west side of the Pentagon military headquarters at 9:45 a.m.

Jet fuel from the Boeing 757 caused a devastating inferno that led to the structural collapse of a portion of the giant concrete building, which is the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense.

All told, 125 military personnel and civilians were killed in the Pentagon, along with all 64 people aboard the airliner.

Twin Towers Collapse

Less than 15 minutes after the terrorists struck the nerve center of the U.S. military, the horror in New York took a catastrophic turn when the south tower of the World Trade Center collapsed in a massive cloud of dust and smoke.

The structural steel of the skyscraper, built to withstand winds in excess of 200 miles per hour and a large conventional fire, could not withstand the tremendous heat generated by the burning jet fuel.

At 10:30 a.m., the north building of the twin towers collapsed. Only six people in the World Trade Center towers at the time of their collapse survived. Almost 10,000 others were treated for injuries, many severe.

Flight 93

Meanwhile, a fourth California-bound plane-United Flight 93-was hijacked about 40 minutes after leaving Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey. Because the plane had been delayed in taking off, passengers on board learned of events in New York and Washington via cell phone and Airfone calls to the ground.

Knowing that the aircraft was not returning to an airport as the hijackers claimed, a group of passengers and flight attendants planned an insurrection.

One of the passengers, Thomas Burnett, Jr., told his wife over the phone that "I know we're all going to die. There's three of us who are going to do something about it. I love you, honey." Another passenger-Todd Beamer-was heard saying "Are you guys ready? Let's roll" over an open line.

Sandy Bradshaw, a flight attendant, called her husband and explained that she had slipped into a galley and was filling pitchers with boiling water. Her last words to him were "Everyone's running to first class. I've got to go. Bye."

The passengers fought the four hijackers and are suspected to have attacked the cockpit with a fire extinguisher. The plane then flipped over and sped toward the ground at upwards of 500 miles per hour, crashing in a rural field near Shanksville in western Pennsylvania at 10:10 a.m.

All 44 people aboard were killed. Its intended target is not known, but theories include the White House, the U.S. Capitol, the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland or one of several nuclear power plants along the eastern seaboard.

How Many People Died in 9/11 Attacks?

A total of 2,996 people were killed in the 9/11 attacks, including the 19 terrorist hijackers aboard the four airplanes.

At the World Trade Center, 2,763 died after the two planes slammed into the twin towers. That figure includes 343 firefighters and paramedics, 23 New York City police officers and 37 Port Authority police officers who were struggling to complete an evacuation of the buildings and save the office workers trapped on higher floors.

At the Pentagon, 189 people were killed, including 64 on American Airlines Flight 77, the airliner that struck the building. On Flight 93, 44 people died when the plane crash-landed in Pennsylvania.

America Responds

At 7 p.m., President George W. Bush, who was in Florida at the time of the attacks and had spent the day being shuttled around the country because of security concerns, returned to the White House.

At 9 p.m., he delivered a televised address from the Oval Office, declaring, "Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shatter steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve."

In a reference to the eventual U.S. military response he declared, "We will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbor them."

Operation Enduring Freedom, the American-led international effort to oust the Taliban regime in Afghanistan and destroy Osama bin Laden's terrorist network based there, began on October 7. Within two months, U.S. forces had effectively removed the Taliban from operational power, but the war continued, as U.S. and coalition forces attempted to defeat a Taliban insurgency campaign based in neighboring Pakistan.

Osama bin Laden, the mastermind behind the September 11th attacks, remained at large until May 2, 2011, when he was finally tracked down and killed by U.S. forces at a hideout in Abbottabad, Pakistan. In June 2011, President Barack Obama announced the beginning of large-scale troop withdrawals from Afghanistan.

Sources

The Encyclopedia of 9/11. New York Magazine.
FAQ About 9/11. 9/11 Memorial.
September 11th Terror Attacks Fast Facts. CNN.
9/11 Death Statistics. StatisticBrain.com.
Access hundreds of hours of historical video, commercial free, with HISTORY Vault. Start your free trial today.

