Posted on 08/24/2007 8:53:44 AM PDT by hardback
A couple of weeks ago, Wayne Barrett did the political world a great service with a devastating piece in the Village Voice on Rudy Giuliani and the “five big lies” surrounding the former mayor’s claim to fame: his 9/11performance. The entire piece, if read, should effectively end Giuliani’s presidential ambitions. NRO’s Ramesh Ponnuru got around to the article this week and agreed that the revelations “are, if true, pretty devastating.”
Of course, this only matters if the information reaches a large audience. Will the rest of the media scrutinize Giuliani’s record on terrorism as closely as Barrett did? If this new, well-reported article from Time magazine’s Amanda Ripley is any indication, there’s some reason for optimism.
This much is indisputable: Giuliani knows what it means to be a victim of terrorism, to lose old friends in an avalanche of violence and spit the dust of a skyscraper out of his mouth in a new, blackened world. He understands the urgency of speaking to the American people after an attack — and not circling above the ruins in Air Force One. He knows how to grieve and go to work at the same time.
But before 9/11, Giuliani spent eight years presiding over a city that was a known terrorist target. A TIME investigation into what he did — and didn’t do — to prepare for a major catastrophe is revealing. In addition to extraordinary grace under fire, Giuliani developed an intimate knowledge of emergency management and an affinity for quantifiable results. On 9/11, he earned the trust of most Americans; one year later, 78% of those surveyed by the Marist Institute had a favorable impression of Giuliani. This magazine also named Giuliani its Person of the Year in 2001. Assuming he can keep it, trust is a priceless resource in psychological warfare.
The evidence also shows great, gaping weaknesses. Giuliani’s penchant for secrecy, his tendency to value loyalty over merit and his hyperbolic rhetoric are exactly the kinds of instincts that counterterrorism experts say the U.S. can least afford right now.
Ripley bends over backwards to be almost painfully even-handed, but the piece hits most of the high points that most of the country knows almost nothing about.
Kombiz Lavasany helped compile some of the highlights:
Top GOP, Democratic, Non-Partisan Experts Alike Criticized 9/11 Preparedness and Response. John Farmer Jr., a New Jersey Republican who served as the senior counsel to the 9/11 Commission leading its study of the response said that “To say that he had identified problems and he’d been in office for a while and they hadn’t been fixed — that’s fair.” Farmer says. Jamie Gorelick, a Democratic 9/11 commissioner said that “If you compare the incident command at the Pentagon to the one at the World Trade Center, you will see the difference between life and death,” she says. Examining the long-known problems with radios, Time also cited investigation by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, which said that “If communications were better…more firefighters would have been saved.”
Giuliani Claim On Years Of Experience With Islamic Terrorism “Exaggeration.” “Giuliani and his aides have said he has been ’studying Islamic terrorism’ for 30 years. This is an exaggeration.” Time found that he had little real experience while a prosecutor, and that in 80 major speeches from 1993 to 2001, he made only one brief mention of terrorism “in a brief reference to emergency preparedness.”
Foreign Policy Assertion “Exceedingly Unlikely” “Giuliani has also claimed he knows more about foreign policy than other candidates, but that’s exceedingly unlikely. John McCain spent 22 years as a Navy pilot and five as a prisoner of war and is now the ranking member of the Armed Services Committee in the Senate, where he has served for 20 years. He has been to Iraq six times; Giuliani has never been there.”
Missing Iraq Study Group Opportunity To Hear From All The Experts. Giuliani missed the only two substantive Iraq Study Group sessions before being forced out by GOP chair Howard Baker, choosing to give paid speeches instead. Time noted that “the May session Giuliani missed was a master class on Iraq. He would have gotten briefings from General David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq; former Secretary of State Colin Powell; former Army Chief of Staff Eric Shinseki; and Douglas Feith, the Pentagon’s former No. 3 civilian, among others. All told, says a staffer for the Iraq Study Group, ‘they had 40 of the top experts on Iraq brief them for hours. They had access to anyone they wanted.’” Time also revealed Giuliani’s revisionist claim that he left the group to avoid a conflict with his electoral ambitions, contradicting his resignation letter citing “previous time commitments,” and commission staffers who “say they don’t remember that coming up.”
“More Confident Then Competent.” Citing his sarcastic, uniformed statements about the relative threats of Iran and North Korea , Time wrote that “on the campaign trail, Giuliani’s foreign policy comments have sometimes come off more confident than competent.”
“Record Of Flawed Judgment On Personnel.” Looking at his advisors, Time noted Giuliani’s poor track record with his advocacy of Bernie Kerik to be Secretary of Homeland Security and others. “One of the most damning criticisms of Giuliani, however, has been his record of flawed judgment on personnel… Kerik was a police officer and Giuliani’s driver before he was elevated to corrections commissioner and police chief. But the nomination collapsed when information about Kerik’s past and possible ties to mob-related businesses began to filter out….
