Rudy Giuliani Vs. Ron Paul, and Reality (by John Nichols for The Nation)

[marmar]

BLOG | Posted 05/16/2007 @ 12:29am
Rudy Giuliani Vs. Ron Paul, and Reality
John Nichols


Rudy Giuliani made clear in Tuesday night's Republican presidential debate that he is not ready to let the facts get in the way of his approach to foreign policy.

The most heated moment in the debate, which aired live on the conservative Fox News network, came when the former New York mayor and current GOP front-runner angrily refused to entertain a serious discussion about the role that actions taken by the United States prior to the September 11, 2OO1, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon may have played in inspiring or encouraging those attacks.

Giuliani led the crowd of contenders on attacking Texas Congressman Ron Paul after the anti-war Republican restated facts that are outlined in the report of the The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States.

Asked about his opposition to the invasion and occupation of Iraq, Paul repeated his oft-expressed concern that instead of making the U.S. safer, U.S. interventions in the Middle East over the years have stirred up anti-American sentiment. As he did in the previous Republican debate, the Texan suggested that former President Ronald Reagan's decisions to withdraw U.S. troops from the region in the 198Os were wiser than the moves by successive Republican and Democratic presidents to increase U.S. military involvement there.

Speaking of extremists who target the U.S, Paul said, "They attack us because we've been over there. We've been bombing Iraq for 10 years. We've been in the Middle East . I think (Ronald) Reagan was right. We don't understand the irrationality of Middle Eastern politics. Right now, we're building an embassy in Iraq that is bigger than the Vatican. We're building 14 permanent bases. What would we say here if China was doing this in our country or in the Gulf of Mexico? We would be objecting."

...(snip)...

It is true that reasonable people might disagree about the legitimacy of Muslim and Arab objections to U.S. military policies. And, certainly, the vast majority of Americans would object to any attempt to justify the attacks on this country, its citizen and its soldiers.

But that was not what Paul was doing. He was trying to make a case, based on what we know from past experience, for bringing U.S. troops home from Iraq.

Giuliani's reaction to Paul's comments, especially the suggestion that they should be withdrawn, marked him as the candidate peddling "absurd explanations."

Viewers of the debate appear to have agreed. An unscientific survey by Fox News asked its viewers to send text messages identifying the winner. Tens of thousands were received and Paul ranked along with Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney as having made the best showing. .....(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.thenation.com/blogs/campaignmatters?bid=45&pid=195576

[trof]

1. No no no, they hate us for our freedom...um...and stuff.

Great Britain and France were the first to start messin' about in middle eastern politics and governance to make thing 'suit them' better.

And then we became a world power (THE world power?) and naturally continued BAU in the M-E.

"Bringin' home the oil, boys...bringin' home the oil."

[panader0]

2. You think Giuliani ever read the National Commission report?

I seriously doubt it. Paul is right, but only partly. The US has been meddling in the Middle East since the discovery of oil.

[Rude Horner]

3. Giuliani's comments were standard RW talking points...

aimed at the flag waving Americans. Unfortunately, there's a big swath of Americans who completely believe that the U.S. can do no wrong, and don't care to entertain the idea that what happens to us may be in retaliation for our actions. They do not connect the dots. They see us as a hero, riding the white horse of freedom, and the rest of the world as lunatics and criminals. Obviously, that's who Giuliani sees as his base.

[Supersedeas]

4. the fight for the fear vote has only begun -- look at Romney's commercials