PHOTO GALLERIES

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On September 11, 2001, 19 militants associated with the Islamic extremist group al-Qaeda hijacked four airplanes and carried out suicide attacks against targets in the United States. Two of the planes were flown into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, a third plane hit the Pentagon just outside Washington, D.C., and the fourth plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania.

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http://www.history.com/topics/9-11-attacks

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President George W. Bush

Website Title: History.com

Article Title: 9/11: Timeline of Events

Publisher: A&E Television Networks

Date Accessed: September 03, 2014

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9/11 Timeline - Facts & Summary - HISTORY.com

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Find out more about the history of 9/11 Timeline, including videos, interesting articles, pictures, historical features and more. Get all the facts on HISTORY.com

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Al Queada http://www.history.com/topics/9-11-attacks

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23 police officers were killed and 37 Port Authority

Police officers.

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http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/binladen/who/alqaeda.html the terrorist group

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19 militants working for al-Qaeda

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On September 11, 2001, 19 militants associated with the Islamic extremist group al-Qaeda hijacked four airplanes and carried out suicide attacks against targets in the United States. Two of the planes were flown into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, a third plane hit the Pentagon just outside Washington, D.C., and the fourth plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. Almost 3,000 people were killed during the 9/11 terrorist attacks, which triggered major U.S. initiatives to combat terrorism and defined the presidency of George W. Bush.

World Trade Center

On September 11, 2001, at 8:45 a.m. on a clear Tuesday morning, an American Airlines Boeing 767 loaded with 20,000 gallons of jet fuel crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center in New York City.

The impact left a gaping, burning hole near the 80th floor of the 110-story skyscraper, instantly killing hundreds of people and trapping hundreds more in higher floors.

As the evacuation of the tower and its twin got underway, television cameras broadcasted live images of what initially appeared to be a freak accident. Then, 18 minutes after the first plane hit, a second Boeing 767-United Airlines Flight 175-appeared out of the sky, turned sharply toward the World Trade Center and sliced into the south tower near the 60th floor.

The collision caused a massive explosion that showered burning debris over surrounding buildings and onto the streets below. It immediately became clear that America was under attack.

Did you know? September 11, 2001, was the deadliest day in history for New York City firefighters: 343 were killed.

Osama bin Laden

The attackers were Islamic terrorists from Saudi Arabia and several other Arab nations. Reportedly financed by the al-Qaeda terrorist organization of Saudi fugitive Osama bin Laden, they were allegedly acting in retaliation for America's support of Israel, its involvement in the Persian Gulf War and its continued military presence in the Middle East.

Some of the terrorists had lived in the United States for more than a year and had taken flying lessons at American commercial flight schools. Others had slipped into the country in the months before September 11 and acted as the "muscle" in the operation.

The 19 terrorists easily smuggled box-cutters and knives through security at three East Coast airports and boarded four early-morning flights bound for California, chosen because the planes were loaded with fuel for the long transcontinental journey. Soon after takeoff, the terrorists commandeered the four planes and took the controls, transforming ordinary passenger jets into guided missiles.

Pentagon Attack

As millions watched the events unfolding in New York, American Airlines Flight 77 circled over downtown Washington, D.C., before crashing into the west side of the Pentagon military headquarters at 9:45 a.m.

Jet fuel from the Boeing 757 caused a devastating inferno that led to the structural collapse of a portion of the giant concrete building, which is the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense.

All told, 125 military personnel and civilians were killed in the Pentagon, along with all 64 people aboard the airliner.

Twin Towers Collapse

Less than 15 minutes after the terrorists struck the nerve center of the U.S. military, the horror in New York took a catastrophic turn when the south tower of the World Trade Center collapsed in a massive cloud of dust and smoke.

The structural steel of the skyscraper, built to withstand winds in excess of 200 miles per hour and a large conventional fire, could not withstand the tremendous heat generated by the burning jet fuel.

At 10:30 a.m., the north building of the twin towers collapsed. Only six people in the World Trade Center towers at the time of their collapse survived. Almost 10,000 others were treated for injuries, many severe.

