Politics – GOP presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani cited the assassination of Benazir Bhutto as yet another example of why the U.S. needs to "go on offense" against Islamic terrorism and expand its military might.
"Giuliani said the assassination "should unite us in facing the terrorist war against us. This is a war that is ongoing. This is a war that we have not chosen."
Giuliani said if elected president he would expand every branch of the military, adding 10 combat brigades and ensuring the country had a 300-ship Navy.
"We need a military that is ready for anything the terrorists might throw at us," he said, speaking before a chapter of the 10-13 Club, a group of retired police officers and firefighters who hail primarily from New York. "The reality is we need a larger military so these things don't become a strain."
Giuliani also suggested the U.S. should enlarge its military force in Afghanistan in order to prevent the Taliban and Al-Qaeda from reemerging there as influential forces in the region. In light of America's military victories in Afghanistan five years ago, he said, "We've got to make sure those gains are made permanent."
At least Giuliani is aware of how important our national defense is. He can talk the talk, but will he actually be willing to stand up for our defense and security when push comes to shove?
The main question, I guess, that I have is can we trust him? Is he a man of his word?
"The main question, I guess, that I have is can we trust him? Is he a man of his word?"
Sure in Hell can. He has the track record to prove it: fighting crime in New York City, cleaning up the streets, cutting taxes and boosting one of the world's largest economies at the same time.
Certainly, Rudy is much truer to his word than, say, Hillary Clinton or pretty much any other Democrat candidate.
I agree. Giuliani will stand tough on national security. He's been proven effective as a leader and he's a fighter. He will fight for our country.
LIBSRFUNNY:
"Certainly, Rudy is much truer to his word than, say, Hillary Clinton or pretty much any other Democrat candidate."
ALPHAGNOSIS:
"Giuliani...[has] been proven effective as a leader and he's a fighter."
Reducing crime in NY is one thing (the NYPD probably deserves some credit too), but that does not equate to foreign policy experience. In fact, Giuliani's leadership seemed questionable on two of the most pressing foreign policy issues of the day: (1) September 11th and (2) Iraq.
Here's a letter from the NY firefighters--the TRUE heroes of 9/11.
http://firefightingnews.com/article-US.cfm?arti...
"This letter is intended to make all of our members aware of the egregious acts Mayor Giuliani committed against our members, our fallen on 9/11. Giuliani's actions post 9/11 rise to such an offensive and personal attack on our brother and sisterhood that the IAFF does not feel Rudy Giuliani deserves an audience of IAFF leaders and members."
if rudy, hillary or barak are elected, we will be making way for the north american union and the end of USA and our constitution. this is well documented in the book: The Late Great USA by Jerome Corsi, PhD.
please beware. these are very electable candidates. but, at a heavy price to you and I.
CWhat does Corsi say about Giuliani, Clinton, and Obama? I find it very hard to believe that Obama's election would signal th "end of the USA and our constitution," particularly since Obama taught constitution law and since Obama has a history of breaking with the Democrats over his concerns of the constitutionality of proposed legislation.
And here is Giuliani's performance on the Iraq issue.
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny...
"Rudolph Giuliani's membership on an elite Iraq study panel came to an abrupt end last spring after he failed to show up for a single official meeting of the group, causing the panel's top Republican to give him a stark choice: either attend the meetings or quit. Giuliani left the Iraq Study Group last May after just two months, walking away from a chance to make up for his lack of foreign policy credentials on the top issue in the 2008 race, the Iraq war. The sessions at times conflicted with Giuliani's lucrative speaking tour that garnered him $11.4 million in 14 months."
I do agree with Giuliani that we should fight the terrorists who perpetrated this attack. It's unfortunate that we've redirected so many forces to Iraq when they should've been on the Afghan-Pakistan border.
"...Certainly, Rudy is much truer to his word than, say, Hillary Clinton or pretty much any other Democrat candidate."
There is absolutely no doubt about that!!!
if you believe that, you obviously havent done your homework on Rudy... ask FDNY what THEY think of him, or any of his ex wives....
ppssstttt can you say three time divorcee and family values in the same sentence WITHOUT choking on it? doubtful
and can Rudy say anything other than "noun, verb, 9/11" he was a mediocre mayor... hes not even close to being qualified for the office of Pres. less qualified than even Obama
Wake up already - Benito Guiliani is a corrupt opportunist- he only know 2 numebers - 9 & 11 - read the expose in this month's Vanity Fair.
If you did not live in NYC during Guiliani's term you don't know the truth. - Hie ratings were at the lowest point that morning in Sept.
Like P.T. Barnum said, "there's a sucker born every minute" - Rudy is delivering them by the busload
The main question, I guess, that I have is can we trust him? Is he a man of his word? I agree CactusAnnie, but then again guess that is the same with any politician? Basically you vote and take your chances. Let's hope who ever gets it will do what is right for America where terrorism, immigration, taxes, health care is concerned. I know, like that's going to happen.
