Giuliani compares attacks to 9/11
Washington Former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, who was yards away from one of the deadly explosions that struck London on Thursday, said the attacks were an eerie reminder of Sept. 11, 2001.
Giuliani said he was in a hotel near Liverpool Street Station when a bomb exploded on a train in a tunnel nearby.
“It was very strange being here today and being a block or half a block away when the bomb went off,” he told the Associated Press in a telephone interview later Thursday. “We were in a hotel having breakfast when it happened and we were told originally that it was either an accident or a device, and then obviously when the second attack happened, we knew,” Giuliani said.
The former mayor noted the time of day was almost identical to the 2001 attacks, beginning about ten minutes before 9 a.m. and ending before 10 a.m. “I told the prime minister and the head of the fire department that it’s the same perplexing thought and feeling, which is why do these innocent people have to be killed? The people who were killed were people who were on their way to work in virtually the same time frame as the attacks on Sept. 11.”
Giuliani who was widely praised for his calm and resolute leadership after the Sept. 11 attacks, told Sky News television earlier in the day that New Yorkers would feel “tremendous empathy” with the people of London.
He said the London attacks may remind Americans that such a strike is possible. “Maybe it shakes up anyone that’s being complacent,” he said.
Giuliani said those he met Thursday in London said they had been expecting a terror attack eventually. “They didn’t know the day or the hour, but everyone I talked to here, whether it’s government people or civilians, say they were shocked it happened this day, but they expected something like this,” he said.
Two U.S. students injured on subway
Knoxville, Tenn. Two Tennessee sisters vacationing in London were among the subway riders injured in Thursday’s explosions, and both were hospitalized, their father said.
Dudley Benton said he had talked to their doctors and was told his daughters would recover. He had not spoken to them as of Thursday afternoon.
College students Kathleen “Katie” Benton, 21, and Emily Benton, 20, were on the subway when it was hit by an explosion, their father told the Associated Press.
He did not know the extent of their injuries, but the family later provided information that was posted on their church’s Web site. According to the Web site, Katie Benton was injured by shrapnel in her back, leg and neck. Emily Benton’s injuries were to her feet and an arm, including broken bones. She underwent surgery.
Their mother was planning to go to London, the Web site said. Dudley Benton said his daughters were traveling alone during their summer break from college.
Katie Benton is a student at the University of Tennessee, and Emily Benton is a student at Pellissippi State Technical Community College in Knoxville.
World leaders react
• “These vicious acts have cut us all to the core, for they are an attack on humanity itself. Today, the world stands shoulder to shoulder with the British people.”
– U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan
• “While I am expressing my deep sorrow to you and through you to the British people and families of victims, I confirm to you our deep will to rid the evil of terrorism in any country as it appears.”
– Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari
• “A band of fanatical criminals has made London and Britain pay a high price for hosting the G-8. It’s necessary to raise the levels of defenses. Terrorism will not prevail if we stand united with determination.”
– Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi
• “This is the continuation of Sept. 11 and the attacks in Madrid. … No one can feel safe.”
– Denmark’s former Foreign Minister Mogens Lykketoft