Flight 93

Meanwhile, a fourth California-bound plane-United Flight 93-was hijacked about 40 minutes after leaving Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey. Because the plane had been delayed in taking off, passengers on board learned of events in New York and Washington via cell phone and Airfone calls to the ground.

Knowing that the aircraft was not returning to an airport as the hijackers claimed, a group of passengers and flight attendants planned an insurrection.

One of the passengers, Thomas Burnett, Jr., told his wife over the phone that "I know we're all going to die. There's three of us who are going to do something about it. I love you, honey." Another passenger-Todd Beamer-was heard saying "Are you guys ready? Let's roll" over an open line.

Sandy Bradshaw, a flight attendant, called her husband and explained that she had slipped into a galley and was filling pitchers with boiling water. Her last words to him were "Everyone's running to first class. I've got to go. Bye."

The passengers fought the four hijackers and are suspected to have attacked the cockpit with a fire extinguisher. The plane then flipped over and sped toward the ground at upwards of 500 miles per hour, crashing in a rural field near Shanksville in western Pennsylvania at 10:10 a.m.

All 44 people aboard were killed. Its intended target is not known, but theories include the White House, the U.S. Capitol, the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland or one of several nuclear power plants along the eastern seaboard.

How Many People Died in 9/11 Attacks?

A total of 2,996 people were killed in the 9/11 attacks, including the 19 terrorist hijackers aboard the four airplanes.

At the World Trade Center, 2,763 died after the two planes slammed into the twin towers. That figure includes 343 firefighters and paramedics, 23 New York City police officers and 37 Port Authority police officers who were struggling to complete an evacuation of the buildings and save the office workers trapped on higher floors.

At the Pentagon, 189 people were killed, including 64 on American Airlines Flight 77, the airliner that struck the building. On Flight 93, 44 people died when the plane crash-landed in Pennsylvania.

America Responds

At 7 p.m., President George W. Bush, who was in Florida at the time of the attacks and had spent the day being shuttled around the country because of security concerns, returned to the White House.

At 9 p.m., he delivered a televised address from the Oval Office, declaring, "Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shatter steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve."

In a reference to the eventual U.S. military response he declared, "We will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbor them."

Operation Enduring Freedom, the American-led international effort to oust the Taliban regime in Afghanistan and destroy Osama bin Laden's terrorist network based there, began on October 7. Within two months, U.S. forces had effectively removed the Taliban from operational power, but the war continued, as U.S. and coalition forces attempted to defeat a Taliban insurgency campaign based in neighboring Pakistan.

Osama bin Laden, the mastermind behind the September 11th attacks, remained at large until May 2, 2011, when he was finally tracked down and killed by U.S. forces at a hideout in Abbottabad, Pakistan. In June 2011, President Barack Obama announced the beginning of large-scale troop withdrawals from Afghanistan.

Sources

The Encyclopedia of 9/11. New York Magazine.
FAQ About 9/11. 9/11 Memorial.
September 11th Terror Attacks Fast Facts. CNN.
9/11 Death Statistics. StatisticBrain.com.
Access hundreds of hours of historical video, commercial free, with HISTORY Vault. Start your free trial today.

PHOTO GALLERIES

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
On September 11, 2001, 19 militants associated with the Islamic extremist group al-Qaeda hijacked four airplanes and carried out suicide attacks against targets in the United States. Two of the planes were flown into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, a third plane hit the Pentagon just outside Washington, D.C., and the fourth plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania.

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National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States

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We present the narrative of this report and the recommendations that flow from it to the President of the United States, the United States Congress, and the American people for their consideration. Ten Commissioners-five Republicans and five Democrats chosen by elected leaders from our nation's capital at a time of great partisan division-have come together to present this report without dissent.

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President G.W. Bush was in the office during 9/11.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
On September 11, 2001, 19 militants associated with the Islamic extremist group al-Qaeda hijacked four airplanes and carried out suicide attacks against targets in the United States. Two of the planes were flown into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, a third plane hit the Pentagon just outside Washington, D.C., and the fourth plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. Almost 3,000 people were killed during the 9/11 terrorist attacks, which triggered major U.S. initiatives to combat terrorism and defined the presidency of George W. Bush.