FTA
Giuliani, who unveiled a new national ad today that includes footage from the Sept. 11 attacks, said he is using the image of those attacks "in a proportional way," adding that other political candidates had used similar footage in the past.
"I believe [New York Democratic Sen.] Hillary Clinton has, President Bush did in the last campaign," he said. "It is part of my life. It is a part of my life that helps define me."
***
Is it any wonder that this is what he wants us to concentrate on?
Though his mayoralty was apparently successful in "cleaning up the streets" it was equally "successful" at perpetrating sleaze and cronyism and criminality in the "higher" echelons of NY society, not to mention the sordid private scandals with which he linked and which will be anathema to many potential supporter.
A no-hoper.
The first thing to do is get out of the 'wrong' country and pay more attention to Afghanistan. Let the Iraqi government put their country together. We have been in Iraq long enough. I agree with the extra military combat brigades and the 300-ship Navy. Our military now is stretched to it's limit. We should ALWAYS be ready to protect our country. OUR country and not someone else's country. Now, finding more people who are willing to enlist is another story.
I wonder what, exactly, having 10 additional brigades and additional ships would solve? There isn't a terrorist organization in the world that has any kind of armor, save for "technicals". They don't have any kind of airforce. They don't utilize combat ships. Terrorists are NOT a military force, and should not be seen as a military force. Nor should one fight them as if they were military. They are criminals. You fight criminals with good intelligence and solid partnerships. If Rudy said, "I am going to reopen the counter-terrorism depts. within the intelligence communities that Bush closed, and I am going to reopen bin Laden's file, and I am going to take the 30 agents that were there, but were since re-assigned to other tasks once Bush shut the team down, and add 300", that would be something.
Sen McCain, former Sen Thompson, and Rudy Giuliani understand the islamic Terrorist threat. Democrats are pretending it is all a Republican plot of some kind. They are like children. We have to have a government made up of adults. This is not the time to make the W H into a Hippy, yippy playground.
Well ani, the american media did show you the Pakistani crowds mourning Bhutoo were also shouting death to america because they are fed up with us supporting the military dictatorship of Musharraf - didn't they?
The american media did tell you that 46% of Pakistanis approve of Osama Bin Laden (7% approve of George Bush).
Sorry ani, but more american imperialism is NOT the answer.
The Problem in Pakistan
Do No Evil â;; Pakistani politics has been horribly disfigured by the role Pakistan has been expected to play, for a half century, in US geopolitical plans. The problem is the U.S. needs Pakistan to be a client state, ready to do Washington's bidding. Unfortunately for Pakistan, that is likely to leave it in a perennial state of crisis.
http://www.propeller.com/viewstory/2007/11/23/t...
What happened in Pakistan should waken Leadership to the knowledge we are not alone in the terrorist fight, and we must rebuild our military for our own protection. While the Democtats talked about terrorists in general in the 90s Atta and the boys planned, and plotted the 9-11 attack in N Y. We cannot give them another opportunity to get us all blown up.
Who was in the white house on 9/11..your hero bush boy.Who paid no attention to the out going Clinton or the C.I.A. when warned about a possible attack,your hero bush boy(he instead went on vacation).
The only candidate to consistently recognize that Pakistan was a powder keg ready to blow has been Joe Biden.
bush boy still hasn't secured our borders or taken the fight to where the real enemy is,Afghanistan.
As far as rebuilding our forces.They wouldn't have needed rebuilding if your repug leaders hadn't continually cut them.Bill Richardson has been saying for months that he would add two army divisions and re-equip our military,long before judy(rudy)got on the band wagon.
You are a prime example of why this country is in the shape it's in.You have no contact with reality.It is sad that you are so stupid that you put the party line ahead of your country.Sad..
Why would anyone want to continue with policies that have been obvious failures Ani?
Pakistan, Bush, and the Bomb
Do No Evil â;; What has failed in Pakistan, as in smashed Iraq, is not just regional American policy, but the pillars and crossbeams of the entire Bush doctrine. The bullying has failed; popular passions have gained the upper hand; and Washington has lost. Most important, the collapsed doctrine has stoked the nuclear fires it was meant to quench.
http://www.propeller.com/viewstory/2007/11/15/p...
ani.. we wouldn't have to rebuild our military if the bodies and equipment hadn't been squandered. And where's the money coming from? Going to recall those bails and pallets of cash or give more tax cuts? You think this terrorism started in the 90's? Where you been? And who's stopping anyone(!) from entering this country that really wants to? C'mon, that was too much to swallow.
