Giuliani and the Iraq Study Group
by Ryan Sager
Tue, 19 Jun 2007 at 1:35 PM
updated Tue, 19 Jun 2007 at 1:37 PM
Ouch. This is a damaging one for Rudy Giuliani: He apparently quit the Iraq Study Group last spring in favor of giving millions of dollars worth of speeches trading on his status as the "hero of 9/11."
Now, presidential candidates rarely have significant foreign-policy experience — we like electing governors after all, despite how well that's worked out — but this was a good chance for Mr. Giuliani to get some and to engage on the key issue of, well, the decade. And, despite how much of a bust the ISG ended up being, it simply doesn't look good for the former New York City mayor to have turned up his nose at participating.
So far, Mr. Giuliani's Iraq position has boiled down to, "We have to win." That, plus instituting Compstat in Iraq — an almost laughable if it weren't so serious solution to the hell on earth we've helped birth in the broader Middle East. One has to hope he (and the rest of the Republicans) has a little something better up his sleeve.
UPDATE: Mr. Giuliani's communications director, Katie Levinson, responds: "As someone considered a potential presidential candidate, the Mayor didn't want the group's work to become a political football. That, coupled with time constraints, led to his decision."
Related Topics: GOP Primary
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