World Trade Center

On September 11, 2001, at 8:45 a.m. on a clear Tuesday morning, an American Airlines Boeing 767 loaded with 20,000 gallons of jet fuel crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center in New York City.

The impact left a gaping, burning hole near the 80th floor of the 110-story skyscraper, instantly killing hundreds of people and trapping hundreds more in higher floors.

As the evacuation of the tower and its twin got underway, television cameras broadcasted live images of what initially appeared to be a freak accident. Then, 18 minutes after the first plane hit, a second Boeing 767-United Airlines Flight 175-appeared out of the sky, turned sharply toward the World Trade Center and sliced into the south tower near the 60th floor.

The collision caused a massive explosion that showered burning debris over surrounding buildings and onto the streets below. It immediately became clear that America was under attack.

Did you know? September 11, 2001, was the deadliest day in history for New York City firefighters: 343 were killed.

Osama bin Laden

The attackers were Islamic terrorists from Saudi Arabia and several other Arab nations. Reportedly financed by the al-Qaeda terrorist organization of Saudi fugitive Osama bin Laden, they were allegedly acting in retaliation for America's support of Israel, its involvement in the Persian Gulf War and its continued military presence in the Middle East.

Some of the terrorists had lived in the United States for more than a year and had taken flying lessons at American commercial flight schools. Others had slipped into the country in the months before September 11 and acted as the "muscle" in the operation.

The 19 terrorists easily smuggled box-cutters and knives through security at three East Coast airports and boarded four early-morning flights bound for California, chosen because the planes were loaded with fuel for the long transcontinental journey. Soon after takeoff, the terrorists commandeered the four planes and took the controls, transforming ordinary passenger jets into guided missiles.

Pentagon Attack

As millions watched the events unfolding in New York, American Airlines Flight 77 circled over downtown Washington, D.C., before crashing into the west side of the Pentagon military headquarters at 9:45 a.m.

Jet fuel from the Boeing 757 caused a devastating inferno that led to the structural collapse of a portion of the giant concrete building, which is the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense.

All told, 125 military personnel and civilians were killed in the Pentagon, along with all 64 people aboard the airliner.

Twin Towers Collapse

Less than 15 minutes after the terrorists struck the nerve center of the U.S. military, the horror in New York took a catastrophic turn when the south tower of the World Trade Center collapsed in a massive cloud of dust and smoke.

The structural steel of the skyscraper, built to withstand winds in excess of 200 miles per hour and a large conventional fire, could not withstand the tremendous heat generated by the burning jet fuel.

At 10:30 a.m., the north building of the twin towers collapsed. Only six people in the World Trade Center towers at the time of their collapse survived. Almost 10,000 others were treated for injuries, many severe.

Flight 93

Meanwhile, a fourth California-bound plane-United Flight 93-was hijacked about 40 minutes after leaving Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey. Because the plane had been delayed in taking off, passengers on board learned of events in New York and Washington via cell phone and Airfone calls to the ground.

Knowing that the aircraft was not returning to an airport as the hijackers claimed, a group of passengers and flight attendants planned an insurrection.

One of the passengers, Thomas Burnett, Jr., told his wife over the phone that "I know we're all going to die. There's three of us who are going to do something about it. I love you, honey." Another passenger-Todd Beamer-was heard saying "Are you guys ready? Let's roll" over an open line.

Sandy Bradshaw, a flight attendant, called her husband and explained that she had slipped into a galley and was filling pitchers with boiling water. Her last words to him were "Everyone's running to first class. I've got to go. Bye."

The passengers fought the four hijackers and are suspected to have attacked the cockpit with a fire extinguisher. The plane then flipped over and sped toward the ground at upwards of 500 miles per hour, crashing in a rural field near Shanksville in western Pennsylvania at 10:10 a.m.

All 44 people aboard were killed. Its intended target is not known, but theories include the White House, the U.S. Capitol, the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland or one of several nuclear power plants along the eastern seaboard.