There comes a point in almost every campaign narrative in which reporters get tired of reporting the same story everyone’s already heard, and start looking for ways to tell the story in a new way. The political press has already convinced a lot of the country that Giuliani is some kind of counter-terrorism expert who heroically saved New York with his bare hands. If the media gets tired of the myth, the evidence for a more accurate, and damaging, narrative is there for the taking.
Rudy sure fits a democrat profile!
IT is for the murder of unborn babies!
IT is a big gun control nut!
IT covered for the invaders in ITS city!
IT surrounded ITself with thugs!
Why does IT have an R by ITS name instead of a D?
http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1655262,00.html
Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2007
Behind Giuliani’s Tough Talk
By Amanda Ripley
Maybe someone else will get me excited come election time .... maybe Fred will actually, someday, start getting something going - but until then Rudy or Romney will be my choices.
This seems petty to me. I enjoy pointing out that the problem with the recommendation for interoperable radios is that the technology still has not been invented. I think any NY mayor has foreign policy experience dealing with the UN and all the different creatures at its bar scene.
Gee, Time magazine runs a “massive” hit piece on a Republican running for President? Now why would they do that? Out of love and concern for the GOP?
Any time Jamie Gorelick comes up as a critic of someone, the whole piece should get thrown out the window. Her name says it all. In my book, she’s the American (excluding jihadists) most responsible for 9/11.
Keep chipping away at the GOP’s best national chance folks. When you look around and realize you’re agreeing with the mainstream media on politics, you might want to look around and see which side of the fence you’re on.
Is the MSM even interested in reporting the facts? IMO, they think Rudy is more beatable than Fred when they flip the script in the general election when it serves their purposes.
Bah. I’m not a Guilianni supporter, but not upgrading radios or some such hardly detracts from what Guilianni did post 9/11. I also don’t think the “poor personnel” choice stuff sticks. Rudy cleaned up NYC and made great choices for Police Commissioner to do so. My ranking of Repubs I’d vote for that stand a chance of winning: Hunter, Thompson, Huckabee, Guilianni.
Yah, I know Hunter isn’t raising much money. I still think he can win because he should win if we Republican primary voters care about the issues, consistency, personal family life and service to his country.
Is this the cover story of next weeks Time?
Forget about the radios. Giuliani’s decision to locate the city’s emergency command center was a catastrophic blunder that ought to make anyone question his judgement and competence.
1. The MSM is centered in New York & Washington DC. Rudy is a no-brainer as far as their default Republican candidate.
2. The MSM prefers Rudy because he's the most liberal of the GOP candidates.
3. The MSM is most afraid of Fred Thompson at this time. They'll do anything to derail his possible candidacy.
4. NONE of this has to do with any MSM support for Republicans; that's not possible. It has everything to do with trying to influence who the Republican contender will be.
more rehash of the same Village voice crap
Rudy is the choice of only left wingers!
You are a fool. I will not vote for Giuliani under any circumstances. If that means Hillary will win, so be it.
Are the 59% of American servicemen who look favorably on Rudy also fools?
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1886003/posts
I don’t happen to agree with the notion that supporting Rudy makes one a “fool.”
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
NY city pols are salivating at the patronage and cronyism they'll enjoy if Guiliani becomes President, witness Guy Molinari's comments to Fred Thompson's criticism of Guiliani's views on the 2nd Amendment.
Sorry, if the Republican Party is crazy enough to nominate this SOB I'll be voting for any Democrat. The first time I'll have voted Democratic for federal office in forty years of voting in every election.
I don’t support him, but this is EXACTLY what the Dems say about Bush:
“Giuliani’s penchant for secrecy, his tendency to value loyalty over merit and his hyperbolic rhetoric are exactly the kinds of instincts that counterterrorism experts say the U.S. can least afford right now.”
Now, why are you saying the same about Guiliani?
Go ahead. You think like an extortionist Democrat, already. One thing that is seriously lacking in our national discourse is the willingness to listen to the views of others and to abide by the results of elections and votes. Without that, we will flounder on the rocks of totalitarian authority.
There's no need to "forget about the radios" just because he also made a more serious blunder. They're both fantastic blunders that cost lives.
There’s the holier than thou self-rightousness of the one issue zealot. I am a pragmatist looking for proved solutions to problems based on sound data, not beliefs. Beliefs belong in church.
I know there are quite a few Ron Paul supporters here - but I am surprised and sad to see that Hillary also has so many FReeper Testicles locked away.....
That is a damn shame.
Now that's a really excellent piece of propaganda...very nicely crafted. Goebbels would be proud.
Giuliani is not my first choice and he's not my second choice, but he's head and shoulders above anyone the Democrats are considering.
