Giuliani Buys Newspaper Ad Attacking Clinton

WASHINGTON – A Republican presidential candidate, Rudy Giuliani, criticized a Democratic front-runner, Hillary Clinton, in a full-page ad in today's New York Times, accusing her of attacking the character of an Iraq war commander, General David Petraeus.

The ad paid for by the Giuliani campaign attempts to link Mrs. Clinton to another ad, paid for by a liberal anti-war group, Moveon.org, that ran in the Times on Monday. The Moveon.org ad accused General Petraeus of "cooking the books" on the Iraq war and played off his name, asking, "General Petraeus or General Betray Us?"

Meanwhile, Moveonorg's political action committee will begin airing a new ad on television Monday that accuses Mr. Bush of a "betrayal of trust." The ad will run from Monday to Friday in Washington on cable and nationally on CNN. The total ad buy is $60,000.

The Moveon.org TV ad argues that, despite plans to withdraw about 30,000 troops added to the American military presence in Iraq earlier this year, Mr. Bush remains mired in the war.

"Now he's making a big deal about, you guessed it, pulling out 30,000 troops," the ad states. "So next year, there will still be 130,000 troops stuck in Iraq. George Bush. A betrayal of trust."

Mr. Giuliani's ad in the Times quotes the GOP candidate as saying, "These times call for statesmanship, not politicians spewing political venom."

The Giuliani ad accuses Mrs. Clinton of participating in a "character attack" against General Petraeus, citing her comments during a congressional hearing that the general's progress report on Iraq required a "willing suspension of disbelief."

General Petraeus and American Ambassador Ryan Crocker told Congress that while Iraq remains mostly dysfunctional, violence has decreased since the influx of 30,000 additional troops earlier this year.

Responding today to Mr. Giuliani's criticism, a Clinton campaign spokesman, Phil Singer, said, "It's hardly surprising that Mayor Giuliani is running the first negative ad of the '08 campaign, given his inability to justify his unqualified support for President Bush's failed Iraq strategy.

"Senator Clinton respects General Petraeus's service to our country. She knows the best way to honor our soldiers is to end the war in Iraq and bring them home," Mr. Singer said.

A conservative group, Freedom's Watch, which supports President Bush's Iraq war strategy, also plans a print ad in the Times and has demanded the same $65,000 rate that the liberal group paid for its full-page ad. Mr. Giuliani is getting the same rate.