How Many People Died in 9/11 Attacks?

A total of 2,996 people were killed in the 9/11 attacks, including the 19 terrorist hijackers aboard the four airplanes.

At the World Trade Center, 2,763 died after the two planes slammed into the twin towers. That figure includes 343 firefighters and paramedics, 23 New York City police officers and 37 Port Authority police officers who were struggling to complete an evacuation of the buildings and save the office workers trapped on higher floors.

At the Pentagon, 189 people were killed, including 64 on American Airlines Flight 77, the airliner that struck the building. On Flight 93, 44 people died when the plane crash-landed in Pennsylvania.

America Responds

At 7 p.m., President George W. Bush, who was in Florida at the time of the attacks and had spent the day being shuttled around the country because of security concerns, returned to the White House.

At 9 p.m., he delivered a televised address from the Oval Office, declaring, "Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shatter steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve."

In a reference to the eventual U.S. military response he declared, "We will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbor them."

Operation Enduring Freedom, the American-led international effort to oust the Taliban regime in Afghanistan and destroy Osama bin Laden's terrorist network based there, began on October 7. Within two months, U.S. forces had effectively removed the Taliban from operational power, but the war continued, as U.S. and coalition forces attempted to defeat a Taliban insurgency campaign based in neighboring Pakistan.

Osama bin Laden, the mastermind behind the September 11th attacks, remained at large until May 2, 2011, when he was finally tracked down and killed by U.S. forces at a hideout in Abbottabad, Pakistan. In June 2011, President Barack Obama announced the beginning of large-scale troop withdrawals from Afghanistan.

Sources

The Encyclopedia of 9/11. New York Magazine.
FAQ About 9/11. 9/11 Memorial.
September 11th Terror Attacks Fast Facts. CNN.
9/11 Death Statistics. StatisticBrain.com.
Access hundreds of hours of historical video, commercial free, with HISTORY Vault. Start your free trial today.

PHOTO GALLERIES

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
On September 11, 2001, 19 militants associated with the Islamic extremist group al-Qaeda hijacked four airplanes and carried out suicide attacks against targets in the United States. Two of the planes were flown into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, a third plane hit the Pentagon just outside Washington, D.C., and the fourth plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania.

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"Today is obviously one of the most difficult days in the history of the city," he said softly. "The tragedy that we are undergoing right now is something that we've had nightmares about. My heart goes out to all the innocent victims of this horrible and vicious act of terrorism. And our focus now has to be to save as many lives as possible."

Inevitably the question arose: How many lost? The mayor looked up through his glasses, aware that among the viewers of this live broadcast were the mothers, fathers, spouses, lovers and children of those who labored in the smashed towers.

"The number of casualties," he said, "will be more than any of us can bear ultimately."

That walk north, the spareness of his words and his passion became the founding stones in the reconstruction of the mayor's reputation, transforming him from a grouchy pol slip-sliding into irrelevancy to the Republican presidential candidate introduced as America's mayor. The former mayor has made this day the centerpiece of his presidential campaign, aware that millions of Americans hold that heroic view in their collective mind's eye.

Political leadership is an uncertain alchemy, an admixture of the symbolic and substantive and the visceral. In times of consuming trauma, psychologists and historians say, a leader must speak with a trusted voice and sketch honestly the painful steps to safety. A leader must weave a narrative of shared loss while acknowledging consuming anger.

All this Mr. Giuliani accomplished, mourning the dead, comforting the grieving and cheering the living even as the police and the National Guard moved in. His critics have lambasted the rescue failures at ground zero and argued that his inattention before 9/11 cost lives.

But his performance shone brighter for the implicit comparison with President George W. Bush, who initially appeared - fairly or not - frozen in his chair, listening to second graders read as a nation came under attack.

Mr. Giuliani declined to be interviewed for this article.

Bob Kerrey, a former Democratic governor and senator, a Vietnam veteran and a member of the commission that studied the 9/11 attacks, harbors no doubt about what he witnessed that day.