I think Rudy is jumping on the Bhutto band wagon a little to early here. It is not everyones view that Bhutto would have been the great democracy savior for Pakistan. If you look at her past you will find that she was not a great friend to the western world when she was in office before and there is no reason to think she would have been any better this time. I do however agree that whoever committed the crime should be found and punished. I am not convinced we will see true justice in this case.
Not only that, Bhutto was ousted 2 times for corruption and then got amnesty from the current President of Pakistan's regime. I would like to think that she would have saved an already torn Pakistan, but we still have to be careful who is in charge of the nukes. So far, Pakistan is an Ally, tomorrow they may not be.
this is true. we now know, for example, that she received a standing ovation at a joint session of congress in which she famously lied that pakistan had no nuke ambitions or program. after the speech she was driven to Langley and shown the CIAs file on the Paki nuclear program, AND proof that she knew of its existence.
was she perfect? no, but what leader is.. the fact is that Mushareef is NO friend of US, he takes our anti-terrorism BILLIONS and does nothing about the taliban and al queda in the north of Pakistan. she promised to pursue them with a vengance. we'll never know what she would or aouldnt have done, but we need a viable alternative to Mushareef.
as for the bomb, if u know the history of the Pak/India conflict, and given that India has the bomb, Pak felt they HAD to have it. A Q Kahns actions are, of course, another story entirely.
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192)
"The assassination of Benazir Bhutto is a tragic event for Pakistan and for democracy in Pakistan. Her murderers must be brought to justice and Pakistan must continue the path back to democracy and the rule of law. Her death is a reminder that terrorism anywhere, whether in New York, London, Tel-Aviv or Rawalpindi, is an enemy of freedom. We must redouble our efforts to win the Terrorists' War on Us."
Does Giuliani know that Bhutto supported the Taliban during her first two periods as PM of Pakistan? Does Giuliani know that the Swiss discovered extensive corruption by Bhutto during those periods? Giuliani is just playing his usal games of trying to increase fascism in America with cheap populism.
Benazir and Indira as Papa's Puppets
The Complex Electra
... Neither Benazir nor Indira managed to strike out on their own in terms of policy or altering the role of the family as 'monarchy'. Benazir, had she lived longer, would have brought her children into the political arena just as Indira Gandhi did.
Dynastic rule in democracies or quasi democracies has been about perpetuating the name of the father....
http://www.counterpunch.org/versey12282007.html
..
Forgive me if I'm wrong, but didn't the US covertly help the Taliban gain power in the first place? People are allowed to change their minds.
I'm surprised hyperbola, given your deep hatred of the Jews, you should be singing the praises of anyone who ever said something positive about the Taliban.
Here are 3 American jews that I am proud to have as citizens of america. As for "israel-first" zionists, they deserve to be treated like any other traitor to american democracy.
Israeli Repression and the Language of Liars
If what we see in Israel is democracy, then what does fascism look like?...
http://www.alternet.org/story/13087/
The 94 Percent Solution: A Matrix of Control
(Jeff Halper is coordinator of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions and teaches anthropology at Ben-Gurion University.)
http://www.merip.org/mer/mer216/216_halper.html
The End Of Israel?
Religion â;; As a Jewish-American, I know while it might be scary to some, while it will require a lot of imagination, the end of Israel as a Jewish state could mean the beginning of democracy, human rights, and some semblance of justice.
http://www.propeller.com/viewstory/2007/12/23/t...
How quickly our media have turned this into propaganda for the american sheeple! As usual reality is much more complicated.
Here is what her niece has to say about Benazir Bhutto.
Aunt Benazir's false promises
Bhutto's return bodes poorly for Pakistan -- and for democracy there.
By Fatima Bhutto
November 14, 2007
... Perhaps the most bizarre part of this circus has been the hijacking of the democratic cause by my aunt, the twice-disgraced former prime minister, Benazir Bhutto. While she was hashing out a deal to share power with Gen. Pervez Musharraf last month, she repeatedly insisted that without her, democracy in Pakistan would be a lost cause. Now that the situation has changed, she's saying that she wants Musharraf to step down and that she'd like to make a deal with his opponents -- but still, she says, she's the savior of democracy....
...Ms. Bhutto's political posturing is sheer pantomime. Her negotiations with the military and her unseemly willingness until just a few days ago to take part in Musharraf's regime have signaled once and for all to the growing legions of fundamentalists across South Asia that democracy is just a guise for dictatorship.
.. By supporting Ms. Bhutto, who talks of democracy while asking to be brought to power by a military dictator, the only thing that will be accomplished is the death of the nascent secular democratic movement in my country. Democratization will forever be de-legitimized, and our progress in enacting true reforms will be quashed. We Pakistanis are certain of this.
Fatima Bhutto is a Pakistani poet and writer. She is the daughter of Mir Murtaza Bhutto, who was killed in 1996 in Karachi when his sister, Benazir, was prime minister...
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-bhutt...