The Republican Party - party of End Times Crusader
Ronald Reagan - candidate of David Duke
George Bush - candidate of Ted Haggard.
Rudy Guiliani - candidate of Bernie Kerik.
David Duke - opponent of Affirmative Action like End Times Crusader
I guess we add you to the FREEPERS FOR HILLARY ping list
That should be <P.
The Republican Party - Party of End Times Crusader and David Duke
If Rudy gets the nod, you can be sure of a few things happening.
Firstly,Christians such as Dr Dobson, Richard Land and Tony Perkins, along with their followers (yours truly included, that may be the 1 bright spot for some of you) will leave the party.
WHY do you want us all to leave??? It`s a terrible slap in the face, more importantly to Gods face to nominate Rudy.
There will never be a pro life Republican nominee EVER AGAIN, you cant go back.
Finally Rudy will lose anyway. What will you have won??
You will have sold your souls and lost.
Or perhaps Rudy somehow wins...what have you really won? You have divested yourself from all Christian influence, the only difference between the 2 parties will be financial issues.
I doubt that they know the real Rudy.
The same MSM that's covering for Rudy now will turn on him later if he's nominated.
Wrong. I didn't say I was going to support her. I meant if Rudy's nominated and if she wins by default, so be it.
Earlier, you called someone who liked Rudy Giuliani “a fool.” Then, refering to the 64%k of American vets who have a favorable opinion of Rudy Giuliani, you said,
“I doubt that they know the real Rudy.”
Alright. But assuming they *think* they do, would you call those veterans “fools?”
He appointed high school dropout and former driver Bernard Kerik to NYC Police Commissioner and pushed him for Homeland Security Chief. Kerik turned out to be corrupt and reportedly mob-connected. Giuliani later testified that he had been briefed on Kerik's lawbreaking -- yet he pushed him for the top anti-terrorism post in the country, and then went into business with him.
For NYC Chancellor of Education, Giuliani pushed Leon Goldstein, who later was forced to withdraw his candidacy in disgrace because of allegations that he lied about his qualifications.
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990CE0DB1539F93BA1575AC0A963958260
In 1995, Giuliani pushed Leonard Piccoli to an executive director job in NYC's public hospitals organization, despite the fact that Piccoli had reportedly been forced to resign from the same job in 1985 due to alleged substantial contracts and ethics violations.
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990CE6DC1739F93AA25756C0A963958260
One of Giuliani's closest political allies in NYC, Guy Velella, pled guilty to and served time for taking bribes in return for awarding government contracts.
''I endorsed him, I support him, I've worked with him, I know what a good job he's done for New York City and for the Bronx,'' Mr. Giuliani said. The mayor said he thought the disclosures about the criminal investigation would not seriously damage the senator.
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B02E3DF1639F930A35752C1A9669C8B63&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fPeople%2fV%2fVelella%2c%20Guy%20J%2e http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0420,robbins,53585,5.html
Giuliani's Probation Commissioner Raul Russi, and Deputy Probation Commissioner Louis Gelormino, later were dismissed from their jobs under Bloomberg reportedly because of their involvement in Velella's early release from jail.
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10914FA355F0C708DDDA90994DC404482&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fPeople%2fV%2fVelella%2c%20Guy%20J%2e
After Ray Harding, head of NYC's Liberal Party, endorsed Giuliani, Giuliani appointed his son Russell Harding to head NYC's Housing Development Corporation -- even though Russell Harding was a college dropout with no experience in housing or finance (Giuliani chose a second son, Robert, as NYC's budget director, and later promoted him to deputy mayor). Russell Harding later pled guilty to embezzling hundreds of thousands in public funds, and to possessing child pornography.
http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0512,robbins2,62314,5.html
The Russell case touched another of Giuliani's top appointees. Giuliani appointed Richard Roberts (son-in-law of Vernon Jordan) as NYC Housing Commissioner, and Chairman of the Health and Hospitals Corporation; Roberts was later convicted of perjury related to a $38,000 SUV Russell Harding bought him with city funds.
http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0436,robbins2,56554,5.html
Giuliani appointed his lifelong friend, Louis Carbonetti, Commissioner of NYC's Community Assistance Unit. Carbonetti resigned after news came out that he had allegedly failed to disclose more than $100,000 in business debts and back taxes and reportedly held two driver's licenses with slightly different names at the same time. He pleaded guilty in 2004 to perjury. Carbonetti's son, Anthony Carbonetti, was Giuliani's chief of staff and is now a senior political adviser to his campaign.