"Trust me, the range of possibilities for leaders is quite extreme: Some panic, some get paralyzed," Mr. Kerrey said. "Giuliani was brave and reassuring, and you can't subtract that from his résumé."

Nor, Mr. Kerrey added, did the mayor short the importance of grief. "Giuliani did what the president didn't do," he said. "He went to all those funerals. And that grieving got us back to normal."

What was most difficult to bear about Mr. Giuliani's mayoralty - his operatic personality, his head-throbbing certainty - became points of strengths in the disorienting weeks after Sept. 11.

But this fusion of personality with a wounded city had an underside. Mr. Giuliani became convinced that he was New York's indispensable man. He tried to overturn term limits and run again. Failing that, Mr. Giuliani wanted to extend his term three months.

The mayor's book, "Leadership," published in 2002, devotes not a sentence to this topic. But the campaign was longer and the lobbying more insistent than he has acknowledged.

"That time was absolutely the best and worst of Rudy," said Frederick A. O. Schwarz Jr., the city's former corporation counsel under Mayor Edward I. Koch. "Rudy stood up strong and rallied us. But that confidence created the very dangerous idea that we couldn't survive without him."
Rising After Falling
Mr. Giuliani's eight-year mayoralty was a balloon deflating before Sept. 11.

He had stirred a racial tempest by tearing into the reputation of an unarmed black man who had been killed by an undercover police officer.

The mayor had an affair and announced at a press conference that he would seek a separation - without informing his wife.

He contracted prostate cancer and dropped out of a Senate race against Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Then planes hit the World Trade Center. Mr. Giuliani left breakfast in a Midtown hotel, sped south in a van and arrived in time to watch a man leap from the World Trade Center and fall spinning onto a low roof. Film catches Mr. Giuliani watching with hand over mouth, his head recoiling just before the man hit.

What do I tell the public? Mr. Giuliani asked the fire chiefs. Get out of that tower, they replied. Mr. Giuliani grabbed his police and fire commissioners and headed to Barclay Street, seeking phones.

Then one tower collapsed and another one went down, forcing him to break into a trot as he headed north.

"He was very, very calm," recalled Joseph P. Dunne, the first deputy police commissioner. "I modeled my behavior after him for the rest of the day."

By noon, the mayor had set up shop in the Police Academy, on East 20th Street. He asked Dr. Charles S. Hirsch, the medical examiner, about survivors. "Most of the bodies will be vaporized," Dr. Hirsch replied, Mr. Giuliani recounts in "Leadership."

Surrounded by death and the rumor of worse to come, the mayor and his staff rerouted subways and found police escorts for food deliveries through closed tunnels. Bulldozers and lights were delivered to ground zero, which was lighted up like a movie set.

But what most people remember was the presence of mind with which the mayor spoke of unimaginable disaster. A reporter mentioned that Barbara Olson, a friend of the mayor, had been on the plane that hit the Pentagon. He flinched, but kept talking.

Then he excused himself and telephoned her husband, Theodore B. Olson, the solicitor general. It was, he wrote, the only time he cried.

Late that night, Mr. Giuliani prepared to return to his post-separation apartment. His estranged wife, daughter and son lived in Gracie Mansion.

He directed his police escort to drive him south to what had already become known as ground zero. He wandered a nightmare-scape of fire and ash and smoke, shaking hands with hard hats, whispering comfort to firefighters. "I just wanted to be sure," he said, "that everything is here that should be here."
Mockery and Mistakes
Here is the rich irony for those who look askance at Mr. Giuliani's myth-making moment. His march uptown should not have been necessary, many experts say.

Mr. Giuliani insisted in 1997 on placing his state-of-the-art emergency command center at 7 World Trade Center, mocking critics who warned that it was too close to a terror target. On Sept. 11, that building collapsed. Had the center been placed in Brooklyn, as a mayoral aide had suggested, the cameras might not have made a legend of a dust-shrouded mayor.

In "Leadership," Mr. Giuliani insists he still would have headed downtown. "I wanted the fire commanders to talk to me face to face - to look into my eyes and give me an undiluted assessment," he wrote.

