Mayor: Country is irrevocably changed

Tom Gardner

Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001 | 4:55 a.m.

RENO, Nev. - Reno Mayor Jeff Griffin, who hosted a meeting of fellow mayors in May that focused on terrorist attacks, said Tuesday's events in New York and at the Pentagon have changed this country forever.

Griffin and fellow Mayor Oscar Goodman of Las Vegas commented as rescuers searched through the rubble after the worst terrorist attack in U.S. history.

"This was not just an attack on buildings in New York and Washington D.C.; this was an attack on America," Griffin said. "This was an attack on our freedom. This was an attack on our way of life."

"This is the freest country in the world. You can get on an airplane and fly pretty much wherever you want. It's part of the quality of life we enjoy in this country and I think when something like this happens, that's been shattered," he said.

Griffin, who heads the U.S. Conference of Mayors' Criminal and Social Justice Committee, presided over May's gathering here of nine other mayors from small- and medium-sized cities in five Western states.

"One of the things we talked about - the technical term is consequence management - is what do you do now that the attack has occurred?" he said. "It is the worst nightmare a public official can imagine. Not that you think this ever will happen, but you train for it."

Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman encouraged southern Nevada residents to donate blood and thoughts and prayers to the victims and their familes.

Goodman said how the nation reacts in the aftermath of the attacks will define our nation's character.

"Terrorist acts like this can potentially change our behavior," he said. "If we allow that, then our enemy has achieved partial success. We will not stand for that."

About two and one-half years ago, Griffin said elected officials and public safety staff from Reno, Sparks and Washoe County spent a week at the Federal Emergency Management Academy in Baltimore training for a disaster.

"Ours happened to be an earthquake, but the consequences of this are fairly similar. You've got a disaster of large proportions."

He also attended a mayoral training conference in Texas on weapons of mass destruction.

He praised New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani for moving quickly after the World Trade Center attacks to enlist the aid of New York Gov. George Pataki and the nearby states.

"There's literally thousands of emergency vehicles converging on New York City," he said.

Griffin said the logistics and the coordination were astonishing, as was the apparent unawareness of the intelligence services that the series of attacks was being planned.

"This is a big deal. This isn't four nuts running around loose," he said. "It's going to change how we do everything.

"We're never going to be able to get on a plane very easily ever again. None of that running to catch Southwest."