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/politics/ny-lijani255229113may25,0,729089.story?coll=ny-lipolitics-headlines
Giuliani's friend Alan Placa was hired on at Giuliani Partners after Placa, a Long Island Priest, was barred from active ministry because of allegations of sexual abuse and reports of using his role as a spiritual adviser to gain information from victims to strengthen the diocese's legal position.
http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=46&aid=19106
When Giuliani promoted Kerik to Police Commissioner, he appointed William J. Fraser to replace him as Correction Commissioner. Fraser resigned in 2002 amid reports that he had paid Correction employees to work on his home, and had allegedly pushed them to work on Pataki's reelection campaign.
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F60A13F73C5C0C748EDDA80994DA404482
Anthony Serra, a Giuliani campaign volunteer and high-ranking official in Giuliani's Dept. of Correction (in charge of all the jails on Riker's Island), resigned after being charged with stealing city property and ordering correction officers to renovate his home.
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F40913FB395B0C728DDDAC0894DB404482&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fOrganizations%2fR%2fRikers%20Island%20Prison%20Complex
In 1994, Giuliani appointed Anthony Schembri to Correction Commissioner. Shembri resigned a year later after charges that he used a workday to make a paid speech in Atlantic City, had the city regularly pay overtime and tolls for department drivers on errands to Rye, N.Y., where he had been Police Commissioner, and allegedly broke the law by never establishing a residence in the City. Shcembri went on to head Florida's troubled Juvenile Justice Dept.
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C02E0D71630F937A15752C1A962958260
http://www.sptimes.com/2004/05/13/Citrus/Colleagues__friends_h.shtml
Giuliani hired former Corrections Dept. Chief of Staff John Picciano at Giuliani Partners. Picciano, a close friend of Kerik's, was accused of assaulting his girlfriend and threatening her with his gun in 1998. But he was never arrested. According to Terrence Skinner, a retired corrections supervisor, "{Kerik} told me that I should basically pretend it never happened." Picciano left Giuliani Partners one day after Kerik abruptly resigned.
http://www.officer.com/article/article.jsp?id=19361&siteSection=1
Giuliani appointed Michael Carey, a son of former Gov. Hugh L. Carey, to head NYC's Economic Development Corp. According to a "scathing" audit covering the last 18 months of Giuliani's administration and the first six months of Bloomberg's, the organization was used as a "little bank account for the mayor's office" -- reportedly paying for mayoral aides' cars, lavish parties and out-of-town trips. For example, the audit states that it paid more than $11K for Carey's going-away party, and $7K for the going-away-party of Catherine Giuliani, the organization's chief of staff. The audit states that the organization also bought at least 11 cars for the mayor's office during Giuliani's administration.
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9900E2DC143FF933A25753C1A9659C8B63
http://www.accessmylibrary.com/premium/0286/0286-8873007.html
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Yet another piece of well-crafted propaganda. You guys are really on topic tonight.
I went to New York City throughout the 1970’s and 1980’s and 1990’s. There was graffiti, lawlessness, a sense of chaos before Guilliani. If Guilianni’s personnel choices were so awful they would not have done such a good job cleaning up NYC. He picked a tough program of focusing on small crimes and low and behold the guys jumping turnstiles and spraying graffiti often had weapons or drugs on them. Cleaned up the city very effectively and he did it with the usual opposition.
It’s one of the biggest budgets of any government in the country. I’m sure if you dig you’ll find lots of problems with government workers and appointees in a huge government. But if you look at the results you have to simply accept that law and order is a Guilianni strong point and he did a great job.
So Rudy was great on law and order issues. Fine. Nominate him for Attorney General, but don’t make him the GOP presidential nominee.
__________________________________________
I agree. I think pretending that he wasn’t great on law and order issues is a) not true b) plays to his strengths by shifting the discussion to one of his few strong areas.
Because of demographics, crime was dropping dramatically all over the country during the 90s — Giuliani can’t take credit for a big chunk that anymore than the ‘toon can. Yes, Giuliani’s administration was likely responsible for a percentage of the NYC crime reduction. However, do the ends (an additional margin of street crime reduction) justify the means (widespread Constitutional abuses; criminals operating as part of the admistration)? I would say no (and I roamed NYC many times both before and after Giuliani’s reign, as well).
I also cannot call Giuliani a “law and order” candidate when his administration made its own unConstitutional laws in so many ways. Singapore is a safe city too, but I wouldn’t want to live there. One of his lawbreaking tactics — the sanctuary policy — may have contributed to the 9/11 attacks. It would have been helpful to say the least if the 9/11 attackers who were stopped for traffic violations had actually been arrested and jailed/deported on their immigration violations.
I will not support that liberal in any way.
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And now you wear the fools crown. Only someone with a death wish would allow a person like Clinton to take charge of America at this time. It is people like yourself who win the Space Cadet of the year award.
Damn!! Amazing how crystal clear 20-20 hindsight can be, isn’t it?
Damn!! Amazing how crystal clear 20-20 foresight was for the critics who Giuliani dismissed, isn’t it?
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