Some question that.

"It didn't make any sense for him to be there on the scene," said Glenn P. Corbett, an associate professor of fire science at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, who studied the attacks.

"Lincoln was a wartime president," Professor Corbett added. "But you didn't see him on the battlefield at Gettysburg."

Many other things went wrong with the emergency response. Police and fire radios operated on different frequencies, a problem administration officials had known about since the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. The Police and Fire Departments established separate command posts. When police helicopters noticed that the north tower showed signs of buckling, they notified police commanders, who ordered an evacuation. But evidence strongly suggests that many firefighters never heard these orders from the police, or from their own commanders.

Mr. Giuliani defended establishing separate command posts. But it is modern practice to establish a unified command. The 9/11 Commission left open the possibility that these problems could have had a "catastrophic effect" that day.

"The preparation for another attack on the World Trade Center was almost zero," said Mr. Kerrey, the 9/11 commissioner.

That said, the mayor's harshest critics concede that by the morning of Sept. 11, the die had been cast. No leader could hope to impose order on fractious departments and remedy radio incompatibility after airliners had hit two of the tallest office buildings in America.

"Think about it: By 10:28 a.m., an hour and change, two buildings were down," said Mr. Dunne, the former commissioner, who is an admirer of Mr. Giuliani. "Who thought those towers would ever fall? We were moving 180 miles per hour."
A Controlling Hand
Dr. Michael Cohen rode across the East River to advise a mayor he had never met and did not care for politically. It was Sept. 12, and the stench of death lingered in the autumnal air.

The schools chancellor had suggested that Dr. Cohen, a psychologist who works with the schools, might advise the mayor at the Police Academy.

Mr. Giuliani, who had slept two hours the night before, shook hands and sat down. For half an hour the mayor and this psychologist talked the A B C's of leadership for a city in shock. Speak with an authoritative voice and never promise more safety than you can deliver, Dr. Cohen advised.

Voice your anger, but direct it at the real enemy.

"Honesty becomes a gigantic issue," Dr. Cohen recalled telling the mayor. "You say, 'We're safe' - well, how do we know that? Make clear the steps to safety."

Mr. Giuliani asked questions, and acted. "I was blown away by his performance," Dr. Cohen said.

In the weeks after the attacks, the mayor wrestled with challenges: How fast to push the recovery; when to move from 'rescue' to 'recovery'; how to address grieving families.

One day Mr. Giuliani was agitated. He had to talk with the widows of uniformed workers about the handling of the remains of their loved ones.

Dr. Cohen spoke of recognizing their anger, but the mayor cut him off. He got it. As the widows filed in, the mayor walked over and said: "I understand why you are so angry; I share that."

On funerals, Mr. Giuliani needed no counsel. He sometimes attended five funerals a day. None of the dead went to their graves unattended by a top official, and always the mayor finished by asking mourners to give the departed a standing ovation.

Mr. Giuliani ruled with a controlling hand. In troubled times, he wrote, people need to see a leader "who is stronger than they are, but human."

"I saw firsthand his extraordinary competence and calm," recalled Mark Green, the city's public advocate and a frequent foe. "The mayor asked questions, ordered it in his mind and spoke in a way that conveyed strength and confidence."

There was garbage pickup on Sept. 12. City payroll checks went out on Sept. 13. On the sixth day, the stock exchange opened. Security was omnipresent.

But control came with a quid pro quo. Mr. Giuliani demanded that the United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which helped enforce respirator use at the Pentagon cleanup, serve only in an advisory capacity. Mr. Giuliani rarely wore a mask at ground zero. And his officials, while aware of the health hazards, rarely forced cleanup workers to wear masks or respirators.

Christie Whitman, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency at the time, has said that city officials "didn't want this image of a city falling apart."

The burden of 9/11 was also deeply personal for Mr. Giuliani. The mayor lost close friends. He identified bodies at the morgue, not least Terry Hatton, a fire captain married to a mayoral secretary, Beth Petrone.

Some saw a man wounded. The mayor suffered shooting tension pains in his back and shoulders. "I never counseled him, but I became aware that he suffered unbelievable personal losses," Dr. Cohen said.

Mr. Giuliani's anger, too, burned deep. He asked President Bush to let him execute Osama bin Laden, he wrote in his book. On his last day in office, he walked ground zero and recognized a familiar fury.

"I felt tremendous anger," he wrote, "as raw and intense as when I first saw the smoldering pile."
Irreplaceable Dreams
Even as the fires burned at ground zero, Democrats and Republicans campaigned in a mayoral election. In late September Mr. Giuliani summoned Mr. Green, who was running in the Democratic primary, to his command post.

Mr. Giuliani, as Mr. Green recalled, was blunt: I want to remain in office three more months. I have a great team, I can lobby Washington. I'm being reasonable, he cautioned; my supporters want me to run for a new term.

Oh yes, he added, I need your answer tonight.

Mr. Green was taken aback. Yom Kippur, the holiest of Jewish holidays, was hours away. His closest advisers, many of whom were Jewish, would not pick up the phone.

"He made it clear he would invest his Churchillian popularity in hitting whomever did not go along with him," Mr. Green said in an interview.

That many wanted the mayor to stay on is undeniable. But American electoral democracy rarely pauses. Abraham Lincoln held elections in 1864. Franklin D. Roosevelt stood for re-election as World War II raged.

"It was a very dangerous idea," said Mr. Schwarz, the former corporation counsel. "The knight on the white horse is always indispensable in his own mind."

Five days after the attacks, anonymous leaflets urged Mr. Giuliani to run. The governor had postponed the Sept. 11 primary. But when a mayoral aide inquired about pushing back other election dates, Mr. Pataki refused.

A few advisers cautioned the mayor against draining his vast reservoir of good will. The mayor spoke at first against the idea of serving beyond his term. But many in his tightly held circle at City Hall urged him on, as did talk show hosts. World leaders lionized him; he would soon be knighted. You are needed to put the city back on its feet, advisers said.

"This wasn't about ego; it was about recovery," said Joseph J. Lhota, a former deputy mayor, referring to Mr. Giuliani's effort to stay on. "It just lasted four days, maybe a week."

In fact, the mayor's campaign lasted nearly a month. Mr. Giuliani warmed to the task, jabbing at potential rivals as disaster neophytes. He wrote of a charity fund-raiser in October: "I got a kick out of Adam Sandler" who "managed to rhyme 'Giuliani' with 'why must you be gone-ee?' "

Mr. Giuliani tried to persuade the candidates, Mr. Green and Fernando Ferrer of the Democrats and Michael R. Bloomberg, the Republican, to support a term extension.

Mr. Green gave in, to his regret. Mr. Bloomberg acceded; Mr. Ferrer refused.

"In retrospect, I was wrong," Mr. Green said.

Calls poured into the office of the Assembly speaker, Sheldon Silver, from Mr. Giuliani and from rabbis and priests. Mr. Silver was on the phone when a secretary signaled a new caller.

It was Ehud Olmert, the mayor of Jerusalem, calling to lobby for Mr. Giuliani. But Mr. Silver declared the matter dead. And it was.

The siren song of irreplaceability faded. Two months later Mr. Giuliani walked down the steps of City Hall to the wail of bagpipes. Lucrative speaking engagements lay ahead. Asked to draw the measure of a complicated new world, the mayor could as easily have been talking about himself.

"We're not in a different world," he told Time magazine when he was selected Person of the Year that December. "It's the same world as before, except now we understand it better."

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In 9/11 Chaos, Giuliani Forged a Lasting Image

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"Today is obviously one of the most difficult days in the history of the city," he said softly. "The tragedy that we are undergoing right now is something that we've had nightmares about. My heart goes out to all the innocent victims of this horrible and vicious act of terrorism.

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the full commissioners report http://www.9-11commission.gov/report/911Report_Ch1.pdf

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publisher: A&E Television NetworksDate Accessed: September 03, 2014

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publisher: A&E Television NetworksDate Accessed: September 03, 2014